Box of surprises | ADHD Information
Hello:
I always like to come here to share everything that calls my attention in regard to my son. Today I have come to the conclusion that my son is a box of surprises. Since he has been medicated with the Strattera I have never known if his achievements are really due to the med or are related to therapies that his treatment includes. Sometimes I ask myself if it is really worth it for him to be taking that pill every morning.
For many of you who have read my posts, it is very clear that my son is on a mood rollercoaster . At school he shows good behavior, he is quiet, and his teacher's only comment is about concentration and that he gets easily distracted. In the afternoons it keeps being hard work for me to deal with his homeworks, he hardly concentrates and has a very short memory time. His spelling words are a challenge through the week but his tests come with A+. Lately, he is also becoming too hyper at about 5pm up to bedtime.
Socially he has a hard time making friends, he only has one friend at school. Yesterday, I was impressed by his behavior at a birthday party. My son used to be the child who NEVER got involved in games to win prizes, I guess it was too hard for him to understand the rules involved in each of the games. Mainly, he always kept playing by himself and very rarely with other kids. I was completely amazed yesterday, when I saw my son getting in games to win prizes. He was doing races and other typical birthday games. He was getting in line and waiting his turn just as the other kids. He even made a friend with whom he exchanged treats from the piņata. Believe me! this was just incredible. I think this is the first time he enjoys a party to its fullest.
So, I don't know.....
Strattera???
Hard work studying at home (obviously he learns his words because I usually become a tiger
).
More easygoing than before. Strattera or therapies????
Quiet in the morning, but sometimes too hyper in the afternoons. Isn't this just normal behavior???? a little jealousy from baby sister perhaps??? Strattera???
This post is probably kind of confusing. I will just wait for his report card this coming week and will try to answer my questions. I will also go and speak to his teachers since they give you the chance the day after they give report cards.
Anyway, I am very glad about his social achievement yesterday. I feel so proud!!
I just love my ds to death!!!
All the time I invest in him is the best I could have ever done in my life.
My son's doctor has often likened taking medication to putting on glasses. The glasses allows one to see the world and be part of it. Medication for ADDers is similar. When we would proudly show the doc ds' report cards with straight As and positive remarks, the doctor would look directly in ds' eyes and say, "This is you. It is not the medicine doing it. You are doing it." Ds has always left his office feeling like a million bucks.
Your son is so lucky to have you for his mother. Ds' doc also remembers to thank me for being a good mom and ds does too. One day your son will be thanking you for all of your support and guidance. Good job!
jfla239061.7696875
Since he has been medicated with the Strattera I have never known if his achievements are really due to the med or are related to therapies that his treatment includes. Sometimes I ask myself if it is really worth it for him to be taking that pill every morning.
I know exactly what you mean, but I've come to the realization that my sons's accomplishments hold the same merit regardless of what they are attributed to. After all, when a football team wins, it's a win whether they win by one point or twenty. When we begin second-guessing the quality of a success or the purity of it, it loses its luster and success becomes a burden. I mean, imagine you have two vanilla cakes that taste exactly the same. If the taste of one cake changes for you after you discover that one is made with artificial flavoring and the other natural, it's your view that has changed, not the cake. Both are still delicious.
[QUOTE=Mariaven]Since he has been medicated with the Strattera I have never known if his achievements are really due to the med or are related to therapies that his treatment includes. Sometimes I ask myself if it is really worth it for him to be taking that pill every morning.
The med is only allowing him to fulfill his potential. If he didn't have the intelligence to do well, no med would make him get good grades. The med enables him to focus and control his behavior enough so that he can shine. If he didn't want to try, and refused to study or do the work, he would still fail.
How well he does is finally in his hands and not ruled by ADHD.
Its your son who is shining, getting good grades and earning praise.
Very good point Barb. When the child succeeds, its the child that deserves the credit, not the medication because all the meds do is unlock potential. They will not make the child smarter and shouldn't change who the child is.
Your topic is a very good one Mariaven. For some children, medication alone is all they need because when medication is effective and working at maximum benefit, problems like lack of focus, not picking up on social cues and hyperactivity are no longer an issue so no other interventions are needed. However this doesnt apply to all children as every child has different circumstances which might require other interventions but for those children on medication that do need other interventions, on medication the interventions work better because they are focused.
Clearly your ds is seeing great benefit as a result of medication and is now experiencing quality of life and there is no greater gift that a parent can receive. Great job mom
Thanks for your comments!
Yes, I also think that my ds achievements are of his own merit. It is just I as a mom who sometimes stop to think and worry about the med issue. What concerns me the most about this, is not knowing what could happen in the future. Anyway, I trust the doc, and I trust that what I am doing is the best option possible.
I think that maybe everything is taking a positive path, and in the middle there are ups and downs (nothing new for all of you). I will keep hanging there. Probably the problem is myself; I usually want to see fast results; I am not very patient. When ds started med I thought this was going to be like magic
.I guess God placed this for me in order to teach me to be patient. There is not other way around with adhd but to be very patient.
Mariaven, that is such a good point, the patience thing. You are right. There really is no way around it. I think that's why God gave us our children, to teach us this lesson, that we may otherwise not have had the opportunity to learn. I have a ways to go. I am interested that you are happy with Strattera. Is it the first med he's been on?
Also, I can really empathize with you re: worrying about the meds. But, when you think about it, medications are tested so thoroughly; very rarely do they end up causing harm. My dd's doc says the risks associated with behaviors that occur if your child is not medicated far outweigh any risks associated with taking them. It is also about trust, trust in your doctor, trust in yourself, trust in the world. There are many out there who say what we are doing (medication our children) is a terrible thing to do. But we have to trust ourselves to do what's best for our kids.
I celebrate with you for your son's social achievement at the party. I know how heartwarming those moments can be. Moments similar to those have literally brought tears to my eyes. Something that a parent of a "normal" child would never think to be grateful for a moment like that. It's kind of a reward for the patience thing, maybe.
dolphinjen:
Yes, Strattera is the first med he has been on. At first the doc told me that he didn't like to start trying with this med, he really preferred using stimulants, but since my son is prone to tics, Strattera was the best option to start with.
Strattera has taken long to put a positive effect in my son. I guess that this is why so many people get very discouraged and discontinue using it; besides, the doc also told me that it only works in 70% of patients. Through this path I have seen a lot of mood issues. At first my son wasn't taking the adequate dosage; when it was adjusted, I had terrible mood issues again but finally they have kind of subsided. Lately when he gets moody I just assume that any "normal" child gets moody at a given moment.
As I said I have noticed improvement socially, but I am not completely satisfied with concentration and focusing. I guess, as I said at the beginning of this thread, training him to study better is an important part of the process, this is in regard to his therapies. Not only the med will give him the tools to concentrate and focus completely. At least this is my point of view. So, patience, patience, and more patience.
Thanks for your reply.