My biggest challenge was hearing how my son was not focused in school but not seeing that at home.  It was very confusing to me. I didn’t understand.

However, during a cub scout wrestling lesson, I observed all of the cub scouts sitting in a circle around the coach, who was explaining different moves, while my son was running around the group!  I couldn’t believe it!

At that moment I realized that he might have ADHD, and I literally cried about it!  Several questions ran through my mind. Where do I start? What do I do? How do I help him?

First, we saw the pediatrician, and she referred us to a psychologist.  We made an appointment to get him evaluated. Once that happened, she informed us that he did have ADHD. She didn’t seem to think he needed medication but gave us some behavior strategies to try for school, since we didn’t have much trouble with him at home.  

Next, I met with several people from the school (the principal, guidance counselor, school psychologist, and teacher).  We decided that we would implement the strategies that the psychologist suggested. However, someone suggested that we take the report to his pediatrician.

As time went on, his teacher informed me that none of the strategies were working, so back to the pediatrician we went.  She lovingly suggested a low dose of medication. Keep in mind that my husband was adamant that he not be put on medication.  For me it was a last resort, but we already tried everything else. Also, as I told my husband, I don’t want him to miss the fundamentals now and struggle for the rest of his academic career!

That little bit of medicine turned him into a normal 2nd grader, according to his teacher!  It made all of the difference in the world, and he has been on honor roll ever since!  Over the years, we have increased the dosage as he has gotten bigger, but he is thriving because of it!  I’m so glad I went through the whole process, because it was the best thing for him!