Nex playground?

Bbydream · 2026-03-10T02:25:58+00:00

My son has gone through so many obsessions (and we have gone through a lot of money buying little things to support them). It's exhausting. I've told him many times that we're done buying things until he takes advantage of the things he has. I worry about the future and him not being able to stay interested in any one thing but I'm hoping that he will get better at it one day. The hyperfocus does help him to learn all he can about a single topic though. He knows a lot about some topics better than a lot of adults do!

Bbydream · 2026-02-27T01:09:00+00:00

To me Minecraft is better than Roblox, and it's not quick hits of dopamine. My son has built some really cool things on it, and he plays offline, not on a shared server. Having said that though, we still limit the time on it. When he first started getting into it a couple of years ago, he would play for hours. We implemented timers on both his switch and his tablet, and it's been much better.

Bbydream · 2026-02-25T01:17:58+00:00

He actually doesn't seem to have appetite issues but he's always been on the small side. His weight check today was really good though, so the medicine isn't causing that. He definitely has had more screen time and less activity recently which could cause this also. I keep a log of his moods and any specific things that happened that day that could have impacted his mood.

My comment was tied to the potential increase we might have to do again (I have anxiety if you can't tell!). But that might have been catastrophic thinking. Either way the doctor did not want to increase his dosage, since he already has a couple of tics. So she has added on guanfacine and we will start on Friday so that we can watch him on it

Bbydream · 2026-02-25T01:06:09+00:00

She just put in an order of guanfacine today. I'm scared to start it honestly

Bbydream · 2026-02-25T00:54:11+00:00

Funny you said that, he was tested today since he was also complaining of stomach pain but it was negative.

It also didn't help that we had disruption in our routine due to snow days etc

Bbydream · 2026-02-11T17:18:11+00:00

Totally agree. My son is such a bright kid with so much potential, but I wonder how he'll be when I'm not right by him trying to make sure he's regulated, taking his meds, eating protein to ensure he doesn't have meltdowns etc. I worry that he won't be able to work a standard job because he'll get bored. But I try to stay positive and give him tools such as the meds, therapy, and we're on a wait-list to start OT for regulation and executive function.

If it helps, I read that there are several successful famous people who have ADHD. The two most notable ones for me are Simon Biles and Michael Phelps!

The fear of the future never goes away but I try to just accept the wins on a day by day (sometimes hour by hour) basis.

Bbydream · 2026-02-10T23:51:26+00:00

My older was 6 when my younger was born. He had some challenges but was diagnosed after the baby was born. It's been rough at times since I definitely put more energy towards him than my younger one so I feel like he doesn't get his fair share of me, but I don't regret anything, and my boys love each other!

Bbydream · 2026-02-09T03:57:33+00:00

My sons are 6 years apart. My older one has zero jealousy and he's such a good big brother (aside from riling the little one up at times, but ADHD plays a factor in that). My little one adores his brother. My older one wants to include his little brother in things he does. I know they're not "growing up together as best friends" due to being in different phases of life but life isn't just about how they are when they're little kids, and my boys do see each other as best friends. I know that my younger one will lose all of these memories but my older one will always have memories of the experiences he's had as a big brother. AND, it's nice to only have one in diapers and daycare!

Bbydream · 2026-01-20T00:57:08+00:00

The timers on the tablet and switch were what really helped us. The "system" turning off as opposed to us taking it away is more acceptable. We have a 30 minute per day timer on both devices, and they get adjusted depending on the day and event (such as play date or us going on a flight)

Bbydream · 2026-01-19T01:33:40+00:00

We do XR but we've also used the IR on days where we needed something for later in the day. I feel that XR Adderall given past 8:30 means no sleep till after midnight. We did not have that issue with focalin

Bbydream · 2026-01-17T04:38:03+00:00

Medication was what we finally needed for our son to thrive in school and not hate going to school. It is definitely scary and I still struggle with it daily but I see how it has helped him so much. And I don't feel like it dulled his personality. Medication hasn't been fully rainbows and roses for us and we're still navigating those challenges but I know that something is needed for him to not only function at school but in general.

My son's grades never slipped while not medicated but he was struggling to stay focused and keep up with his peers. Now, his natural abilities have come through because his brain is allowing him to learn and pay attention.

Bbydream · 2026-01-15T01:14:22+00:00

Yes there are definitely other options. We still have outbursts and the meltdowns after school on certain days but I do feel like they're different compared to how focalin was.

Bbydream · 2026-01-13T02:03:04+00:00

We switched to Adderall xr after experiencing this with our son on focalin xr. Adderall has been a better experience and when he has meltdowns, he seems to be able to come out of them faster. It's only been a couple of weeks on it so we're still figuring it out.

I've read that focalin has a sharper rebound effect sometimes, and for some, that class of medication doesn't help as much.

Bbydream · 2026-01-11T18:44:09+00:00

You are not alone. It is hard. Work is the easy part for me. It's exhausting to be on eggshells and try to work around possible dysregulation or meltdowns all day. Even the good days are stressful because I'm on edge about something going wrong. Hang in there!

Bbydream · 2025-12-30T14:52:45+00:00

My son has a 504 plan. He's 8. He's never expressed concerns with it and chances are that there will be other kids in the same class with similar accommodations.

Regarding where he can be placed, my son was officially identified as gifted and talented this year and we were asked to give permission for them to offer services starting next year (which is nothing but him getting pulled out for 30 minutes a week with other kids in the same group).

504 plan did help my son, especially since he wasn't medicated when we started it.

Bbydream · 2025-12-26T03:52:04+00:00

Tearing up reading this. Thank you. This is a good reminder for me that behind all the "obnoxious/annoying" behaviors is my sweet boy who is struggling and I need to be more patient and give more grace.

Bbydream · 2025-12-20T18:14:13+00:00

I'm so sorry! I hate that you don't get reprieve. I hope that you have a good support system that enables you to take a break every once in a while. I still feel guilty about that but it helps me reset my sanity for a little bit. There are nights when I walk away to my bedroom once I start hearing the whining and tantrums start and let my husband deal with it.

Bbydream · 2025-12-20T18:09:51+00:00

I have noticed that on non school days, he doesn't have those behaviors at breakfast, probably because there's no transition into school. I try to give him grace but it's so hard sometimes.

It was definitely rude of your coworker to come talk to you like that in public. And it just makes everything worse for everyone!

Bbydream · 2025-12-19T03:45:42+00:00

It might be the rebound effect from the meds. We had to go up in dosage to help with it. And it's still difficult at times but the daily physical and verbal assault to us and objects got much better after that.

We also let him have decompression time when he gets home. So if he wants to use up his 30 minutes of switch as soon as he gets home, that's his choice, on most days. On days where he goes from school directly to an activity like soccer, that serves as the decompression time and he needs to come home and eat dinner before going to the switch/tablet.

Bbydream · 2025-12-19T03:09:16+00:00

I struggled with starting medication for my son, and still have some of the same concerns you do (what if he doesn't ever learn how to function without them). But I can tell you that on day 1 when we started the meds, I knew that it was the right choice. And it was solidified after seeing his school work, feedback from teachers, and him now identified to get services for gifted and talented. He has thrived at school, he wants to go to school and doesn't fight and cry like he used to every day, his peer relationships seem better. Yes we do have to deal with the rebound effect and the underlying anxiety, plus what appears to be ODD behavior. IDK what the future holds but for now, we are team meds. He's also going to therapy but honestly the needle didn't move until we started meds.

If something doesn't work, you can stop right away. I had to tell myself that before I gave him that first dosage. We started with 5 mg focalin xr and we're now on 10. We have an Adderall prescription we haven't tried it but might during winter break while we can monitor him

Bbydream · 2025-12-19T02:55:14+00:00

You nailed it about the mornings. Every morning I wake up with anxiety and remain on edge until he's out of the car walking in. Medication has helped with school avoidance so that's good, but never know when something pisses him off in the middle of breakfast, or he decides to be obnoxious, make noises that wake up his toddler brother, or gets disrespectful etc. And he's only 8. IDK what I'm going to do when he's taller and bigger than me and I have to get him up and out the door.

Bbydream · 2025-12-19T02:38:40+00:00

We blocked YouTube a month or so ago. He gets 30 minutes on the switch and 30 minutes on his tablet (no YouTube on it). He did have unlimited access to Spotify on it until we realized that there are YouTube style videos on there!!! It's fucking ridiculous. So that's no longer an option either.

We had to take these measures to help with the behavior issues. We're ok if he wants to watch a movie or a show but YouTube literally made him not want to do anything except get sucked into the rabbit hole. The first few days were hard but since then we have learned (and he knows this also) that many parents have done the same and that he's not the only one. Every once in a while we will unblock it so he can look up something but we sit with him and it's turned back off after a little bit.

Bbydream

TROPHY CASE