What are the easiest, most ADHD friendly musical instruments for my elementary aged child to learn? I was thinking drums so they won't need to learn how to read sheet music or a woodwind for deep breathing?

Good morning! ❤️ I’m looking to connect with other parents who have children with ADHD. I would love to hear your experiences, advice, and tips on how to manage ADHD and better understand and support our children.

I’m looking for a sensory chew for a young child. They currently have a fleece blanket and like to chew ice packs, instead of actually using them.

I tried to get her to use the chews in the second picture but she didn’t like any of them.

My child is doing their GCSE’s this year. Long story short - they’re barely studying because they’re so distracted with their phone and online stuff, and I’m worried they won’t get the marks needed to get into the colleges they’ve applied to. At the moment they’re getting 3’s and 4’s but I know they’re more than capable of getting 6’s, 7’s and 8’s.

I’m thinking about getting a Brick device for their phone so we can block the apps. Before they can use the apps they have to hold their phone to the device which we would have. Apple screen time and all other routes we’ve tried are not working. My child manages to get past anything we’ve tried previously.

The phone is only one of the issues, but I’m hoping a Brick device could be a start.

Has anyone tried one on their child’s phone before? I’d love to hear some feedback or other potential solutions. Just ‘taking their phone away’ isn’t always an option btw.

Child is just about 5 years old and in second year of kindergarten. His teacher asked us today if everything is ok at home because he has not been as happy or smiley this year as last year and that he completely shuts down when she tries to talk to him about it. Said he has moments where he comes out of his shell and that he plays with friends but it’s a noticeable difference from last year. He is not hyperactive at school and prior to this we didn’t really have any negative feedback from school. Can anyone relate?

Looking for help before we go back to the pediatrician Monday. Our son (8) has ADHD and we’ve always very much suspected autism, at 5 the psychologist said he’s far too social (he is extremely social, doesn’t know a stranger) but was high IQ. Said his brain is years ahead of his body age, but socially/emotionally years behind, which is accurate. He was removed from preschool, home schooled for kindergarten and attended the same hybrid school with his siblings in 1st and 2nd… until now.

They are amazing, but it’s always the same. Schools/babysitters/sunday schools can’t manage his behaviors and the class. He’s extremely emotionally impulsive, his volume is very very high even at speaking level, he is highly sensitive, and extremely high energy. He requires so much one on one, and he is also so advanced past his grade level in several subjects he is bored and they can’t provide enough stimulation for him.

We found the most amazing school of 25 kids whom 85% have autism and most have adhd, most are also boys. They have ABA incorporated in their days and focus heavily on hands on learning, lots of 3d printing, movement, and Fridays are for executive functioning skills, afterschool clubs and they even raise chickens to teach responsibility. They also teach every subject at whatever grade level needed, so he can be moved up in a few and stay back in others and it be personalized. It’s also extremely expensive without scholarships that you get with an autism diagnosis. They loved having him, he’s the youngest but said he fit right in and academically is on par, but said his high energy levels and sensitivity require a full time one on one person unless we get ABA involved to help.

LONG STORY SHORT:
- we go Monday and his ped always also felt strongly about autism and she is on board with formally diagnosing him
- his meds basically have zero net benefit since mid august and we don’t know what to do or why they all just stopped working. He does best with Ritalin and has been on ER for a long time, we also added Prozac and upped the dose once and we don’t see that benefit either. We never really saw one with Prozac, but we’ve always seen something with Ritalin. He takes clonodine at night for sleep, he used to take guanfacine but that did little as well.

What do you do if meds just stop working? Has this happened to you?

If you have a kiddo who has AuADHD, what has worked best for you?

Feeling lost for him and hopeful all at the same time. But he needs meds to help and we just need so badly for school to work for him. The anxiety as a parent of a kid who has been removed multiple times is hard on the heart.

So, our 7yo son loves sports. Really really loves any kind of physical activity. All we have heard his whole life basically is "put him in soccer to burn some energy", "put him in Karate to learn some discipline", "put him in gymnastics since he's constantly doing cartwheels and tricks, he's be really good at it", "put him in XYZ club to socialize more with other kids"

But the problem is, every time we do, things go south quickly. As in, these clubs are mostly run by volunteers, often parents themselves and/or young people without any special ed training or anything. So if the teachers and special educators at school were struggling with him for years, even with meds, to get a system in place that works for him ...guess how it's going with the people who DON'T have that training or understanding. 😬

In the past couple of weeks, we have gotten complaints again from both of his current extracurriculars about his behavior. I just feel so defeated and embarrassed. Instead of seeing him more integrated into the community, working off his energy, and learning "discipline", it sounds like he's just making the people there miserable, has become known as the "problem child" (again) and will be excluded (again). At this point I dread dropping him off and picking him up. The same way I dread picking him up from the school bus and hearing he was misbehaving again, though at least being trapped in a seat for 45+ minutes the restless behavior somewhat makes sense to me. Sports is something he enjoys and literally offers near constant movement so what is going on?

The worst part was tonight when I picked him up from gymnastics he seemed super happy, said how much fun he had doing all the stuff and playing with his "new friends" ....then of course right around bedtime comes the long message from the coach to talk to him about behavior or he won't be able to go anymore. I just don't know what to do :( if "talking about behavior" fixed things (which we constantly do, he must have been talked to more than any other child I know at this point), we wouldn't be having these issues. I don't know how I will explain to him that he might not be able to go participate in the activity he loves anymore because he copies other kids misbehaving, can't control himself in a loud environment when asked to stop, and struggles to follow instructions on activities (just literally processing them slower).

He is medicated but it wears off around the afternoon and unfortunately he is very sensitive to meds close to bedtime (he does also take the non-stimulant Guanfacine which is supposed to help all day but clearly doesn't do near enough...). Meanwhile his psychiatrist and OT both discharged him to the pediatrician because he met all clinical goals and milestones and everything when they saw him :/ Idk he does perfectly in therapy apparently and makes lots of progress to the point where they feel like he doesn't need their help anymore but once released on the general public....well.

So to everyone whose kids are apparently thriving in sports/ extracurriculars and it helps with their Adhd - how? 😭 What sports worked for you guys? How do you get your kids to listen and follow directions during them and not be disruptive? Especially if combined with Autism? :/ Like he does great on the actual "sports" part of it all and learned lots of it 1:1 with me, including swimming for example, which he has gotten quite good at. But can I put him in an advanced swim class or swim club? I don't know, I'm afraid he will distract others, not listen to the coach, run around the place or have a meltdown and it will be a safety issue.

I'm just really sad rn because unlike myself my kid genuinely LOVES gymnastics, loves sports and extracurriculars in general, and loves socializing with other kids. All the things I cannot offer him at home which is why I try signing him up for stuff in the first place... I know it will hurt him to be excluded. :(