13 Questions to Ask Your Prescriber When Your Child is Taking ADHD Medication Presented by Laurie Dupar, Nurse Practitioner & Certified ADHD Coach and Trainer Thirteen years ago I was studying to be a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner when my son was diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD with the “H”…! In fact, my husband and I had been called in to meet with his teacher after my son had apparently stood on top of one of the desks and shook all the toy dinosaurs all over the classroom! Since he was very young…he was the child that “didn’t sit still” in circle time, was so distracted out on the field playing soccer that the coach, put him in as goalie where my husband and I could take turns alerting him when a ball was coming his way so he could get down off the goalie net. As a mental health practitioner I had had my suspicions that something was different about this child…he was “busy”…”emotional” and struggling to keep up academically and socially with his peers despite sincere effort and support at home. In the years prior to “the dinosaur” incident, we had tried all sorts of things to help…food elimination diets, more structure…less structure…we were at our wits end. I suspected ADHD, but so far none of his teachers had been able to confirm that. I finally made an appointment with a Nurse practitioner who confirmed our suspicions and what felt like handed us a death sentence with the words” Ritalin, 5 mg “ despite being a medical professional and knowing the overall benefits and theory behind medications, I did not want to give my son any medication he did not need. So it was with real trepidation that I gave my son his first pill and waited…that day we were headed off to his weekend soccer game and didn’t tell anyone. The results were amazing…during that game, several other parents who know about my son’ s antics in the soccer goal were amazed to see him poised throughout the entire game…eyes on the ball! In the next 6 weeks, his reading level went from way below grade level to completely AT grade level…now he has advanced reading skills! I know looking back that it was the inattention he had with the ADHD that was preventing him from being the type of goalie he wanted to be…holding his attention long enough on the book to really learn to read… Over the following years Next 45 minutes; Three major pitfalls that I see with ADHD medic What you can do to avoid them.

1. What kind of medication is this…? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

2. How does this medication work in my brain? How does it help ADHD? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

3. What negative side effects are normal with this medication? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

4. What health monitoring checks need to be done, if any? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

5. Are there any side effects that would warrant me to call you or stop giving this medication to my child? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

6. How will I know if this medication is working 6. How will I know if this medication is working? What will I notice that is different? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

7. When does my child take this medication 7. When does my child take this medication? Does it matter if it is in the morning or at night? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

8. Does my child need to take this medication every day? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

9. If I want to stop giving this medication to my child, how do I do that? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

10. Is this medication taken with or without food? Does it matter? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

11. How long will this medication take to start working once my child takes it? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

12. How long do the effects of this medication last? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

13. What is the plan with regards to following up and adjusting the dose of this medication? When is our next appointment? DESPITE THESE STUDIES AND THERE ENCOURAGING RESULTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE USING MEDICATION AS AN ADHD SYMPTOMS MANAGEMENT TOOL…THERE ARE STILL TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE FULL BENEFIT OF ADHD MEDICATION. In the next 45 minutes Im going to share with you the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit from taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls.

Medication Log Uses rating scale 1-10 Keep track of dosages Track how it works for you Monitor key symptoms such as: Memory, learning Energy Motivation Appetite Ability to complete tasks Other “homework” “Bonus” in the virtual Goodie bag!! Helps you keep track of medication effectiveness, personalize it also http://www.iactcenter/medicationlog/

“Parenting a child with ADHD is about making a choice everyday to do the best we can with what we know right now, along with a healthy daily dose of compassion & love.” So in the last In the last 45 minutes we talked about the three most common problems that prevent people from getting the full benefit when taking an adhd medication and share with you specific strategies and resources that you can use right away to avoid these pitfalls. Sometimes it’s the Wrong Medication: work with your prescriber to find alternatives Wrong Dose- everyone is an individual…the right dose for you might be very different than for someone else Wrong Timing- when you take your ADHD medications and the consistency of taking them makes a huge difference. So to put this into practice….I encourage you to think where your pitfalls might be, 2. write them down now, make an appointment with your doctor to talk about your options. about two or three of what you learned and take it with you…put into action AS Anton Chekov says “ Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.” Thank you!!!

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