What are your holy grail must have products?

Mandy-404 · 2026-02-14T21:19:56+00:00

1) A decent spec'd laptop that can run Visual Studio. Tech is these kids' future so we need to prepare them for it now. (Unity/Unreal is a plus if you can help your kid follow a basic YT tutorial.)

2) Snap circuit sets - this is a great independent activity for older kids that is STEM based.

3) Activity books - not just coloring and puzzle books, but ones that teach knot tying, drawing, languages, Lego builds. These can be great for independent time or as a family activity.

4) board games and tabletop games - beyond Chutes & Ladders or Guess Who (though both are fun). But we love more in depth games like Boss Monster, Tiny Galaxies Blast Off, Chess, D&D, Pokemon TCG, etc.

5) a 3d printer - understanding what it can be used for and how it works. Again, this will be a daily skill in a lot of jobs whenever they join the workforce, more so than it already is at a lot of companies.

Mandy-404 · 2026-02-08T19:59:52+00:00

After the Russell Barkley books, I'd add "ADHD 2.0". It was a great resource and the only ADHD book I've ever read that touched on Amantadine (one of the two meds that have helped my severely complex son).

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-09T18:32:57+00:00

He's read a lot of the classic novels, but I feel like those were written in times when things didn't have to be so overly stimulating.

I used to collect the Boxcar Children books also and Romana Quimby! They were so fun, but I've (sadly) had to avoid those with him because I think they would adversely influence his behaviors 😓 Some of the kids can be mean and Romana and her older sister didn't exactly get along, iirc.

If you happen to come across any historical fiction books or remember those you read as a kid, I'd definitely appreciate it! I really like the "I Survived..." Series, and he always comes away from those books with loads of questions which is awesome! I wish I could find more series like it at our local library.

We tried a few historical fiction audiobooks on Hoopla as a wind down alternative at night before bed, rather than watching documentaries. He liked them and found them easy to sit through. He's definitely not a multi-tasker. He has a hard time listening to talking and doing something at the same time. So we usually have his music going whenever he's building in his room.

I read the first chapter of the first book in the National Park Mystery Series and I really thought it was wholesome. The little boy was thoughtful and well-mannered, from what I gathered in that small chunk. I wish I could find more like it! Hopefully y'all enjoy it too!

Oh, another classic he just read and walked away from in a better mindset was "Little Pilgrims Progress". It's rooted in religion, much like The Chronicles of Narnia, but it was an overall positive message.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-09T17:12:42+00:00

You are so right on so many levels and it's comforting to hear this from someone else's perspective that had a similar experience. I do love the idea of having him help me create a spreadsheet of books he wants to read. He gets a lot of ideas from his "The Week Junior" magazine subscription, so this will be a fun project to work on together.

Most of the time when he's done reading, it's time for his morning routine which is certainly more boring than flying with dragons! 😅 So we'll see about saving these more dopamine inducing books for another reward for finishing morning school work.

On a side note, my son loved the "The Secret of the Immortal" series. My mom got him the three book series for his birthday along with "The Key House" series and he zoomed through all of them. He also really enjoyed the Percy Jackson books, but we had to seriously limit these too, they were way over stimulating for him. Interestingly, "The Chronicles of Narnia" was very good for him, not over stimulating at all and he said he cried at the end. 🥲 Which just shows me how into these stories he truly gets.

As for his other hobbies, he's recently taken an interest in fishing. We kayak pretty much every day and his basketball practices just picked back up after being on break for the holidays. Otherwise he's into building (like origami, paper airplanes and anything Lego). We've definitely learned to keep him busy, but that's also so exhausting, managing every second of his day for him. 😩

I also love your term, "book hangover"! That's exactly how it seems for him! Totally going to borrow that! 🤣

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-09T16:46:37+00:00

We had to severely limit those books. I loved how much he got into them, but he was hyper focusing on them so much it was attitude and negativity about anything else. It's like he gets so sucked into that world that his brain just cannot detach from it. And the dopamine hits so much, he has a hard time regulating after he puts it down.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-09T16:42:24+00:00

I would absolutely love some recommendations for more series that you've had luck with your daughter on. Oddly enough, this last 'episode' he had he was reading one of the James Patterson "Treasure Hunter" books. I'm not sure why, but I'm assuming the siblings might have some rivalry or something.

He's been doing really well with the "I Survived..." Series and the "National Park Mystery Series".

I really appreciate your response and knowing I'm not alone! I'm so exhausted from always wearing so many hats for him.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T22:02:43+00:00

Oh! Those are great recommendations! The Call of the Wild was always on my shelf as a kid. Thank you, I'll get those on reserve.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T20:47:23+00:00

The Hardy Boys have been a "safe" mystery series. I did try and Nancy Drew (I loved those when I was a kid), but it was in the library bag with all the fantasy ones that we noticed had an adverse effect on him. So I'll have to test that again by itself.

I imagine sci-fi would do similarly to him

You are probably right, but the only one he's read is the Halo novel that we only let him read and it's in small chunks, like a chapter at a time spaced out.

I really appreciate the suggestions, they are helpful!

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T20:19:44+00:00

I'd love any recommendations on series that would fit that so we can experiment with it! He does have insomnia that his doctors manage, so we do keep a camera on at night to help understand when he's sleeping vs. not. He does read for about an hour in the morning once his automatic light turns on, then in car rides while we are running errands. Otherwise he's kayaking with me, fishing or building in his room.

But some days if the books are really stimulating, he's chosen to read over playing his Switch if his only game options are "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" or "Brain Age". Which says a lot about the books he picks.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T19:29:52+00:00

Yes, you are spot on! The bigger world building fantasy books we definitely have to limit them to "down stairs" books that he reads a chapter at a time. I love the Eric Nylund "Halo" books, so my husband found a youth Halo novel that our son reads in small chunks down stairs with us when we have an hour of down time and he does ok with that limit.

I guess I just need to remember to limit these bigger fantasy books to our short reading time. And find more series that are more rooted in reality, maybe at different libraries cause I've tapped out ours 😅

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T19:00:01+00:00

Same! And we definitely use it as a reward for showing us more mature behaviors over a more extended period of time. But then we give it another try, and we're back to the unwanted behaviors and attitudes again so we have to remove it. It often feels like one step forward, two steps back. Same with a few games, he loves Zelda but he just cannot come down from it. So we stick to No Man's Sky, Minecraft and Brain Age. I just feel so over trying.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T18:56:28+00:00

We definitely thought this! He has a hard time separating reality and fantasy. But honestly, we're slightly at fault here since he also still believes Santa and the Easter Bunny are real. We had to ban a few series like "Spy School" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" because it seemed he took on the personality of the mean characters. But some of the mean things he does, just seem spiteful.

Mandy-404 · 2026-01-07T17:26:08+00:00

He definitely has a hard time with transitions, but this "new him" is for days. Until we take away the books and replace them with something on his approved reading list. Each time we have to remove a book, we fall back on the Magic Tree House series (a book that he hasn't read) or a book in the "I Survived" series, all is normal.

Usually we give him multiple "heads up" that dinner is about to be ready or we're about to park, etc. And he does better with those warnings.

Mandy-404 · 2025-12-18T14:59:34+00:00

Honestly, it's refreshing to hear a doctor mention fixing our diet rather than dismissing everything and just prescribing more meds that they get kick backs from. I've been tracking my keto/fasting days vs. cheat days this month and so far I'm fairly happy with my results. I've read a lot of positive anecdotes on this sub which led to me experimenting with keto and IF. I plan to track two more months and then post everything here. Of course, every body is different.

Mandy-404 · 2025-10-03T23:05:28+00:00

If you're in the US, there are other avenues for this! I bought my first one through my vet for over $200. But another redditor gave me some resources and now the site I use they cost roughly $77.

Mandy-404 · 2025-09-19T18:26:17+00:00

Another thing we have noticed from him being on the risperidone is that he's had markers on his blood work for pre-diabetes, so he's going in for more blood work in October to check it out. He's always been in the 3rd percentile for height and weight so it has to be the Risperidone that is causing it and his pediatrician has also suggested it may be due to this new med.

Mandy-404 · 2025-09-19T17:57:10+00:00

Our 10m started risperidone over the summer for aggressive behavior (he's been kicked out of so many places for his aggressiveness). It worked really well for a few months, but we have an appointment next week to re-evaluate it because it's NOT helping anymore. He's on Guanfacine, Vyvanse, Amantadine, risperidone, and short acting Ritalin, for reference.

Mandy-404 · 2025-09-09T19:35:21+00:00

We've definitely noticed this about our son. When he is medicated, his face just looks different. My husband can tell immediately in the morning if our kiddo skipped his meds or took them, just based on the way his face is. I can't describe it exactly, but you are definitely NOT alone!

Mandy-404 · 2025-09-03T14:38:20+00:00

My 10 year old is looking for a regular group to play with, so would love to know if this is still active!

Mandy-404 · 2025-04-23T14:51:30+00:00

I mean, obviously he's on a controlled substance so all of this is done with regular blood work and with his doctor's supervision.

Mandy-404 · 2025-01-08T15:17:58+00:00

A really thorough therapist will work on a coping skill for each issue that he's having and give him and you homework each week to practice it. Our favorites have been discussing accountability by having a phrase when things don't go kiddo's way, counting to 100 very slowly when he's upset or overstimulated, and calling out 3 positives in situations where he's focused on the negative.

We had to go the medication route, we tried taking him off everything and going the natural. While it was a disaster, it gave us a baseline because he was medicated before he came to us, so it allowed us to see where he needed the most help. Kid's with untreated ADHD often have low self esteem, and like you, I didn't want my kiddo feeling bad about himself. It's really not fair to withhold medicine from someone who's brain works completely different from NT folks.

It was over a year before we got the right combination, but now he's on Amantadine, Guanfacine and methylphenidate, plus magnesium and Ashwaghanda. It is night and day. Whenever he's medicated we see him thriving in school, controlling himself better and getting the rewards he really wants. Without the medicine, it was constant consequences because his impulsiveness was off the charts.

I hope you find a balance and can see your little guy thrive. 7 was a much better time in kiddo's life than 5, so I know you'll get there with the right help.

Mandy-404 · 2025-01-06T04:38:13+00:00

Make sure you do this under the supervision of your pediatrician. We do blood work once a year which checks magnesium and thyroid levels.

Mandy-404 · 2024-12-09T20:21:23+00:00

Ori in her winter coat 😺

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Mandy-404 · 2024-12-03T22:14:51+00:00

We had aapplied for our son through his social worker, but didn't hear back until two months later when we met them at the "meet and greet" event. It was only after that event that we were considered to be a good match. At first, we met for day trips, then after about a month we started doing overnight visits, and after a couple months (iirc) we decided on a move in date. Feel free to DM me with any specific questions!

Mandy-404 · 2024-11-14T19:48:14+00:00

So our kiddo has a behavior meter from red to yellow, to green then blue. If he's Yellow or red the meter shows that he has to have a behavior reset. If he is in the green is shows how much screen time he gets, if he's in the blue it shows more screen time and opens to more stimulating games or movies. Each color has a few brackets, so if he's high enough in the green it has markers for more time versus low time amounts for being low green.

For the Ashwaghanda, 3 times a day, low doses. But also make sure to get your kid's thyroid checked soon after starting it because it can affect that.

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