I am so worried about my 11 year old son, who happens to live with his father, who gives me very little information about our son and any treatments he receives. He began stuttering as a child and began speech therapy at the age of 3. We were told his speech problem was closer to "cluttering" rather than "stuttering". At 4 1/2 it was all but a forgotten problem, except when he was really excited or overly upset, and was completely manageable. Almost 2 years ago, his father and I separated and divorced. I moved out of the house and 3 days later, his father's girlfriend moved in! This upset my son to the point that the stuttering came back, quite significantly, but not near as bad as it is now! Last year, his father took him to a child psychiatrist, and he was diagnosed with ADD and was put on Vyvanse. I was never in agreement with the medication or the diagnosis, but had no say in the matter! My ex took our son off his medication for the summer and I noticed just yesterday, that the stuttering is now so bad that he can barely get a word out!!! He trips over almost every word, squeezes his eyes, and nods his head a lot. I don't know if this could be a mild form of tourette's or if coming off the Vyvanse has caused his stuttering to become out of control or what is happening to him! There is a lot of tension in the home he lives in, and I know stress can have a lot of effects. This is breaking my heart because he won't talk to his friends (due to embarassment) and he is constantly picked on by a step sibling at home for stumbling over his words! He is starting middle school this year and I am concerned he will be traumatized by the other children picking on him! Please help me! I just don't know what to do! Could this be a side effect of the medication? Could it be worsening because he stopped the Vyvanse cold turkey? Could he indeed be suffering from a mild case of Tourette's? I just don't know, and like I said, I am limited when it comes to his treatment. His father won't hear anything I have to say, or even share with me what the doctor's say! In my opinion, he seems high as a kite, while taking the Vyvanse! He chews his nails until they bleed, he fidgets, displays facial tics, he never stops talking, he lost over 25 pounds in the first 2 months on the meds, and he seems very agitated when he is coming down! I am begging for any advice/help you can offer! Thank you!
Q: Vyvanse and stuttering? Tourette's? Scared Mama!
Thank you for your question and welcome to ADHDCentral.com.
I am sorry your son is having such a difficult time right now.
Tourettes syndrome often becomes noticeable between the ages of 7 and 10 and can worsen during the teen years. There is medications doctors can prescribe to help lessen the tics, although there is no medication that will cure or completely get rid of tics caused by Tourettes.
There has been a great deal of debate about the role amphetamine (or all stimulant) medications play in tics. Some recent research indicates these medications do not cause tics, but may, in some people make tics worse.
Most people with Tourettes (about 90%) have a second disorder, 60 percent have ADHD so it is common for someone to have both ADHD and Tourettes syndrome.
I would imagine you have a custody order and wonder if you could not go back to court and request access to your son's doctors, that way you would be able to speak directly to the doctor for more information as well as being involved in the medical decisions.
For more information
I hope this helps
Eileen
I am also very concerned for our daughter. She was diagnosed with ADD when she was 3 1/2. We chose to medicate at 4. Everything seemed to be working well until last fall. When she started Kindergarten we saw the first signs of stuttering. We were unsure if the stress of learning how to read may have triggered it, or if it was a mediation problem. At the time she was taking 30mg of Vyvanse. We increased the meds to 40mg and the stuttering went away. In April of this year the Vyvanse started to lose it's effectiveness again. We tried to go to 50mg, but it didn't work. That's when our doctor suggested Intuniv. We tried that and it did help with some of her symptoms (tearing things up, impulsive behavior). Shortly there after we moved out of state. It was going back home for us, but somewhat unfamiliar to her. In June the stuttering came back with a vengance. We went to a psychiatrist to seek help, and it was a disaster. He was a horrible listener and really gave us nothing to go on. We tried to seek our a pediatrician to help, but the case confused them as well. Our daughter is now on 20mg of Vyvanse and 3mg of intuniv. With each passing day the stuttering gets worse. She scrunches up her face to speak or cranes her neck to get a word out. It is painful to watch. Our daughter who has always had beautiful speech now struggles to get even one word out. We are trying to find a speech therapist, but they all seem to be full. She is starting a new school next week and I am terrified she is going to withdraw from class discussions, not be called on, and have trouble socially.
Is all of this from ADD, from the meds, or was it going to happen anyway? Did the stress bring this on? I want to take her off of the meds but I don't know if I can do it cold turkey. This is a horribly frustrating disorder!
vyvanse is usaully prescribed for 6-12 year olds and adults along with other treatment besides medication in order to treat add or adhd. 4 years old is very young to be on a med such as vyvanse. it is SPEED. i would never put my son through that. your daughter's brain is still developing. find another way to treat her, such as behavorial therapy or art or music, something to keep her busy, something she enjoys doing that stimulates her brain.
Im not sure if your son has tourette's, but I have dealt with stuttering my whole life. Im 23 now. At first it was just tripping over my words, but once i turned 12 or 13, I began nodding my head uncontrollably whenever I couldnt get a word out. I went to a speech therapist and she said nothing about tourettes. She showed me ways to relax my muscles when speaking, such as slowly moving my head from one side to the other, or moving my head in a complete circle very slowly while keeping my neck still. This nodding of the head, she called a block, because when it would happen i wouldnt be saying anything, although I was trying to. This not only is extremely scary when you are in school, kids made fun of me forever, but it also hurt my neck and my jaw alot, since I was always tense. I hope this gives you a better understanding of this disability, and fortunately I have mostly overcome it. If you make sure your son gets the help he needs, it shouldnt get any worse. Also, maybe another medication would be better, Im not really sure.
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Eillen,
Thank you so much for your response! I will definitely look further into the possibility of Tourette's!