Hi, i have a 5 yr old son he is diagnosed with adhd. He is on risperdal and focalin xr. His dad and i have been seperated for 2 years now. I had him put on the meds after struggling with anger/emotional/hyper issues for as long as i can remember... Well he was doing ok on the meds, listening to me, a little hyper still but there wasnt as much argueing or tantrums like before this would go on fot hours! Well his dad doesnt agree with the medication, so sometimes he will :forget" to give it to him when he is there, sometimes the whole weekend and sometimes just a day. When he comes back to me he freaks out at the littlest thing, like tonite i told him no about something and he went A-wall! He screamed, threw things yelled at me, told me no he dont want to...nothing would help. not grounding, taking things away or spanking all he did was cry and cry until his chest and his head hurt! It was terrible! I couldnt get him to calm down! I dont know what to do. Then his dad says he is fine over there, he "listens" to him... i dont know is it possible he is biploar? His psych told me it is something they want to test for in the future...but what do i do as far as his dad not giving him meds? How do i deal with him when he acts like this? Im scared, if he were a teen i could not control him! Please help me!

I just came to this forum today (I have a 3 yr old with mitochondrial disease)
Having a child with ADHD, I can sympathize with what you are going throu...the meds are so important to some of these kids. You probably don't want to "get into it" with his dad, but if a Dr has prescribed it, I would think that you would have some recourse with the courts if his dad doesn't follow through with the medication. It is not fair to your son for the meds not to be consistent in his system....he has to be on an internal emotional rollercoaster, feeling one way one minute, then another when the meds are not given! As for dad's comment that he is fine over there...you are the main disciplinarian in his life..you are the person that he can feel safe "letting loose" with. The visits with dad are shorter than his time with you...behaviorwise your son "honeymoons" while he is with his dad....I guarantee that if he were left with dad long term, the exact same behaviors would show themselves there with him. Until you have had a child with behavior like this, the tendency is to say that it is poor paranting. We have raised many children, and a child with behavior problems is a whole different thing...you parent all of your children the same way, and sometimes you will just have that kid that is "different" in the way he reacts to all of the same situations. Continue to advocate for your son...his medication needs to be consistent. Just wanted to reply to you and let you know that you are not alone! Feel free to post and we can brainstorm...I know it IS NOT easy, and it IS scary!!

[QUOTE=brinad;206946]Hi, i have a 5 yr old son he is diagnosed with adhd. He is on risperdal and focalin xr. His dad and i have been seperated for 2 years now. I had him put on the meds after struggling with anger/emotional/hyper issues for as long as i can remember...