Is aggression towads smaller things normal for a 6yr old with ADHD?

Question:

My 6yr old has alot of aggression towards dogs and cats. She was diagnosed with ADHD last year and has been taking meds for it. I let her slack off on taking them in the summer and now she has been beating, kicking, and throwing my dogs around with no explanation except that she just "feels angry". I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences with anything like this. Thanks

Answers:
Hi B Carrots. I am a Mental Health Clinician, and I know that a substantial portion of children that suffer from ADHD are also diagnosed with Conduct Disorder. Are you familiar with this disruptive behavioral disorder? The criteria for Conduct Disorder is:
-Aggressive conduct that causes or threatens physical harm to other people or animals.
-Nonaggressive conduct that causes property loss or damage.
-Deceitfulness or theft.
-Serious violation of rules.
Now, three or more of these characteristics have to be present for the last 12 months. I would continue to monitor her behavior, document what occurred and discuss immediately with your mental health clinician who is treating her. I am not by any means stating that your daughter has Conduct Disorder, but you must ensure that you document her behavior, and discuss behavioral modification tactics that will help you better parent your child.

Other Answers:
Why in the world would you take a kid off meds for the summer? They don't stop needing them.

Give the kid the meds he needs. Then you won't worry about the problems you are seeing when you take him off.

Absolutely not! Put her back on the medication immediately, separate her from the dogs and get her back in the doctors office STAT! A councilor would probably be in order too! This is fairly common for ADHD kids, but is never acceptable. If she does it now, and no one addresses it it will get worse and worse! A coworkers grandchild killed their dog and nearly killed their infant daughter when he was off of his medication. You should take this *very* seriously! Lots of kids with ADHD have trouble controlling their impulses, but if your daughter is feeling the impulse to injure animals, then there may be other issues. Be strict about telling your daughter she cannot hurt the animals, and teach her other choices for how to deal with her anger. I once worked with a little boy who would lash out at other children as well as pets at home when he was angry. We made him a poster with pictures of all the different things he could do when he felt angry, such as finding a grown up and talking, writing angry words or drawing an angry picture, taking a sensory break, etc.

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Is aggression towads smaller things normal for a 6yr old with ADHD?

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