Life With ADHD

WEBMD says ADHD is a disorder that affects 3%-5% of children, but they think that it is actually more.  ADHD causes hyperactivity, impulsiveness, inability to pay attention, bouncing, jittering, etc, etc.  It is a mental disorder where the symptoms can be controlled usually, but the disorder is not cureable.  They say some grow out of it, but others say that is doubtful, it just changes.  Some are able to control it with diet and exercise.  Some have to be on medication.  There are all kinds of medicine for ADHD.  Some are stimulants which have the opposite affect on ADHD kids than kids that don't have the disorder.  There are also some that are nonstimulant. 

My son has been diagnosed with ADHD (I'm pretty sure my daughter is too, but it is more difficult to get a diagnosis in a girl because it shows up differently in girls).  When his pediatrician diagnosed him, he said he knew within 30 seconds he knew he was ADHD.  We tried several different kinds of medicine and we have finally found some that was a life saver!!  Although, it is not a miracle pill.  He all of sudden doesn't have good grades, he has to work at that and he refuses to do that.  When his meds wear off, life in our house is NOT easy sometimes.  It is a huge battle to get homework done, to get him to focus on getting chores done, constant arguing, talking back, screaming, yelling, aggressiveness, weird noises, huge meltdowns, impulsiveness, constant talking and if there is any kind of stimulation at all, you can forget about going to bed easily.  It isn't all the time mind you, but pretty constant.  One example is when I take him in for his 4 month check up to see how the meds are working, the Dr. starts talking to him about his grades and taking responsibility for his actions.  My boy is looking everywhere but at the Dr. and will say, "I love camping."  The last time we were there he said, "I want to learn how to shoot a gun."  The Dr. said, "If I have any kind of say in this, it will not happen.  I will write a letter to your boy scout leader and tell him it is not a good idea!"  I got a good laugh out of that one. 

It is a constant battle of trying to teach him how to make good decisions and thinking about things before he does them.  He is a sweet and good hearted kid.  He loves to help people more than anything.  Just keeping him calm is a whole different story!

Yesterday I thought I forgot to leave his pill on the table.  I called and asked him if his pill was on the table and he said no.  Oh great.  I texted his teacher and said, "I really hate to tell you this, but I forgot to give him his pill so it could be a difficult day."  She wrote back and said, "Thanks for the warning.  Pray for us!"  It is good to have a sense of humor about it because if you don't it can drive you crazy!

He got in trouble yesterday for lying.  Because he continued to lie to me after I confronted him, he ended up getting grounded from a camp out today.  He thought if he was super good today I would change my mind.  He couldn't get it through his head that he wasn't going no matter what because he has to not lie.  For two hours he literally begged, cried, yelled and screamed because he wanted to go and it wasn't getting through.  Add to that my daughter's nonstop talking.  I mean literally he's screaming and crying and she is talking at the same time.  Finally I called my mom and asked if I could bring my son over for a little while.  Sometimes just us getting away from each other a little while helps to calm the situation.  Thank goodness for my mom!!  I swear, someday I'm going to end up in the looney bin just sitting in a chair drooling!!  It is days like this that I wish I was married.  Then I can just say, "You take care of the kids, I'm outa here!" 

I wouldn't trade my kids for anything.  I love them so much and I am so blessed to have them in my life.  I am constantly having to remind myself that they can't help it.  Their brains are working so hard that they just don't know where to stop.  I just need patience (and a massage!!)!