The Forums › Forums › Parenting & ADD › Parenting & ADD › Reply To: Parenting & ADD
So I sat in a meeting all day, listening to presentation after presentation of people who are engaged and committed to helping people with ADHD. (I’m at the CHADD conference, by the way!:) It was inspiring. AND — it was frustrating. Because I had to hold my tongue a lot — I kept wanting to say, “people, you cannot fix ADHD, we have to teach people to manage it!!” And that’s what’s coming up for me now — maybe because I was in that room all day! 🙂
But seriously — your “mom eyes” know what this child needs. He is 6 years old. What are you trying to achieve in learning to manage your son’s ADHD, and teaching him to manage himself? Where do you want to focus first? What values are most important to you? What’s the benefit of the meds? What’s the cost?
I’m not answering your question about straterra, and for that I apologize. It’s different for every one, so it really doesn’t matter what anyone else says. If you decide to try it, you’ll know soon enough. But whether my daughter had a good experience or not when she tried it probably won’t tell you much of anything.
But I do want to ask you to get clear with yourself — what is your purpose for trying medication at this stage? Is that purpose a high value to you? If so, keep trying til you find something that helps. If not, you might consider waiting until he’s older, and try some other approaches to management like coaching, therapy, or accommodations. There are MANY things you can do to start to manage ADHD, set realistic expectations and begin to teach your child to self-regulate. Medication is not the only solution. It can be slower without medication — but when your child is that young, if you’re not clear on why you’re doing it, you have to ask yourself — what’s the rush?
REPORT ABUSE