Aspies For Freedom

My aspie son has taken this drug Concerta since 7 years. Now we have serious meltdown issues with him.

Has anyone experience with this drug? Does it increase violent outbursts?

Docs, both medical and psychiatrist agree, said that he didn't want to use Ritalin to handle his impulsivity when young. So he uses drug Concerta. Strangely I find out there's no difference between either drug.

Son was said to have elements of attention deficit.

Any experience?

How long has he been taking it now? Meltdown can happen for a lot of reasons, has anything changed, or can he tell you anything that is bothering him?

Concerta is time released ritalin. If you feel it could be the concerta, can you stop it for 2 weeks to assess if there's a difference?

Have you heard of strattera for ADHD? It doesn't work in the same way as ritalin does.

I have not heard of strattera. My son was never diagnosed ADHD, only told he had some symptoms. Very impulsive and stuff, even when a young toddler.

Has been taking Concerta for about four years. Has been OK with it until now. All of a sudden he has a violent side. School now wants him to see some sort of neurologist. He rips his clothes off when in detention.

I did not want him on drugs. Nor did my husband. I heard about horrors of Ritalin. The school made us do it. They said he had to be on it or they will take us to court. The principal claimed he was too impulsive and distractive without.

I find him to be less impulsive and more controlling when on computer. I take him places and he is usually fine. Only when repromanded does he do this stuff. Also out of frustration. He was on computer yesterday and he cursed because he something didn't go his way. He cursed loudly, and thinking I was asleep. He sleeps erratically. I said nothing, because all hell now breaks loose if I or my husband confronts him. At school there is no violence. Only bizarre stuff. Ripping off his short and shredding it and throwing it on the floor. That sort of stuff. Told teacher last week he was going to "flash" some students if detention wasn't lifted. This kind of things.

I did not want him on drugs. Nor did my husband. I heard about horrors of Ritalin. The school made us do it. They said he had to be on it or they will take us to court. The principal claimed he was too impulsive and distractive without.


Where on earth do you live??? A school cannot take you to court for that.

He was on computer yesterday and he cursed because he something didn't go his way. He cursed loudly, and thinking I was asleep. He sleeps erratically.

I do that too, a lot of people swear when something frustrates them, its human nature. A high percentage of people on the spectrum have sleep disorders too.

They didn't tell me they were going to take me to court. I kind of screwed up with my explanation here.

I told them that I will take them to court if need be. That was four years back. Sorry, my mistake. What happened was they told me that they will not accept him unless he was on meds. I threatened to take them to court. I was later told that the court might order him on meds if proven he was too impulsive or disruptive. I chose not to go to court. I thought maybe it won't be a bad idea.

Does your child go to private school? Public school cannot require you to medicate a child for ADHD in order to allow him to attend--they can't even threaten that.

Concerta is the same thing as Ritalin, so I can't see why they wouldn't have wanted to use Ritalin, unless they were looking for a time-released option.

And yes, the bounce back on Concerta can be quite rough and can change as your child's body changes. What works at one age, may not work later.

My son was on concerta for a while, but as he got older he didn't respond well to it.  He started having more violent outbursts.  We went to the strattera for a couple of years.  He did great.  Now he is almost 14 and does not take anything for his ADHD.  He is very hyper still and you really have to keep his attention, but he is more able to control his ADHD and is doing very well.

Maybe your son just needs a break from the meds?  Or maybe his hormones are different and he needs something different.

When I converted it to instant release it REALLY overstimulated me.

Then again, I cannot even stand caffeine, I have that on standby for emergencies.

I'm on Ritalin SR, no big difference between Concerta and it other than Concerta supposedly lasts longer is all I've read. I'm going to bring this up to my dr. but at times, my appetite is near gone and if I miss a dose, I feel really irritable. It's frustrating.

I didn't want to put my daughter on drugs either but I tried her on the concerta and so far (3 Years) so good, we always tried to start her out at the first of the year without it but she can't get through without it, with it she is focused, gets her work done and without it she is very easily distracted and makes failing grades which upsets her becuase she is VERY smart. She hasn't had any negative effects from the drug, maybe something else is going on with your son. I know my daughter has some bad days when nothing could make her happy.  Oh my daughter has aspergers with adhd. Last year she had an awlful year and I think it was because her and her teacher didn't jive!!
Keep your chin up and never stop exploring what else might be going on...

Trevor was on it for ADHD. He would have violent outbursts in the AM before he got his pill and when it wore off in the afternoon he was very moody. Not sure if this helps, but yes Trevor did have out bursts on that drug.