Operation: Diagnosis 11/4/2024

My son was diagnosed in 2nd grade, but we knew he had academic struggles in kindergarten. He was behind and struggled to achieve anything near grade level proficiency. By 2nd grade, the academic frustration resulted in disruptive behavior in class. At our first parent-teacher conference, his 2nd grade teacher asked about his ADHD. We had no clue what she was talking about. She was surprised that we were surprised. She strongly recommended talking to our pediatrician. We did.

He did testing through the pediatrician’s office in coordination with Children’s Hospital. The results were overwhelming. Anxiety, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, and something else about authority. Luckily, we had an excellent pediatrician that explained the reason for all the results and how treating the ADHD would help with all the diagnoses.

Our pediatrician explained that she would not prescribe medication if we did not make some parenting and routine changes as well. We made the necessary changes for our son, and he started medication. Within three/four months, he was voted student of the month by his class peers. His grades and his behavior were improving greatly.

 My daughter was in kindergarten. I showed up as a volunteer to read to her class. All her classmates were at group tables working on an art project. She was at an individual desk moving all around while doing the art project. Her teacher explained that she did better when she could move around while working and it was too distracting to other students when she was at a group table. I called her pediatrician when I got home.

By this time, we had a new pediatrician, but one with the same mentality. Medication only goes so far; it should never change a child’s personality and parenting changes are of upmost importance. Due to Covid, kindergarten was cut short, and first grade was a virtual (and actual) disaster. But since we intervened sooner, she was never as far behind as her brother. She still struggles academically, but most of the issues now are organization, anxiety and impulse control. We continue to work on it with a combination of medication, parenting, and a certain ADHD therapist that we love.

My family has been very blessed with great medical providers. As I talk with other parents, I realize how lucky we were to have two very knowledgeable pediatricians that knew personality and ADHD are two different things. We have been able to address different aspects of ADHD and receive age-appropriate solutions that rarely had anything to do with “just increase the dose”.

 “Writing prescriptions is easy, but understanding people is hard.” Franz Kafka