re: my beef with adhd kids

I had the exact same experience. Started on addrall in middle school, always felt like a zombie. I took it less and less in highschool, but kept my prescription going into college for the all-nighters before exams

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Anyone who deals with your kid will have to be on medication. No one wants an annoying kid around them anymore.

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Very true Motorboat. It only takes one kid to screw up the entire learning/teaching process and some kids just can't control themselves. Makes the job of teaching (and being your personal babysitter) very difficult at times. Most of these kids don't get the proper dealings at hope and lack the ability to understand authority in schools. But go ahead little ones, keep praising the Marshawn's of the world.

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What happened before all of the technology of the past 100 years to kids like this? Let's explore that...

There weren't TVs, video games. An extremely active kid would have probably spent a lot of time outside playing. During this time, they learn how to do things. As they grow into adults, these kids were the active ones. They probably weren't afraid to work hard or try new ideas. I'd be willing to bet these kids grew into very productive citizens.

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You forgot to mention a critical element present in the past but absent now: Discipline. In the home, and in the school.

Honestly, ADHD is more than simply impulsiveness. I was diagnosed when I was 4. When I came home from the hospital, 2 days after I was born, I had red marks on my elbows and knees where I was already moving myself in the crib. Was on Ritalin from 2nd grade through 6th, then switched to an herbal which didnt work, then Adderall. I have a chemical imbalance. The majority people when they take Adderall(an amphetamine), it speeds them up and they can stay awake for hours. For me personally, it slows me way down and helps me control myself better. Including urges, such as eating food when I am bored or any number of other things. It helps my self control. Strangely enough, it also has some pain relief qualities for me.

I was born in 1986. I never had TV, barely had movies, and did not get my first video game system till I was 11(N64). I played outside all day every day. No matter how much energy I spent. I was always bouncing off the walls. I am intelligent, and yes being hyper active can be a blessing. It has been many times in my life. However sometimes it needs tempered.

If your son is being recommended for medicine, and you decide to see how he does with it. Do not put him on Ritalin. It is a growth depressant.

One other thing to watch for, and this is purely anecdotal. In my experience, those with actual chemical imbalances creating ADHD get angrier, quicker and easier, than normal kids. Not only that, things I have done personally, and seen others do, have led me to believe that those with the aforementioned imbalance receive a larger dose of adrenaline when angry. I once flipped an 800 lb hot tub, up stairs, by myself for example. When I could barely lift it before I got angry.

It is safe to get your kid checked out. Also, to at least look into treatment if he is diagnosed. If properly administered he would keep his personality, and yet do better in the classroom. Just make sure it is a good doctor.

I went back on Adderall for the first time in years 2 weeks ago, so far, so good.

ADD is definitely overdiagnosed but the condition ( and yes it is an actual medical condition) itself stems from a deficiency in dopamine production in the frontal cortex of the brain (science is fun!). Like 99% of everything in the universe, it's not a black or white diagnosis. It falls under a spectrum, if you can manage just fine w/out medication, way to go sport, but be aware you're using the same line of thinking as the anti vaccine crowd

Because you want your kid to do the best; the difference between cs and a's could mean entrance to the HS or college of your choice. Also the behavior infractions matter when applying to HS.

Meh, I don't see the harm, if it makes parenting easier then frick it, give them a pill. Hell if they had a pill thought taught them how to drive or where babies come from, I'd probably use that too.

Parenting is fricking tiresome, anything that helps.

I'm just rehashing what has already been said, but my story is somewhat similar to yours. I was diagnosed with it at a young age, but I was a straight-A student. As I got into high school, my conduct was always hit or miss, but my grades never suffered, so my parents wouldn't allow me to take any meds. Same story in college.

I graduated and got a big boy job with quite a bit if autonomy, and shite hit the fan. Five months in I had built an extensive spreadsheet to rank college football teams for gambling purposes while "working" for a financial services company. Things had to change. I went to my doctor and got on Vyvanse. We started with 40mg and finally settled on 60mg a day. It has truly been life changing,and I was highly skeptical when I started.

I know, csb.

tl;dr version:

The bottom line, IMO, is that ADHD is grossly over-diagnosed and usually over-medicated, and it justly deserves the bad rap it gets. However, there are plenty of legitimate cases out there. Also, with the strides in medication, particularly Vyvanse, your personality should not be adversely affected unless you're being prescribed too much.

If my son has a chemical imbalance, then God made him that way and I refuse to medicate a change.