Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A Child With ADHD - Feeling Alone



Is it wrong of my to feel incredibly alone in this diagnosis?

My 6 year old son has been struggling in school, and through the help of his teacher, school councilor and pediatrician, he has been diagnosed with ADHD.

That in and of itself is not worrisome. We have dealt with his "driven by a moter" behavior for as long as I can remember. Recently, we have put him on a special diet; excluding certain dyes, preservatives and drastically lowering his sugar intake. We have also started him - Through his pediatricians recommendation - on melatonin to help him sleep better at night. I can tell you right now, the diet has not worked. Although he is healthier for it, it has not helped his mood or behavior. As we are only on day three of the melatonin, I can not tell you if that is working or not, just that he is now ready for the world to start at 3AM.

My trouble comes with his Kinder teacher. The pediatrician recommended that the school and I work together to get him on a IEP - Individual Education Plan. When I mentioned this to his teacher as an option; I got shot down. She told me that D does not qualify for this program. I told her I am not currently willing to place him on a medication as it is not interfering with his learning capabilities, just his behavior in the classroom. She then told me that if I am not willing to proceed with medication, there is nothing more that the school can do for my child.

I then called my pediatrician, frustrated to high hell with what is going on. He told me via the nurse that I was talking to at the time, to take it to the principle and the super. I did just that. I emailed the principle and told her that D's teacher and I are not seeing eye to eye on what needs to be done. That I am not willing to put D on any type of medication at the moment. My husband goes through this and because he is an adult, he copes with the side effects such as sleep deprivation, loss of weight and irritability. But why in my right mind would I put my child on these drugs?! A six year old should not have to deal with the extensive list of side effects that come along with a drug that simply inflicts better behavior so that his teacher who has a full class has one less child to worry about.

Half of my wants to shake my pediatrician and tell him to tell me what to do. But he told me the choice is entirely up to me. And then I want to smack his teacher for making me feel like I have an inadequacy as a mother for not putting D on these damned medications.

I just feel lost. Is anyone else dealing with a child with ADHD? Do you have any tips or tricks on how to handle a school that is not willing to handle my child?

Thanks for listening to me rant :-)

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