|
Monthly NewsNote
September 2008
 Email this article to a friend
A Good Day
From time to time there is something that happens in the office that makes the doctor feel good and all the difficult work worthwhile. Let me describe such a day, not only for the story but also to urge people who have not yet acted to get help for their child of whatever age.
Ed lived in another state and was referred by an ex-patient of mine who had moved away several years earlier. Ed had just failed his junior year and was planning to drop out of high school right after the next football season. (He was able to play because his school had no grade requirements.) It was not easy to fail the whole junior year, but he had given up. He missed many classes, did no homework, and felt he had no future. Football held him together the first half of the year, but after that there was nothing.
His history showed that he had actually been a bright student through the 5th grade and then it was all down hill as he started middle school. He was blamed for his failures, told he was lazy, and he soon felt he was stupid. Obviously it didn't get better.
Surprisingly, several interventions had been tried and then ignored. In 8th grade a teacher suggested that he might have ADHD and he was given Ritalin. His family was against medication and it was quickly dropped. During sophomore year he was given Strattera. The results were good but the side effects were overwhelming, and within a month it was discontinued. The downhill direction accelerated.
And then after junior year Ed appeared in my office. The diagnosis of ADHD was not hard. Mention a symptom and he had it. He did not know much about the condition except to say he was like his father. He was depressed, felt a failure, and could see no reason to be particularly hopeful. But he was ready to try anything.
So we did. It was summer and that made it harder to fully evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. We started a long-acting stimulant and he agreed to take one each day. Two weeks later came enthusiastic calls from his mother describing increased focus, the completion of tasks and even the straightening of his room. He took one course during the summer and believe it orf not, got a B.
When I saw him again he was a different person. He was enthusiastic about his chances and seemed motivated to do well. The football season was coming which was a boost to his morale. And with medication he could focus, stay on task and do his work.
With the treatment he is now able to do well. He will probably need supports as he has missed a good deal of education by doing nothing for years. He may need a coach and/ or a tutor for a while. And he will have to accept the part that he is different.
Ed does not live near by and visits are not easy. But I think we may have saved a teenager about to go off in a lost direction.
That made it a very good day.
|
