My son is 11 and I am glad to say that so far this school year is 1000 times better than the last. Last year was like being on a roller coster that would not stop. He had issues at school with the teacher, other kids, you name it. He was constantly worried about what others were thinking and his way of dealing with failure was just not to try. I heard all the heart breaking quotes,,, no one likes me, I have no friends, I'm stupid to wishing he was dead. I had gone to physicains because of attention issues at school and base on questionaires completed by teachers and my husband and I, we were told he had ADHD. He was put on dexidrine 1 dose each AM and it worked for grade 3, 4 and part of 5. As he grew they increased the dose as we experienced decreases in effectiveness. Anothre issue I had was my son was extreamely pick about food, and a very poor eater. In grade 5 when it was suggested by his Dr to give him an afternoon dose I refused because dexidrine can affect appetite and I couldn t imagine him eating less. In addition to food he has always been picky about clothing, socks, shoes... the list goes on and once something set him off, he would have major meltdowns.
Without an increase in meds things just got worse and worse at school and we were referred to a specialist. With this referral the peices of the puzzel all fell in place. He was determined to have sensory intregraiton disfunction. Its treated by an Occupational Thearapist and has made such a difference in our lives. Drs are took quick to say everything is ADD or ADHD - I just want others to know that this is real and everything is not ADD or ADHD - challenge the Drs - they are only people. My son is doing so much better getting the right physical actitivity for his disability (meds alone were not the only solution)
