ADHD Exists And It Should Be Treated With A Combination Of Treatments And Medication

“So, as Kegan advises, instead of putting a child on drugs, find him a tutor to help him in school and spend time with him/her to help them overcome their obstacles since their earliest appearance.”

Oh gee, gosh darn it, if I’d only done and tried every possible behavioral
technique available before giving my child medication. Oh wait. I did.
As many years as it has been and despite that fact that my adult son in med school STILL suffers, I only wish I could just let this go. But it hurts to read articles like this. Deeply. We lived on an acre and a half of trees and hillside. He played outside, he ate well, we loved him, we got tutors, we sat with him during his night terrors – unable to touch him or he’d get worse and unable to comfort him. It wasn’t until, heartbroken, we decided to try medication. Not prescribed by a greedy doctor but by a developmental pediatrician who spent half an hour with my seven year old alone and came out to me and said “you know you have an exceptionally smart boy here. ” At which point I burst into tears. Yes. I did know.  That half hour wasn’t the end of the diagnostic process, just to be clear.  He didn’t flippantly prescribe meds for my son.

Maybe the human psyche has not evolved quickly enough to adapt to the fast paced world of technology. Maybe a kid on a farm would not be “diagnosed.”. If you want to say it’s not mental illness I would agree with that but to to say “there is no such thing” – forgive me doctor, but you are ignorant and I pray that you never have to watch a child struggle in frustration, breaking pencils, raging, and then, on a small dose of medication, sit down and write a paragraph at three grade levels higher than his grade, or finish a gingerbread house without having a meltdown because a piece of decoration fell off, and then read an article telling you that as a parent you have just not been good enough. Fuck. You.