Posted by utopizen on February 19, 2004, at 4:22:36
In reply to Strattera, posted by giosmom on February 19, 2004, at 0:01:51
> My son was diagnossed with ADHA (hyperactivity and inattentiveness). His therapist wants him to start on Strattera. Can anyone give me info on this, and experiences? My son is 12 and I want to do whatever I can for him, but my husband views ADHD diagnosis as a "crutch" for us to use ~ that our son just has no interest in school work, etc.
>
> Thanks for the help!Um if you couldn't pay attention in class, would you have an interest in that class?
The only crutch being used here is on here is a rather feeble attempt to support some baseless logic (at no offense to your husband's thinking). Before amphetamines were used, pointed hats called "Dunce Caps" were employed. Is that less of a crutch?
Straterra... if your son responds, that's great, because it's not as effective as Ritalin or Adderall, but is conveinent in that it can help ADD patients who also have anxiety or depression at the same time, an added bonus.
If having an interest in school work is a crutch, then maybe your husband needs to reassess what his ambitions are for his son. Perhaps talk with him, and ask, "If this can help relieve some of his suffering, isn't that worth it?"
I'm a college student now. I was already smarter than my peers, but my attention deficit really held me back. I remember staring at my assignments on my desk in school all day long, wanting nothing more to be a "good kid" and finish them, but couldn't hold my attention span for long enough to even comprehend what to do. I wasn't hyperactive, so it didn't get caught until I was in college by myself and realized *that's* why I got straight F's in high school.
Call it what you want, but your teachers don't look up to you when your kid's getting straight F's. Crutches are for people who suffer, and your kid is suffering, whether he tells you or not. He suffers. He will suffer more once he realizes the consequences ADD has on his friends, schoolwork, and overall behavior.
To me, it's not a crutch. It's a life preserver. I can swim very well on my own, and I still take the meds to help me stay afloat. But when I was a little kid, I needed the life preserver to do this. I needed to float, even when my body wouldn't let me.
Would you throw a life preserver to your drowning son? Or would you think it's just another crutch, he's just another punk looking for an excuse to drown, and he needs to sink or swim? You know the right thing to do is to relieve his suffering, from now and into the future. You know better than your husband, and you need to trust yourself and help your child. There's too many parents who don't care what their kids do in school, grade wide or social wise or anything.
By posting on this board, I think you already know the answer to your own question. Suffering is hurtful, and relieving it is helpful.
poster:utopizen
thread:315459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040218/msgs/315505.html