6-year old boy, 115% height, 120% weight, sensory-seeker, I.E.P.; 2x OT, 2X Speech, 2X Counseling, 98% G&T, diagnosed as hyperactive/impulsive w/ no separate attention disorder. 5mg Focalin XR made considerable improvements at home but little discernable difference at school. 10mg made instantaneous improvement at school. Model student who now looks forward to school and interacting with classmates. Initially emotionally unsettled but much more able to articulate his feelings and frustrations. Regained his emotional equilibrium after a few days. No personality change. Side affects are loss of appetite (a good thing for his size), difficulty falling to sleep (1/2 tab of 3mg melatonin works). He takes a med holiday on weekends and the summer but I am almost tempted to keep him on but won't. I feed him well in the morning to help him get thru the day and have snacks at the ready after school. We got lucky... I hope you do too.

My four year old son was getting in trouble EVERY day at pre-school/day care. He was hitting, pinching, spitting, not minding, disrupting class, etc. After several sessions with a counselor, we decided that medication was necessary. He started on Focalin XR in December and has shown great improvement. He is on 5mg, once a day. As for side effects, he lost one pound the first month, but gained two the second. He has no trouble going to sleep, or any other side effects. However, we are now into month 3 and I truly believe we need to up the dosage. The last couple of days he has had had outbreaks of bad behavior, not at school, but at home. He is rebellious, sassy, and sometimes mean. The Focalin is supposed to be an 8-10 hour relief, but when it wears off, we all know it. Sometimes, it happens after he has had the meds, but these "fits" usually only last about 10 minutes and then he is fine. Has anyone else had this problem?

My son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5. I struggled to keep him on non-stimulant medications and we tried every variation possible but they just did not work well for him. Finally we started him on FocalinXR 5mg. and immediately noticed a big difference both at school and at home, however it seemed to wear off right about the time he gets home. We decided to up the dosage to 10 mg. He has been on this medication going on 2 months now and is doing great! Night and day difference. He is doing great in school and a lot better at home too! I have a amazing son, I love being around him SO much more when his ADHD is under is under control! (:

My son started out on the Focalin XR. It was nice because we could open the capsule and sprinle the beads on applesauce because he cant swallow a pill. The exteneded release however lasted too long for my son and it was keepin him up half the night. We have switched him to the short acting Focalin which he takes twice a day and it is working much better for us.

My 8 year old daughter has been on focalin 15mg since May and it seems to help her greatly. The only problem that I have is that when she starts to come down off the meds for the days she gets very emotional. I basically have to make to sure to get homework and other chores done before she comes down. I know it is coming every nite so I work around it. I like the fact that she is 1000 times better in school.

my son is 9yrs.old.andhas been taking this medicine for about a year.It worked great at first but now It wears off to quickly and has been showing signs of aggression and other abnormal behaviors.

I have a 7 year old boy with ADHD who I contemplated on putting on meds. ( Being that I have ADD and was on Ritalin when I was in school.... hated it, by the way!) Anyway, he's only been on Focalin XR extended release 5 mgs for three days, but his teacher and I have seen a dramatic changes in his behavior, schoolwork and overall demeanor. I know that it's early, But... his sleeping has also changed. He's much better! I don't think I will keep him on it because of the risk of dependency, but at least to get him through the early school years hopefully will be good enough. Good Luck.

My 7 year old son has been on this medicine for about 1 month 10mg. we have to put it in applesauce because he cannot swallow the pill, however it was convenient and it does not have bad taste. My son was going to be held back in the 1st grade if he did not show any improvement fast. And this medicine is working very well he can pay attention and actually can sit still to do his work, his teacher is AMAZED! and is very proud to see him doing so good. However, coming off the medication is terrible! he gets angry, mean, and uncontrollable sometimes, I think that after the school year is over I will change the medicine to something else.