Advice RE: ADHD son with serious struggles

tortoise
Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:51:44 +0000

@calla1 I’m glad to hear this approach worked for your friend’s child. For those who may happen upon this thread sometime in the future, however, I cannot over-emphasize how important it is for ADHD/ADD to be fully diagnosed and properly treated by a medical professional who specializes in this condition. ADD/ADHD is not simply another “issue” for parents to “deal with.” In fact, it can be the root condition that triggers a cascade of symptoms such as the ones you cite, calla1. In such cases, when one attempts to treat ADHD/ADD as just another “issue” to be dealt with alongside other “issues,” one can end up making no real headway and, instead, can end up making things much, much worse.

There is a huge amount of misinformation out there about ADD/ADHD, much of it propagated by well-meaning skeptics who have no idea how debilitating this condition is since they don’t suffer from it. But, to all those parents out there who think they might be dealing with “ADD issues”… Don’t go looking for advice on anonymous Internet forums: Seek the advice of a qualified medical professional, and then get a second opinion. Approach this concern with the same kind of diligence and rigor you would bring to the suspicion of, say, “cancer issues” or any other potentially life-altering health care concern.