Q: Can Vyvanse help my 11 year old son who has been diagnosed with Asperger's and ADHD?
Lynn
Thank you for your question and welcome to ADHDCentral.com.
I am not a medical professional and would not be able to give you medical advice.
It sounds like you are going through a rough time with your son. Has the school been any help in coming up with some effective discipline strategies for your son? What types of strategies do you use at home? Is your son currently working with a behavior therapist? If so, what are they suggesting you can do to help curb some of this newest behavior? You might want to contact the school and ask for a 504 meeting to discuss how you and the school can work together to find ways to best help your son at school.
As far as the medication, I would not be able to say whether or not this medication would work for your son. It could very well help to curb some of the impulsive behaviors you are seeing. But I am not a medical professional and besides that, each person reacts differently on medication so it is impossible to say how one individual would react.
If you are going to try it, I would talk to the doctor about starting it a few weeks before school starts so you can observe how your son reacts at home before sending him off to school. For some children with AS an ADHD medication works well, for others it does not. Unfortunately, it is often a matter of trial and error to find the right medication and the right dose.
I wish you the best. Please check back and let me know how you are doing.
Eileen
Your son sounds exactly like my 9 1/2 year old with Aspergers and ADHD! Never thinks he has done anything wrong. Doesn't like to be embarrassed or have attention brought to himself, yet he does things like you mentioned at school to bring it on! He is also struggling with making/keeping friends and I suspect he is chasing them off with his behavior.
We just started Vyvanse today, but very slowly because he is so sensitive to meds. I will let you know how it goes.
My son was on the Vyvanse for a few months before Christmas. I did not have him take it during Christmas and didn't think I saw a difference, so I sent him back to school without the Vyvanse. For the next 6 weeks, everything fell apart at school. In fact, I had tried twice before Christmas to go without meds, but each time he had a terrible day and I would get an e-mail from the teacher. He was getting in trouble during art, gym, his 4th grade classroom, and even the after school program. He was in the office most days and on the verge of being removed from his after school program due to his behavior. Out of desperation we placed him back on the Vyvanse and it made a huge difference. I didn't tell the school I was putting him back on it, but after a week I went on a school field trip and everyone kept saying the same thing......I don't know what changed, but he has been doing amazing.
Don't get me wrong, he still gets in trouble, but not like those 6 weeks without the meds. Without he was constantly saying something inappropriate, especially at a couple school field trips. In fact, they wouldn't let him go on another field trip without a parent because of it. She has since said she didn't think a parent was necessary.
He has lost quite a bit of weight on the Vyvanse and sometimes complains about his stomach hurting (although we noticed he did this when not on the med). These are the reasons why I took him off the Vyvanse. I figured why have him on something with these side effects if it wasn't helping much. I have since figured out it is helping a whole lot at school and have decided to work around the side effects. I have started giving him pediasure and making sure he eats a good breakfast. If he gets the Vyvanse early enough, he will eat a decent dinner.
Also, my son develops tics on stimulants. I can say that they did go away when he was on the Vyvanse before Christmas. We just started it back up 2 weeks ago and they are starting to get better. This is one of the hardest things for me.....I can't stand to see that happening, but it helps to know they have gone away before.
Just to let you know, my son is also on Prozac. I was sooooooooooooooooooooo against this until my son started talking so negative (saying he would be better of dead, drawing pictures that were disturbing, etc). this went on for a good year or so before I finally said something to his doc. We tried the Prozac and he has been a different child. He was always so negative before, but he now he is a pretty positive child. He even goes around the house singing.....something he would have never done before. We have also not heard another word about suicide or dying! I hate so much that he is on any meds, let alone 2, but I just keep remembering the child I had last year and at the beginning of this school year and I know we are doing the right thing. He appears to be getting along better with peers (although still struggling) and doesn't complain about going to school.
Hopefully this helps! Obviously this is a topic I have lots to share on, lol! Feel free to ask any other questions!!
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Hi there--I am curious to know how your children after the Vyvanse? It seems it has been awhlie since this post. My son is on Vyvanse, but he just started taking it. He also has ADHD and possible Aspergers. He strugles to make and keep friends. I worry this will destroy his self esteem.