Saturday, September 09, 2006
My Star Kyle. (Life with ADHD) Part Six
The doctor was really good. He told me all of our options, and in the end we settled on trying Kyle with Ritalin. Boy was I scared.
I'd heard so many bad things about it, and I knew I'd get a lot of flack from people for even thinking about trying it. But Kyle was so unhappy in himself that I was wiling to try almost anything to make his life better.
We started on the Ritalin about a week later, and whilst the changes weren't dramatic, there were definitely changes for the better.
Kyle was that little bit happier in himself. He also started concentrating for around 12 minutes at a time, whereas he was only able to concentrate for 4 minutes at the most before.
His memory was still bad, he still had no knowledge of consequences, and he was still the most active kid I've ever known. Rewards still didn't work, and neither did discipline, so we just didn't do it. We still had tantrums and everything still got broke.
None of that was important. What was important was Kyle's happiness. And he really was happier than before.
Anna
ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADD ADH ADHD tips ADHD links adhd parenting adhd advice adhd tips adhd kids adhd resources coping with adhd
I'd heard so many bad things about it, and I knew I'd get a lot of flack from people for even thinking about trying it. But Kyle was so unhappy in himself that I was wiling to try almost anything to make his life better.
We started on the Ritalin about a week later, and whilst the changes weren't dramatic, there were definitely changes for the better.
Kyle was that little bit happier in himself. He also started concentrating for around 12 minutes at a time, whereas he was only able to concentrate for 4 minutes at the most before.
His memory was still bad, he still had no knowledge of consequences, and he was still the most active kid I've ever known. Rewards still didn't work, and neither did discipline, so we just didn't do it. We still had tantrums and everything still got broke.
None of that was important. What was important was Kyle's happiness. And he really was happier than before.
Anna
ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADD ADH ADHD tips ADHD links adhd parenting adhd advice adhd tips adhd kids adhd resources coping with adhd
# posted by Anna : 5:41 PM
Comments:
ugh... i was also hesitant to try medication- but damien's first doc didn't even suggest it!
according to her he was a text book case of adhd- and started him on speech therapy and o.t.
she also suggested dietary changes and vitamin supplements. then she sent me on my way with an appointment for 6 months hence!
i knew it wasn't enough... but i was hopeful! it took her more than a year to suggest ritalin, and the dosage made not an iota of difference so i was hesitant to try it again...
it took me 6 years to find a doctor who really knew what he was doing and who was more willing to treat damien properly, someone who knew the disorder, so he's only been on meds for 3 years. he missed out on a lot... thanx partly to his first doctor's complacency (IMHO).
now of course i wish i'd been more adamant about what he needed- he missed out on so much!
according to her he was a text book case of adhd- and started him on speech therapy and o.t.
she also suggested dietary changes and vitamin supplements. then she sent me on my way with an appointment for 6 months hence!
i knew it wasn't enough... but i was hopeful! it took her more than a year to suggest ritalin, and the dosage made not an iota of difference so i was hesitant to try it again...
it took me 6 years to find a doctor who really knew what he was doing and who was more willing to treat damien properly, someone who knew the disorder, so he's only been on meds for 3 years. he missed out on a lot... thanx partly to his first doctor's complacency (IMHO).
now of course i wish i'd been more adamant about what he needed- he missed out on so much!
I still vividly remember when I went to see our GP about getting Kyle a referral to see a specialist and she turned around and told me it was a discipline issue. I kept myself cool, calm and collected and also unbelievably polite and told her what I thought of her LOL.
She was quite stunned to say the least, especially when I pointed out that I had 3 other children who didn't have the same problems as Kyle had...
That's when she decided to send a referral letter to the specialist ;)
She was quite stunned to say the least, especially when I pointed out that I had 3 other children who didn't have the same problems as Kyle had...
That's when she decided to send a referral letter to the specialist ;)
I really appreciate the blog since the first time do I saw it. Now they have reached another milestone which lead us to report about it, and I think it's a great new... as the content of the text.
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