More on me-intro | ADHD Information
Thanks for your replies and the welcome to this bb!
I guess I just jumped in without an intro so here it goes:
I just turned 40 (ouch!) and I am married to a 39 year old dh (dear on most days ). I have 2 ds: an 8 year old with ADHD and a soon to be 4 year old.
I am French Canadian and teach grade 5 at a French School. I also think that I have an undiagnosed case of ADHD. My latest proof: I put underwear on to top of ds's pull ups yesterday morning LOL! I do this kind of thing daily.
We found out that ds had ADHD when he was in grade one, although we suspected it for a long time. He did well without the meds that year. He had a great teacher who did behavior modification and it worked really well for him. This past year, he had a very strict and somehow not flexible teacher (I know her well since I happen to teach at ds's school). She insisted to try putting him on meds and he started Concerta in the spring. Yes, I think that it helped but ds was losing weigh and he seemed a lot more subdued and less energetic. It is the reason why we took him off the meds in the summer and we will see how he does with another teacher. If things don't go well again, we will definitively put him back on but I really worry about the side effects of long term use.
As a teacher, I have also seen the wonders of such meds. I had 2 students with ADHD this past year and they both stopped taking Ritalin for a while to see how they would do without it. Let's just say that I found a few gray hair during that time. . One of them is gifted and without the meds, he was actually more like a student with learning disabilities. They both went back on Ritalin and if they ever forgot to take it in the morning, I could tell right away. So yes, I understand how much it helps but as a parent, I now see the other side. I wished that I didn't have to drug ds (yes, that's how I feel about it).
Anyways, thanks for the support! I am so happy to have found this bb!
Catou