Alex and ADD

I want to introduce you to my 13 year old son Alex.  He is a bright boy, loves weather, loves to build anything.  He is the sweetest boy in the world, well besides my other 2 sons lol.

Why do I want to introduce you to Alex?

Well Alex was diagnosed as ADD when he was in first grade. 

I wanted to tell you all a little about what we have faced over the years with the doctors, the teachers, the school, and even other classmates.

When Alex was in first grade he was having trouble keeping up with the class.  I wasn't made aware of this till the middle of the school year!  When I was it was not in a way that most parents expect to be approached.

His first grade teacher called me on the phone and told me that Alex was dumb and needed to be placed in a special education class.  You read that right she told me he was dumb!

Well you can imagine my reaction, at first I was stunned!  I knew that Alex had a harder time processing things but he always managed to figure things out with a little more explanation and time.  I was at a loss, I knew my son was not dumb.  From the time he could crawl he would take cushions off my couch to build a house, or take blocks and build very complex buildings.  There were times I would look at his buildings and wonder how he figured out how to make it all stay together without falling.

The next day I went down to the principal's office and talked to the  principal about how the teacher phrased her words to me, it is a good thing that I had overnight to cool off otherwise I probably would have been escorted off the premises by the cops.  I was so livid!  The principal apologized to me for the way this teacher acted then referred me to the school therapist.

I talked to the school therapist and agreed to take him to the doctor to be evaluated for ADD.

Meanwhile I went home and made the doctor's appointment, a little while later I received a phone call from a fellow mom who's daughter was in the same classroom as my son.  She told me that her daughter got off the bus that afternoon crying because the teacher had said some really mean things to Alex in front of the class.  I of course didn't hear about this from my son because he believed her!

I asked this mom if I could talk to her daughter.  When "Alicia" came to the phone she told me that "Mrs. Brown" had called Alex a retard and that he needed to start listening or she would put him in a retard class!

You want to talk about a rage coming over me!  How could anyone hurt a child like that!

The next day I was back at the prinicipal's office telling the principal what I was told on the phone.  He told me he would deal with it.  Come to find out months later all that happened was "Mrs. Brown" had to attend a class on ADD/ADHD that was it!  I never got an apology! Neither did my son!

So why am I telling you all this?  Well I see so many moms on the internet asking questions about ADD/ADHD, I wanted to share some of our story.

Alex was diagnosed with ADD and placed on Ritalin.

I am going to over the weeks talk about our experiences with the medication, the teachers, the schools, and yes Alex having to deal with other students.

It is my wish that I can show parents that not everything a teacher, or doctor tells you to do is right.  You as the parent need to make the decision on what is right for your child yourself.

It will not be easy, I have spent many a night crying myself to sleep because I was at a loss on what to do.

I hope to be able to alleviate that feeling for some of you so that you know you are not alone!

Additional Resources