They likely grew up undiagnosed, untreated and struggling to survive in society, for their entire lives. (They had mental hospitals way back; must have been a terrible place! Now they just have prisons; probably an upgrade to the mental hospital.)
Before this, I had little understanding and thus little empathy for individuals with a mental disorder. I'd even say I was sceptical, as your question would seem to indicate you are. Today, I have a growing appreciation for the study of neuropsychology and the achievements and advancements they've made over the years.
They were called insane asylums. Jails contain a lot of people with mental illness.
If he is like mine he has alot of entergy and he is a boy and does not like to pay attention.......don't dope him up he will be a Zombie...He will grow out of it..
I often hand out a book, bringing up boys by Dr James dodson. Schools expect boys as students to act like girls and they can't adjust to confinement to a desk. They want to touch feel and explore.
My son in law has ADD. He is about 30 years old and has a Masters degree in business, is fluent in Spanish, etc BUT ADD is a huge problem in his life.
He had been on medication (adderal I believe) since he was young and it allows him to function. Like many of us he believes medication for ADD is over prescribed and some children who really are not ADD are diagnosed with it. He has discovered the hard way that he was not one of those children and must have the medication to be able to focus whether in school or on a job.
He decided a few years ago to forgo the medicene and just count on God to help him. For those two or so years he went through about four jobs. He could not focus and would say or do inappropriate things eventually that would get him fired.
Once he started back on the meds he got an excellent job and kept it for the three years until the Company pulled out of our state.
I can always tell if he has not taken his medication. The difference in behaviour is striking. If he is singing old negro spirituals loudly at 6:30 am then I know he has not taken his medication yet!
It sounds like you have spent considerable time making sure your son actually does have a problem beyond normal adolescent ones. With that in mind I would urge you to pursue the path of finding the proper medication to help him now so he does not get behind in school or his social development. I have no knowledge to suggest one medication over another but just to pursue finding one that works for him. I will be praying for you.
Great post
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Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. — André Gide
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds... - Ralph Waldo Emerson
My daughter is ADD and she wasn't diagnosed until she was a freshman in high school. So, it isn't just boys being boys or a behavioral problem. My daughter's is a processing issue.
Once she started medication she made straight A's. She tested gifted in a couple areas, but because she had a "mis-fire" or processing issue in her brain she couldn't always comprehend or retain information coming in.
She struggles with it at times as an adult in her job, but doesn't take medication now.
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Master of Science in Applied Disgruntled Religious Theorist Wrangling
PhD in Petulant Tantrum Quelling
Dean of the School of Hard Knocks
So you all are satisfied with the stimulant. Have you seen any downside, besides when the Dr. wanted to experiment?
Drummerboy, for Keith the stimulant is what works. The same may not be true for your son. You may have to go thru several different medications before you find the one that works best for him. Everyone's body chemistry is different and no one can know ahead of time which will work for him.
One of the things we have found with Keith is that after we knew he had to be on Adderall, then we had to figure out what the right dosage is FOR HIM. When he was on 20 mg of the Adderall XR, it just was not doing what he needed it to do. We finally ended up at 40 mg and that does the job for him. But before we settled on the 40 mg, the "team" (his pediatrician, the school representatives, ourselves and several others involved in his case) thought perhaps we should be giving him a booster dose of 20 mg of Adderall (not the XR) at 2:00 in the afternoon. It didn't take long to figure out that dose was far too much for his system. He turned into a zombie! We quickly backed off. Keith is 16 years old, so he is able to tell us if the medication is doing things to him that make him uncomfortable (occasionally, he'll tell us that it is making him concentrate TOO much! Imagine that!). Listen to your child. He'll know better than anyone else how HE is feeling
Good luck with this. It's a hard decision to make.
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Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of a battle ! ! ! !
I was diagnosed "Hyperactive" and Dyslexic. "Hyperactive" was the old term for what is now ADHD.
I got Ritalin back then and I think the dosage was higher than now. not sure but it seems that way.
I also knew several kids that were much like me but were just treated as behavioral problems. They ended up in Jail and I didnt.
That's so very interesting.
They say that the rates of diagnosis for ADD, ADHD, and PDD's are increasing dramaticly. I think the cases were always there but they were missed more often than not. Subsequently, the child grows into an adult without the ability of "self control" and the behaviour problems escalate into criminal activity. I have great empathy for these kids.
All I can say to a cynic; is that I hope they temper their skepticism with gratitude, that they and theirs don't have a developmental disorder.
I have ADHD and dyslexia. I understand fully that the diagnosis may be overdone however, I can attest that it is very real. those of us who live with this know for certain.
The only other thing that I would suggest DBDave, is that you sit your son down and have a very frank and honest discussion with him about it. You will be shocked at his ability (if you havent already) to take in the information and deal with it.
dont let it be an excuse for not being successful either. Everybody has to over come in life. this is his. He is fortunate to know early on what he must overcome. Lots of folks learn far too late.
Plus he has concerned and engaged parents! NOTHING is more important.
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
Ferd, I suffer from rather extreme dyslexia myself which is the main reason my posts tend to be rather short here. It takes a ridicules amount of effort to type several paragraphs and spend at least 5x as long proof reading and correct my flip-flopped words. This makes it all the more painful when I DO spend any amount of time thinking up a post only to have the main point(s) completely ignored by whoever I may be directing it at. It really REALLY forces me to carefully "pick my battles" as they tend to require a ton of effort and time on my part.
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