ADHD

Well, I realize that I've not posted in a long a$$ time. WOW. After Dustin started Kindergarten we took him to the doctor and had him diagnosed with ADHD. Most everyone I spoke with regarding this step in his life was against medication. However, I take antidepressants and have been on them since before he was born. So, I take medication every day. If it helps... why should we have to suffer through it. I always view medication like having an epidural during labor. I know that I can give natural child birth... I know I can withstand the pain... how do I know this? Women have been giving birth since the dawn of time... and I've been pregnant and delivered children. This stands to reason that I could also handle the pain... i.e. I wouldn't die from it... but WHY? If there's a better option... an easier route if you will... why would I needlessly suffer? That makes no sense. That's like having the means to buy warm clothes during the winter but deciding to wear shorts or something just to prove you can. It's dumb... this is just my opinion. Anyway, I digress... we put Dustin on medication... despite all of the people that gave me odd looks that told me they thought it was a bad idea. But, the beautiful thing about being a parent... is I get to call the shots... :) Even my hubby disdained the idea that we put him on medication. Guess what?... it's a little under two months later and he's on board... why? Because Dustin is responding to it beautifully. I say he's like night and day... but that's not true... it's more like dusk and night. Meaning... he's still himself... it's just softer. My best example is his coloring... okay... before now he would color all over the page and it was hard to follow what was going on... now he colors in lines... he takes more time... he's calmer... more focused. So, to me this means that he's able to do things he wasn't able before... like pay more attention to school work... and let's be honest... with his speech delay... he really needs to be able to focus during school. I'm thrilled with his progress. He's such a bright boy and he loves school. I'm not sure if he'll have to repeat Kindergarten again because I believe his ADHD inpaired his ability to learn but I suppose I'll make that decision closer to the end of the year. I want Dustin to feel equal with his peers... so if we're going to hold him back... Kindergarten would be the time rather than in 3rd grade or whatever. Bug is such an amazing little guy. He's got such a big heart and he really is so smart. I hate that he has to battle such things at such a young age. It's hard but I'm doing my best to try and shelter him from the stigma of being behind.