 | Dear jbsmom,
Did you also call all of the psychiatrists in the area? A psychologist can't prescribe
medication anyway, and unless your son is comorbid (suffers from another problem along
with ADD, such as chronic depression, obsessive compulsive behavior) you do not need
to have him see a therapist other than for diagnosis and medication, as this is not a mental
illness, but rather a learning disability.) I am not sure, however if psychiatrists do their own evaluations or not. If not, another possibility is to ask your new school to reevaluate your son using the Connor's Rating Test, and give you a copy of the results. If he does indeed have ADD, take the results of
this test to either a psychiatrist or your general practitioner and ask him/her to prescribe medication. A good family
doctor will work with you just as a psychiatrist would by prescribing low doses of
medication and then monitoring your son to see how he is doing. He/she should be willing
to try different medications until you find one that works for your son. It would be best, however, to see a psychiatrist at least initially (they know better which medications generally have less side effects) if you are willing to take that long drive once or twice if you can't find one in your area. You can also get a pretty good idea of whether or not your child suffers from ADD/ADHD by doing you own
evaluation. In the book, Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey, there is a list of questions that you and your son should go through (please let your son evaluate himself, as he is the best gauge of what is really going on.) Although I understand you do want to see someone so you can get him on
medication, in the meantime you can find ways to support your son by reading the
coaching section. The coach should be someone whom your son feels is nonjudgemental
and has a good relationship with. It must be someone who is patient and your son is
willing to work with. You, another family member (favorite aunt or uncle), a volunteer, family friend, etc. are options. Big Brother/Big Sister is an excellent program which you may be able to sign up for (I don't know the criteria)but they will assign a male who can befriend him, and may be willing to be his coach if you show him how. Even if they do not coach him, but just be his friend, this may help
tremendously as far as his self esteem. In addition, The National Coaching Association
will give you a list of coaches who specialize in ADD in your area, although they may
charge. They can be found online by doing a search. You can also see if there are any
C.H.A.D.D. support groups in your area. Other people who have been through this
already can be an excellent source of help. They have topics you can look up online as
well.
Your son should read up on ADD as well. Again, the Hallowell & Ratey book is an
excellent place to start. Point out to him all of the positive aspects, (e.g. that ADD can be
looked upon as a gift when the proper outlet for all of his energy is found, that many
famous, intelligent people have/had ADD--provide examples.) Explain to him what ADD
is/isn't, and how coaching can help.
PLEASE above all, don't sound in despair for an answer. As hard as it is to be positive,
just have hope. The last thing your son needs to feel is that his is a hopeless case. Even
if you don't make progress, keep trying. At least you may be able to keep him from
slipping further (getting into drugs, etc.) Be patient with him. Give him a chance to
accept your help (this may take awhile). His initial reaction to help may be negative, as
most intelligent teenagers want to be able to do things on their own, and do not wish to
admit they have a problem.
I am willing to share more (the message board limits the amount of characters to 4000 which I had reached and had to cut back)if you would like to email me at siberian67@att.net. Good luck! |
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