The Po Show

Happy ADHD Awareness Day!

Geez, there's a day for everything now. I doubt this is one of the officially sanctioned by Congress "Special Days." Sounds like something cooked up by the drug companies.

But reading that it was ADHD Day made me realize that a year ago, Matthew was ramping up onto higher dosages of Ritalin, and I thought it was helping, and he actually decided that he could read. He went from thinking he couldn't read to reading at grade level in 2 weeks. And I thought, wow, a Ritalin success story!!

But then he needed Zoloft on top of the Ritalin because his anxiety also ramped up. And then we had the February Massacre, and the horror that was March, and our new and so obviously superior psychiatrist said that he should never have been on Ritalin. Because, like, he doesn't have ADHD. And the Zoloft was the worst possible thing for him, since he needed LESS serotonin and dopamine, not more, which is why he's on Seroquel now.

I've read for years about the dangers of people slapping a diagnosis of ADHD on kids and filling them up with Ritalin, but it actually caught me by surprise when it happened to my own kid. So much for 8 years of working in psychopharmacology.

But for those who need more awareness raised regarding their ADHD, better understanding of what they experience and how they suffer, I wish there was more than one "Special Day." Just as I wish "Autism Awareness Month" was every month, so that people could learn that autistic doesn't always mean Rain Man.

Awareness, and understanding, each and every day. Now that would be cool.