 | I am the mother of 4 children. Two girls, 24, and 16 and two boys, 23 and 10. I have a problem with ADHD. I dont believe it exists. My older son was diagnosed at age 9. Being a good parent I wanted to help him as much as I could so I listened to the teachers and the psychiatrist and I put my son on Ritalin. Today he is 23. He dropped out of high school at 16, despite the medication, special classes, and $350.00 a visit psychiatrist. As an adult he now tells me that the medication did not help him, it only put him in a "cloud". He was taunted by other kids, and teachers with comments like "take a chill pill".I also believe it lead to his drug use as a teenager. He now regrets not doing well in school. He is proud of his sisters, the older is a Marine, the younger is a honor student with plans to go to Law School. My youngest son is 10. He also is not fond of school. He disrupts the class, clowns around and rarely does his work. He is bright, but does not work to his potential. His FCAT scores are above average. A teacher suggested he be evaluated several years ago and I became almost hostile at the suggestion. I refuse to medicate this child and put him in a cloud so that the teachers do not have to deal with him. The medication turns an active, outgoing, smart child into a zombie. When we were children, boys were always louder, more aggressive, and more active than girls. Remember the expression "boys will be boys" Now every behaivor has a diagnosis attached to it. I now take more time to sit down with him everyday after school, go through his backpack, look at every paper, and let him know what my expectations are and together we are working to make school a better place for him. He has a quiz today on the states and capitals. Last night we reviewed them and he got them all right. I am hoping that by getting 100% on the quiz today, it will set the beginning of a pattern where he feels rewarded for his effort. A little bribery doesn't hurt either. We made a deal that if he does well all week and brings me a note each Friday, that week end we will do something for him such as a trip to the ice cream parlor, the beach etc: Ill let you know how it works. |
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