Does He Have ADHD?
My oldest boy is a firecracker. I’ve never actually seen him cross a room without wiggling, jumping or making one of his many trademark faces. We first had him assessed a year and a half ago, when he was three. They said he was a smart kid that was experiencing uneven development. Okay, no worries. We had him assessed again recently and were assured that, no, he didn’t have the ADHD that I had so dreaded. Instead, they feared absence seizures due to some eyelid fluttering they noticed.
However, when the report finally came to us in the mail, it was a different story. I read the words ADHD combined type at least ten times. The kicker was when they said he would be a “good candidate for medication.” I had expressly told the doctor that I was not a big fan of medication and that I would do everything in my power to avoid it.
This is what they wanted me to show his kindergarten teacher? I quickly called the doctor. Once we connected, she admitted that yes, he did fit the profile for ADHD, combined type. Why hadn’t she told that to me during our meeting?
If you ask me, I am starting to believe from my research that his characteristics, consistent with being a Visual Spatial Learner or VSL, are the very same set of characteristics that also define ADHD. I don’t actually believe that even the experts know the difference at this point.
The doctor I spoke to is an ADHD expert. She said 1 in 13 children are diagnosed with ADHD. How many aren’t? How many slip under the radar because of higher intelligence or because they are girls and do not act out in the same way? As a person who likes to have the answers, it is very frustrating to not know who to trust and what to think. I can only imagine that there are literally millions of parents out there right now who are thinking the same things.
Do I trust people (who do not seem to know what they are doing) who tell me that drugs are the answer? Why are there so many ‘cases’ of ADHD? If ADHD involves the brain, why isn’t there a definitive test to determine if a child has it? If there is, where is it and why isn’t the technology everywhere?
I plan to share my answers with everyone as I go on this journey. If you have found some of your own, please take the time to share them with me at feedback@modernsage.com. I would really appreciate it.
On a lighter note, if you are an overworked mom, you may get a little gentle stress relief with our latest quiz.
Tags: ADHD, ADHD combined type, ADD, boys, attention deficit disorder, VSL, visual spatial learner, parenting add child
ADHD, Natural Health