Anyone have any success stories to share?

[Loonette]

I know everyone's story will be different, and I can't base what might happen with my own child upon what happened with other people, but I am looking for a little bit of hope that there just might be a positive outcome for my 4-year-old son. (A bit of our story is written in this other thread).

Did you have a child for whom you felt there was no hope, you were going to go to your early grave because of him/her, such was the degree of your frustration and worry over them, but then some intervention took place, either in the form of medication or some other means, and now you find that same child to be a joy?

I've got seven children. Five of them have pretty much always been a joy to be around and are nothing like this son. My oldest, however, a daughter, was a real handful, to the point that several times in my life, I'd been told things by friends and strangers to the effect of, "I feel so sorry for you being the mother of her." Then in her mid teens, she got diagnosed with ADHD, got onto medication, and life started to turn around. She is now 19 and I count her as one of my favorite people with whom to spend time.

One of my friends has a son who was similar to my son. She admits that she didn't even like to be around him, and if he wasn't her child, she'd never choose to spend time with such a person. Now, ever since he's started medication, she says he's a whole new person and she delights in his presence.

Has such a positive outcome happened with anyone here, or any other positive outcomes you can share?

[Loonette]

Anyone?

[zette93]

Well, perhaps a success in progress story. DS6 (who has both AS and ADHD) started the school year having 3-5 "incidents" per day, everything from minor outbursts to hitting, kicking, biting meltdowns lasting up to 2 hours. We've been slowly increasing and adjusting medicine for the last eight months, and have reached a point where he had two weeks in a row with no meltdowns. He's also completing work, joining the reading group, and playing with other kids - a minor miracle. Medication made the biggest difference, as we saw very clearly when we tried to decrease his Intuniv dose.

School was always much worse than home, so we didn't have the level of despair you describe, but I'm actually beginning to believe that he may be able to stay in general ed instead of getting sent to a school for kids with behavior issues.

[CheekyMonkey]

I work with kiddos on the spectrum and kiddos who have other disorders. I love seeing their growth and change. It is possible. I've seen kids who've changed with lots of hard work and dedication on their part, and their parent's. Some kids really benefit from behavioral intervention. Some kiddos really benefit from the right meds. Some kiddos need both. Keep trying to find what is right for your son!

Remember, he is only 4! So much change is ahead! As he grows and matures, things will get easier as well. This age is particularly tough, but you will both be okay.

[mommytriz]

My dd was offically dx at 7, but I knew since she was 3 or 4 that she wasn't like all the other kids. She is an amazing little girl and if anyone had ever said they felt sorry for me that I was her Mom you can bet they'd have heard an earful back. I am so proud to be her Mom. Life doesn't come easy to her. She has to work soooo hard to achieve what comes naturally to most little girls. Sure some days are tough. Sure sometimes I wish she didn't face this challenge in her life, but I have faith that because we are being pro active in her therapy, advocating for her in school, developing her many talents instead of focussing on her faults and making sure she has positive experiences that she will succeed. Our job is to make sure she has the opportunity to find her place, just like we'll help our NT kids.

Remember, 4 year olds are often tough even without ADHD. I can see by your other posts that your probably lacking sleep if your little guy has trouble settling down and I can't even imagine keeping up with 7 kids lives and activities, so I bet dealing with this is overwhelming. Try to find positives in each day and make sure your son gets positives too. Give hugs.

As for happy endings...my girl is only 8, but I know she will do great. She is creative, interesting, fun, full of life. No boring blah desk job in her future. She'll be something interesting, inventive and amazing.

I remember seeing a quote once. " Well behaved women seldom make history" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. that I like to think of when I get that call from school in the middle of the day ( which is quite often lately) as even with an rx she is soooo done with the school year. lol

[tripleE]

For my DD, age 9, we started meds about a month ago. DD says that now when she starts to day dream she just snaps right back to listening to the teacher, whereas before she had to hit herself on the forehead with a pencil to stop daydreaming, and she didn't like that because it hurt. lol

So yeah, meds lets my daughter just "pay attention" like other kids. Wonderful

[happytexas]

Originally Posted by Loonette

Did you have a child for whom you felt there was no hope, you were going to go to your early grave because of him/her, such was the degree of your frustration and worry over them, but then some intervention took place, either in the form of medication or some other means, and now you find that same child to be a joy?

One of my friends has a son who was similar to my son. She admits that she didn't even like to be around him, and if he wasn't her child, she'd never choose to spend time with such a person. Now, ever since he's started medication, she says he's a whole new person and she delights in his presence.

Has such a positive outcome happened with anyone here, or any other positive outcomes you can share?

My short story is that my ds was a lot like yours and your friend's. Medication, began shortly before 1st grade offered a huge improvement, (particularly regarding his "I'm being murdered" tantrums) and my stress level went way down, but ds had a long way to go. 2nd grade felt ridiculously easy compared to K and 1st.

His behavior at home was better than at school from about the third month of K, but once he started medication there were few problems with his behavior at home--mostly concerning fighting with his sister and avoiding going to sleep.