June 26, 2024 • 12 mins
In this episode, host Miriam Brown and PA Erin Coppin dive deep into the complexities of medication for treating ADHD in children. They explore the pros and cons of medication, discussing its impact on academic performance, social behavior, and self-esteem.
Erin shares her personal journey as a mom balancing her medical knowledge with her parental instincts, and the challenges her children faced with ADHD medication. The episode also covers alternative treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy and occupational therapy, weighing their effectiveness compared to stimulant medication.
Whether you're a parent grappling with treatment decisions or an educator seeking insights, this conversation offers valuable perspectives on helping children with ADHD thrive.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
My mom brain was like, but these are stimulants and they're,
you know, medication and I'm drugging my kids.
And so it took me a little bit to get my head around treating my daughter at first.
And then I started hearing things that were coming out of her mouth.
And when she would be trying something, she was taking piano lessons and was having a hard time.
(00:20):
And she was saying, well, but I'm dumb.
I can't learn. And she was having
some problems with friendships at school when she was in first grade.
And it was hard to hear that and to see that. And that was what really kind
of helped me go, okay, your medical brain knows this.
Your mom brain should listen to that.
Music.
(00:47):
Hello, I'm your host, Miriam Brown. In addition to my teaching certificate,
I have a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in curriculum and instruction.
I spent the last decade as a public school teacher, and I want to give you insider
tips on how to help your child do well in a system that might otherwise fail them.
Today, I'm talking with PA Erin Coffin.
This is part two of our ADHD series, and today we're going to be talking about ways you can treat ADHD.
(01:10):
Music.
First of all, I want to talk about medication and how you decided to choose
to do medication. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that?
I look at medication a little bit through two lenses, one through my parent
(01:30):
lens and one through my professional, my PA lens.
When I look at medication from a PA standpoint, the data is overwhelming.
Overwhelmingly clear that stimulant medication for kids with ADHD improves outcomes
and not just helps them get good grades,
but helps them to become confident learners and to feel that they can actually do these things.
(01:56):
But then also, they're much less likely to engage in risky behaviors like drug
use and oppositional defiant disorder, petty theft, and falling in with the
the wrong crowd, the troublemakers, that kind of stuff.
And these are all things that kids with ADHD are at high risk for.
And the data overwhelmingly shows that if you diagnose a kid in elementary school
(02:20):
and get them started on stimulant medication, that they are much less likely
as teenagers to get involved in that stuff.
I think another thing sometimes parents don't take into account is how it affects
them with their friends.
I remember I had a student that had forgotten to take his medicine.
And one of his friends got out of his class early to run to my class to warn
(02:43):
me, the student didn't take his medication today, Mrs. Brown,
and he can't sit with the other kids.
And I think it's not just the teacher, but lots of times they'll do bothersome
things to other kids and it can hurt their friendships and isolate them.
Yeah, that's totally true.
Kids with ADHD tend to be more impulsive. And with friends, they tend to do
(03:05):
things that bother their friends.
And when they're on medication and they're able to focus, they tend to be less impulsive like that.
And so, yeah, that is definitely another thing that we see with kids with ADHD,
that when they do take stimulant medication, we see improvements in that social
behavior, which makes a huge difference.
And all of those kind of things in my medical brain, I could look at that and
(03:28):
say, yes, those are things that I want for my kids. But my mom brain was like,
but these are stimulants and they're, you know, medication and I'm drugging my kids.
And so it took me a little bit to get my head around treating my daughter at
first. And then I started hearing things that were coming out of her mouth.
And when she would be trying something, she was taking piano lessons and was having a hard time.
(03:52):
And she was saying, well, I'm dumb. I can't learn.
And she was having some problems with friendships at school when she was in first grade.
And it was hard to hear that and to see that. And that was what really kind
of helped me go, OK, your medical brain knows this.
Your mom brain should listen to that. We started her on medication and it took
(04:13):
a little bit of time and fine tuning and finding the right medication.
And it wasn't like we found the right medication that's been the same forever.
There's been changes over time. And as kids grow and metabolism changes,
sometimes we have to change their medication.
Right now she's in eighth grade and in the midst of puberty and that.
Changes how kids respond to medication and everything. There are other,
(04:36):
I guess, social implications with taking medication.
My daughter struggled with medication because she feels like she's different than all her friends.
And she's one who is super open and cannot keep a secret.
And we told her she doesn't have to tell the other kids that she has ADHD.
She doesn't have to tell them that she's on medication.
That's not something that she keeps to herself.
(04:58):
And so her whole class knows that she has to take a pill and she has ADHD.
And people would tell her, well, you're just smart because you take a pill to make you smart.
So that was hard for her. And a lot of times she started hiding her pill and
we'd find pills hidden around the house and realize that she wasn't taking them.
So we've gone through lots of different iterations with medication and how well she's taking it.
(05:20):
And so even though the stimulants do seem to help with focus and help with a
lot of these other impulsive things that kids with ADHD struggle with.
There's their own feelings about it. So we've tried also to give our kids some
say in what medication or how or when we're using medication.
And that has gone okay and not so okay at times.
(05:42):
My son was on a stimulant for probably about two years after he was diagnosed
and was doing great, I thought.
And then I think about seventh grade, he was saying, Mom, I don't like taking
the medication because he loves to do art.
And he felt like the medication was taking away that creative side and taking away his fun ideas.
(06:05):
And as his teacher, I don't know how much you loved always his fun ideas because
sometimes some of his fun ideas are like pranks. So I don't know.
But so in seventh grade, we said, OK, well, let's see how it goes.
And we noticed his grades did drop off. We've gone back and forth about should
he have to be on medication or not.
(06:26):
And for the most part, he has not.
And some of those things that I've worried about teens, we're seeing that lack
of self-esteem. I mean, I have guilt as a mom.
Like, should I have pushed him harder to stay on the medication?
And still now, do I need to make him go back on it? So those are things that
we still struggle with as a family trying to decide on medication.
(06:49):
When they have ADHD, they're impulsive
and it can be frustrating for like parents and teachers and peers.
So they're receiving a lot of negative messaging and it's really hard to have
a good self-esteem when you're constantly getting negative feedback from everyone around you.
I think sometimes people think you're just putting them on the medication just
to make it easier for teachers or to help them get good grades.
(07:12):
But it's not just school. It really does affect so many aspects of their life.
So do your children tend to go off their medications in the summer or on weekends
or how do you handle that?
Yeah, that's for the most part because my kids have not loved to take medication.
Usually we give them
(07:33):
drug holidays on the weekends and in the
summertime there's there have been times like I said we had my daughter on a
non-stimulant and that one had to be taken daily for it to be effective and
so that that was a little bit more of a fight with just taking the pill every
day she felt like I don't need it on the weekends.
(07:55):
But in order for it to continue to be effective, we had to take it daily.
And then the other thing is, the other consideration with medication is that
the weekends and the home,
like the after school time that we sometimes have to actually pay attention
to because all of that time with family, if they're behavioral,
(08:15):
impulse control issues,
kids can really struggle feeling like they're always in trouble with mom and dad.
And mom and dad are always mad at them because they're having a hard time with behavior.
And so sometimes it does help to continue medication later in the day or use
a medication that works through the evening time or helps on the weekend.
(08:39):
Or sometimes you do have to do homework and chores and things like that that
you do need focus on the weekend. And so everybody's different.
For the most part, we've tried as a family to say, OK, we can work through some
of these other behaviors and we will deal with them in order to focus on helping
our kids do well in school.
(08:59):
But I think that's a decision that everybody makes themselves.
So and how the family life is working.
For parents that don't want to medicate, what are some things you can do without medication?
Medication so we have also in
addition to medication but this is what a lot of times parents
will will look into as
(09:22):
well cognitive behavioral therapy so working with a counselor and both of my
kids have their own counselors that they see and then occupational therapy is
another thing that can help a lot my daughter has has done occupational therapy
and the therapist has helped her with,
you know, bringing in her school computer and helping her get that organized
(09:44):
and bringing in her bag and going through and helping her to create organizational
strategies that work for her.
And then they also play games. And so it's therapy that seems like fun that she really enjoys,
but they play games that require her to pay attention to multiple things at
the same time or that require her to follow multi-step instructions and things like that.
(10:07):
So those are are some strategies and there is data that those can be helpful.
I don't want to diminish that they can be helpful. And a lot of parents do find
a lot of benefit from them.
But we don't see as much of the improvement in those outcomes,
like I said, through those teen years, those antisocial behaviors or decreased
(10:30):
sexual activity or decreased drug use in kids with ADHD who only utilize behavioral
therapies, unfortunately.
So they're definitely helpful. And a lot of times we as parents want to say,
well, I want to try those first and see if they work from a provider standpoint
and looking at the research.
The other thing that I see is there is this small window where you can really
(10:53):
make a big difference in this child's life and you can really change that trajectory.
So I look at the research on that more, I guess, and try to balance it out.
I think what you're trying to say is there's disadvantages to waiting on the medication.
And I don't know why we're so hesitant, but I see a lot of parents that'll want to try diet first.
(11:16):
And I don't know if it's just denial that, like, I went through when I had a
chronic disease denying that I needed medication.
So I don't know if that's just a natural part of coming to accept that they
need medication, but I think keeping in mind that there might be a disadvantage
to waiting for the medication as well.
I don't know if that happens with people who find out their kid has diabetes
(11:39):
or something. Are they also hesitant to want to use medication?
I noticed that I did that as well, even with, you know, ulcerative colitis.
Music.
(12:00):
So, stimulant medication really is the gold standard for treating ADHD.
And there are some other therapies you can do as well to help on top of the stimulant medication.
But when you're making your decision about whether or not to medicate,
it's a good idea to think about the disadvantages of not medicating your child,
not just on their academics,
(12:21):
but also on their relationships and their self-esteem and some of their impulsive
choices that they might make that really could negatively impact their life.
I hope this discussion helped you and we'll see you next time when we talk about
doing homework with your ADHD child.
Music.
My mom brain was like, but these are stimulants and they're,
you know, medication and I'm drugging my kids.
And so it took me a little bit to get my head around treating my daughter at first.
And then I started hearing things that were coming out of her mouth.
And when she would be trying something, she was taking piano lessons and was having a hard time.
(00:20):
And she was saying, well, but I'm dumb.
I can't learn. And she was having
some problems with friendships at school when she was in first grade.
And it was hard to hear that and to see that. And that was what really kind
of helped me go, okay, your medical brain knows this.
Your mom brain should listen to that.
Music.
(00:47):
Hello, I'm your host, Miriam Brown. In addition to my teaching certificate,
I have a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in curriculum and instruction.
I spent the last decade as a public school teacher, and I want to give you insider
tips on how to help your child do well in a system that might otherwise fail them.
Today, I'm talking with PA Erin Coffin.
This is part two of our ADHD series, and today we're going to be talking about ways you can treat ADHD.
(01:10):
Music.
First of all, I want to talk about medication and how you decided to choose
to do medication. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that?
I look at medication a little bit through two lenses, one through my parent
(01:30):
lens and one through my professional, my PA lens.
When I look at medication from a PA standpoint, the data is overwhelming.
Overwhelmingly clear that stimulant medication for kids with ADHD improves outcomes
and not just helps them get good grades,
but helps them to become confident learners and to feel that they can actually do these things.
(01:56):
But then also, they're much less likely to engage in risky behaviors like drug
use and oppositional defiant disorder, petty theft, and falling in with the
the wrong crowd, the troublemakers, that kind of stuff.
And these are all things that kids with ADHD are at high risk for.
And the data overwhelmingly shows that if you diagnose a kid in elementary school
(02:20):
and get them started on stimulant medication, that they are much less likely
as teenagers to get involved in that stuff.
I think another thing sometimes parents don't take into account is how it affects
them with their friends.
I remember I had a student that had forgotten to take his medicine.
And one of his friends got out of his class early to run to my class to warn
(02:43):
me, the student didn't take his medication today, Mrs. Brown,
and he can't sit with the other kids.
And I think it's not just the teacher, but lots of times they'll do bothersome
things to other kids and it can hurt their friendships and isolate them.
Yeah, that's totally true.
Kids with ADHD tend to be more impulsive. And with friends, they tend to do
(03:05):
things that bother their friends.
And when they're on medication and they're able to focus, they tend to be less impulsive like that.
And so, yeah, that is definitely another thing that we see with kids with ADHD,
that when they do take stimulant medication, we see improvements in that social
behavior, which makes a huge difference.
And all of those kind of things in my medical brain, I could look at that and
(03:28):
say, yes, those are things that I want for my kids. But my mom brain was like,
but these are stimulants and they're, you know, medication and I'm drugging my kids.
And so it took me a little bit to get my head around treating my daughter at
first. And then I started hearing things that were coming out of her mouth.
And when she would be trying something, she was taking piano lessons and was having a hard time.
(03:52):
And she was saying, well, I'm dumb. I can't learn.
And she was having some problems with friendships at school when she was in first grade.
And it was hard to hear that and to see that. And that was what really kind
of helped me go, OK, your medical brain knows this.
Your mom brain should listen to that. We started her on medication and it took
(04:13):
a little bit of time and fine tuning and finding the right medication.
And it wasn't like we found the right medication that's been the same forever.
There's been changes over time. And as kids grow and metabolism changes,
sometimes we have to change their medication.
Right now she's in eighth grade and in the midst of puberty and that.
Changes how kids respond to medication and everything. There are other,
(04:36):
I guess, social implications with taking medication.
My daughter struggled with medication because she feels like she's different than all her friends.
And she's one who is super open and cannot keep a secret.
And we told her she doesn't have to tell the other kids that she has ADHD.
She doesn't have to tell them that she's on medication.
That's not something that she keeps to herself.
(04:58):
And so her whole class knows that she has to take a pill and she has ADHD.
And people would tell her, well, you're just smart because you take a pill to make you smart.
So that was hard for her. And a lot of times she started hiding her pill and
we'd find pills hidden around the house and realize that she wasn't taking them.
So we've gone through lots of different iterations with medication and how well she's taking it.
(05:20):
And so even though the stimulants do seem to help with focus and help with a
lot of these other impulsive things that kids with ADHD struggle with.
There's their own feelings about it. So we've tried also to give our kids some
say in what medication or how or when we're using medication.
And that has gone okay and not so okay at times.
(05:42):
My son was on a stimulant for probably about two years after he was diagnosed
and was doing great, I thought.
And then I think about seventh grade, he was saying, Mom, I don't like taking
the medication because he loves to do art.
And he felt like the medication was taking away that creative side and taking away his fun ideas.
(06:05):
And as his teacher, I don't know how much you loved always his fun ideas because
sometimes some of his fun ideas are like pranks. So I don't know.
But so in seventh grade, we said, OK, well, let's see how it goes.
And we noticed his grades did drop off. We've gone back and forth about should
he have to be on medication or not.
(06:26):
And for the most part, he has not.
And some of those things that I've worried about teens, we're seeing that lack
of self-esteem. I mean, I have guilt as a mom.
Like, should I have pushed him harder to stay on the medication?
And still now, do I need to make him go back on it? So those are things that
we still struggle with as a family trying to decide on medication.
(06:49):
When they have ADHD, they're impulsive
and it can be frustrating for like parents and teachers and peers.
So they're receiving a lot of negative messaging and it's really hard to have
a good self-esteem when you're constantly getting negative feedback from everyone around you.
I think sometimes people think you're just putting them on the medication just
to make it easier for teachers or to help them get good grades.
(07:12):
But it's not just school. It really does affect so many aspects of their life.
So do your children tend to go off their medications in the summer or on weekends
or how do you handle that?
Yeah, that's for the most part because my kids have not loved to take medication.
Usually we give them
(07:33):
drug holidays on the weekends and in the
summertime there's there have been times like I said we had my daughter on a
non-stimulant and that one had to be taken daily for it to be effective and
so that that was a little bit more of a fight with just taking the pill every
day she felt like I don't need it on the weekends.
(07:55):
But in order for it to continue to be effective, we had to take it daily.
And then the other thing is, the other consideration with medication is that
the weekends and the home,
like the after school time that we sometimes have to actually pay attention
to because all of that time with family, if they're behavioral,
(08:15):
impulse control issues,
kids can really struggle feeling like they're always in trouble with mom and dad.
And mom and dad are always mad at them because they're having a hard time with behavior.
And so sometimes it does help to continue medication later in the day or use
a medication that works through the evening time or helps on the weekend.
(08:39):
Or sometimes you do have to do homework and chores and things like that that
you do need focus on the weekend. And so everybody's different.
For the most part, we've tried as a family to say, OK, we can work through some
of these other behaviors and we will deal with them in order to focus on helping
our kids do well in school.
(08:59):
But I think that's a decision that everybody makes themselves.
So and how the family life is working.
For parents that don't want to medicate, what are some things you can do without medication?
Medication so we have also in
addition to medication but this is what a lot of times parents
will will look into as
(09:22):
well cognitive behavioral therapy so working with a counselor and both of my
kids have their own counselors that they see and then occupational therapy is
another thing that can help a lot my daughter has has done occupational therapy
and the therapist has helped her with,
you know, bringing in her school computer and helping her get that organized
(09:44):
and bringing in her bag and going through and helping her to create organizational
strategies that work for her.
And then they also play games. And so it's therapy that seems like fun that she really enjoys,
but they play games that require her to pay attention to multiple things at
the same time or that require her to follow multi-step instructions and things like that.
(10:07):
So those are are some strategies and there is data that those can be helpful.
I don't want to diminish that they can be helpful. And a lot of parents do find
a lot of benefit from them.
But we don't see as much of the improvement in those outcomes,
like I said, through those teen years, those antisocial behaviors or decreased
(10:30):
sexual activity or decreased drug use in kids with ADHD who only utilize behavioral
therapies, unfortunately.
So they're definitely helpful. And a lot of times we as parents want to say,
well, I want to try those first and see if they work from a provider standpoint
and looking at the research.
The other thing that I see is there is this small window where you can really
(10:53):
make a big difference in this child's life and you can really change that trajectory.
So I look at the research on that more, I guess, and try to balance it out.
I think what you're trying to say is there's disadvantages to waiting on the medication.
And I don't know why we're so hesitant, but I see a lot of parents that'll want to try diet first.
(11:16):
And I don't know if it's just denial that, like, I went through when I had a
chronic disease denying that I needed medication.
So I don't know if that's just a natural part of coming to accept that they
need medication, but I think keeping in mind that there might be a disadvantage
to waiting for the medication as well.
I don't know if that happens with people who find out their kid has diabetes
(11:39):
or something. Are they also hesitant to want to use medication?
I noticed that I did that as well, even with, you know, ulcerative colitis.
Music.
(12:00):
So, stimulant medication really is the gold standard for treating ADHD.
And there are some other therapies you can do as well to help on top of the stimulant medication.
But when you're making your decision about whether or not to medicate,
it's a good idea to think about the disadvantages of not medicating your child,
not just on their academics,
(12:21):
but also on their relationships and their self-esteem and some of their impulsive
choices that they might make that really could negatively impact their life.
I hope this discussion helped you and we'll see you next time when we talk about
doing homework with your ADHD child.
Music.
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