Child Refuses to Take ADHD Medication

My youngest grandson, age 6 (adopted last Nov.),was diagnosed in December with ADHD. Last month he started to balk at taking his medication. This has gotten to the point that he gets so upset he will throw it up. I have tried every avenue to help him with this aversion he has with them so suddenly. I have talked to his Dr about this behavior and she suggested taking the medication with a little chocolate. This worked for awhile and now this doesn't help. Every morning it is a battle. Patience is running thin. Any suggestions? Help!

Thank you for contacting the Boys Town National Hotline. It's wonderful that you are trying to help your grandson! Six-year-olds can sometimes behave irrationally and unexplainably. When it comes to taking needed medication, it can sometimes seem impossible to get them to take it.

The first thing that you may want to resolve is WHY your grandson may be refusing to take the medication. Does it make him not feel well? Does he have a difficult time swallowing it? Does he realize that everyone in his family wants/expects him to take it, and by not doing so, he believes that he can control something and likes it?

After you find the reason for his refusal, next comes the empathy that he deserves. If the medication makes him feel ill, provide an example of how one time you felt the same way. If he has difficulty swallowing it, try describing to him how that feels for you too when you have to swallow something big like that. If your grandson is looking for ways to have control in his life, talk about how you dislike it when other people try to make decisions for you too. Children and their grandparents seem to have this special bond that they understand one another when life issues arise. Let your grandson know that he can come to you when he feels that his parents just aren't "getting" him. Providing empathy in our children's lives helps kids to do the things that we expect them to do.

Last of all, try to implement some help for your grandson. Talking to his pediatrician is a great idea. She perhaps has a multitude of "tricks" that she has devised after servicing so many children as her patients. It's okay to call her back again and let her know that the chocolate idea is currently not working anymore. If the medication makes your grandson feel ill, see if eating extra food or having a special drink, when it's time to take the medication, may help absorb the medication once it is in his stomach. If he is having difficulty swallowing, have him practice getting his throat used to it by swallowing small, whole, seedless grapes. Let him know that his throat can do it; he just needs to relax the muscles around it first. If refusing to take his medication is an apparent "control" issue for your grandson, negotiate with him. What positive reward can he earn if he takes his medication tomorrow morning? Or what could he earn if he goes a week of taking his medication and not complaining about it? Allow your grandson to come up with this decision because it is giving control to him, and he will appreciate it.

If you need additional help with this, feel free to call us at: 1-800-448-3000 or email us again. Good luck, and let us know how it goes! Take care of yourself!

Sincerely,
Jacque

< Return to List