The Adderall Experience

Every time I take Logan to the doctor, they ask if he has any allergies to medication. Every time I answer Adderall.
Today he asked why.

"Mom, why am I allergic to Adderall?"
"Allergies can mean many things - it basically means you have a not normal reaction to something you put in or on your body."
"What happens if I take Adderall?"

That was a question I really didn't want to answer. I don't want to go back to that experience. It happened when he was four. The answer is "A complete psychotic break", but I didn't want to tell him that.

"It makes you not sleep."
"How long did I not sleep for?"
"Three days."
"Wow, I bet I was tired after that."

What really happened was this: Our pediatrician decided to switch him from Ritilan to Adderall. He didn't sleep for 48 hours. He had a complete meltdown and attacked me. I had scratches and bruises all over my body from a four-year-old beating the crap out of me. After a full day of being beaten, I knew it wasn't going to stop and that we had to go see a doctor. I knew it was related to the switch in his medication. I had to sit on him just to get him into his car seat. While we were driving, he continuously yanked my head back by my pony tail in the car. It took everything I had not to break down myself. I was on auto-pilot. When I got to the office, I was restraining him with both my arms and my legs and he was flailing with all of his might and screaming at the top of his lungs. The woman at the front desk told me to have a seat in the waiting room. Um, how about you put me in a room? Do you see what I'm dealing with? My eyes were glazed over and I was shaking. They brought us to a room.
He continued to flail, bite, scratch, kick and scream in the room as I restrained him. This had been going on for hours at this point and I was bleeding and bruised. When our pediatrician finally walked in the room, the tears came down. I had nothing left. She called an ambulance and he was transferred to Children's. They kept us until the medication wore off and he fell asleep.
Not many people can understand this. Not many people can understand the pain, endurance and patience needed with a child with ASD. Luckily we have moved beyond his aggressive behavior thanks to medication, therapy and some excellent teachers and psychologists. He hasn't had aggressive behavior in several years - but many families aren't so lucky. I thank God every time I recall this experience that we no longer have to deal with situations like this.