A.D.D.

Two weeks ago, Tim and I had our informative meeting with Doug the pediatric psychologist to hear what he found in his testing with Austin. It came as a complete non-shock to hear that Austin indeed has Attention Deficit (with a touch of Hyper) Disorder ... which is actually a very misleading name. It's not that he has a deficit in or inability to pay attention, it's that he can't filter out what, of all the 20-ish things that are vying for it, should be getting his attention. And this isn't just the case with Austin, that's what A.D.D. is ... along with the fun and always interesting impulse control issues.

My Aunt Suzy has a perfect explanation for the impulse control scenario--most people make decisions about what to say and do by following an A B C plan. A: we think of something we want to say or do, B: we consider the ramifications of making said choice and determine whether or not it would be beneficial to do or say so, and then C: we do or say whatever it was that we were thinking (provided that step B indicated it would be prudent). People with A.D.D. (Austin) skip step B--if they think it, they do / say it. It's not that they don't feel like going through the A B C process, it's that their brain isn't equipped to do it very well. Their internal voice only tells them A C. But, if they have an external voice (i.e. their mother, father, teacher) to remind them to include B, they can do it.

Other things that Doug found: Austin is delightful, smart and funny ... genuinely a good kid. (Tim and I already knew that! :D) He said that he really enjoyed his time with Austin. I'm sure he sees some really challenging kids--like the 14-ish year old we saw in the waiting area who tried to bolt out the door the second it was time to go to his appointment ... his dad had to grab and practically restrain him. So, comparatively, I imagine Austin was really a little ray of sunshine for Doug.

And, I have to say that it was really nice to hear from someone who was spending time with my son that he's enjoyable. After an entire school year of hearing his teacher sigh and complain and only see him as a problem, it made me happy to hear that Doug could see Austin as Tim and I do--a bright, humorous, loving and fun kid.

During our appointment, we got the whole explanation about medication, what it does, how it helps, possible side effects, etc. Doug thinks that Austin is a "perfect candidate" to be helped by it.

After lots of discussion and questions and thinking and sorting through issues and weighing pros and cons, we're going to try it. We're still struggling with it a little. A few of our concerns about having Austin take medication are that he might not develop coping mechanisms or survival strategies to deal with this, and if that's the case, will he end up needing to take some medication the rest of his life? Will he have side effects (stomach aches, head aches, sleeping problems, loss of appetite)?

But our bigger concerns deal with what will happen if we don't try the medication. He's already having problems socially--it's understandably frustrating for other kids to play with Austin sometimes and what 7-8 year old is going to have the patience and / or interest in working with him through his impulsiveness, loudness and "in-your-face-ness". He does things that are annoying to other people. It's the lack of ability to use the B part of the decision-making process. Medication will be able to help that. And that means a lot to us, for Austin. We're also concerned that he'll start falling behind in school. As the curriculum gets tougher--and more independent work is expected--we're afraid that he'll struggle. (He can't stay focused long enough to write a short thank you note without me getting him back on track, how will he be able to sustain attention to get work done in school??)

We have our appointment with the pediatrician (to actually get the prescription) on Friday. We'll start the medication shortly after that. I'll be sure to post about how that all goes! Wish us luck!