Living with ADD and ADHD, One Mother's Story

Although doctors do diagnose some children who do not actually have ADHD, it is a real problem for many. If your child is diagnosed though, you need to make sure that they are tested properly to be sure that they actually have ADHD. If you have actually ever seen a child with ADHD, especially one who is not taking their medications, you will realize that they are not just "a little hyper" but instead have a genuine problem. I get tired of hearing that there is "no such thing" as ADD or ADHD, and that it is all a big cop out. A brain scan could tell you that there is a chemical imbalance of the brain. With the medications, the imbalance can often be stabilized.

I have two children with ADHD, and one with ADD. Although no two children are the same, I would like to share some of my experiences with you. Maybe it will give some of you a little insight into what some of the rest of us go through on a daily basis.

My son with ADD is not extremely hyperactive although he does have his moments. His teachers would complain that he did not pay attention in class, and that he was constantly daydreaming, and never prepared for class. Even if he had everything ready for class when he walked out the door, he would arrive in class without something that he needed. One teacher even expressed her concerns that he may be having seizures because he would stop talking mid sentence and has no idea what he was talking about.

The older of my two with ADHD had a terrible time concentrating in school. He was constantly on the go, but that was the least of my worries. He would often do things without thinking first, and many times these things would endanger him or those around him. He was failing his classes before the medications. Once on the correct medications, he has finally graduated high school.

My youngest was diagnosed by the age of four, although he exhibited the symptoms much earlier than that. By this age he was acting impulsively, reckless and sometimes violently. He was constantly in trouble at the head start program where he attended. I volunteered there, but worked in the back because he was even less cooperative for the teachers when he saw me there.

Even from the back though, I saw how he behaved with the other children and it was awful. He and another child who also had ADHD would crash cars, smash block buildings, and throw things at one another. Needless to say, the two of them spent a lot of time in "time out."

By the time he reached Kindergarten, his teacher told me that she could not handle him, and this was the teacher who was assigned all of the "special needs" children. I checked into how she ran her classroom and found that this was much of the problem. She insisted on a very structured classroom, where the children sat in one place for hours.

Without his medications, my son was not able to sit still for that long. My son needed to get up and move around from time to time and move around. If you tried to make him, or others like him sit in one spot for hours without moving, you should not expect good results. Once he was transferred to a different classroom, he did much better even without the medications.

If not for the medications though, he would not have done as well there either. In fact, even though he is now 13 years old, if he forgets to take his medication, everyone knows it. He will be impulsive. He will get himself into trouble at school before the day hardly begins. Luckily, he is realizing now that when he starts acting this way, to think about whether he took his medications. If he takes them soon, he can get back on track for the day.

Raising children uncontrolled with ADD and ADHD is not only hard on parents though, it is also rough on the children. Can you imagine, going through life like this? Many children and even adults who suffer from these conditions suffer from terrible problems with their organizational skills, self-control, anger management, and more in addition in addition to hyperactivity and inattentiveness. They are often easily frustrated by even the simplest tasks. They often find themselves in trouble both at home and at school because of their impulsive behavior.

If you suspect that your child has ADD or ADHD, don't be afraid to check with your doctor for a proper diagnosis. Despite the skeptics who will tell you that there is no such thing, these are genuine diseases, and should be treated just as any other medical condition should be treated.