I had every intention of tracking Cameron's struggles with ADHD, but I started this blog way too late in the game, I believe. When I published the first post of this blog, we were already well into the stages of diagnosis, counseling, and trial and error when it came to Cameron's progress.
To make a really long, and drawn out story shortened, Cameron and I attending months of counseling with a psychologist (who is not able to prescribe medication). In these sessions, we discussed many different behavioral techniques to be used at home and at school. Cameron was so willing and eager to try all of them, which was really great! We had "sticker" reward charts, which would give him stickers for keeping his hands to himself for half a day at school, or not interrupting or "shouting-out". We found that while Cameron is able to do this for a little while, a full half day was not in the cards.
We tried other methods of rewards, like when the teacher would give Cameron "tally marks" when she would catch him doing what he was supposed to do. After so many tally marks, he would get a prize out of the treasure chest. It took him awhile to get a reward, and he quickly forgot about it once he got the prize.
We tried many other methods suggested in part by the psychologist, teacher and school counselor. There was still no improvement.
The school counselor purchased these bands that go around the chair in the classroom. These are supposed to let him move his feet on the band to get out extra energy. No difference.
We went through this trial and error process from October 2010 until about March or April 2011. At the conference with the teacher and counselor, I asked them if I were to try medication for Cameron, when the best time would be for that. Should I wait until the next school year since this year was almost over?
The teacher told me that if I were to decide to pursue the medication, that doing it now, which was the start of the 4th quarter, would be the best option. She said that they would be able to tell if it did any good being in the same setting, rather than with a new teacher the next school year. It would be hard to tell at that point if it is the teacher/environment or if the medication was making a difference.
It was at that point that I called the his family physician, with the high recommendation from the psychologist, to try medication. And I cried after I made the call. I cried after I picked up the medication and the pharmacist explained all the side effects to me (the pharmacists son was on the exact same medication that I was about to start Cameron on, so it was a huge relief to speak to him about it). And finally, the night before I gave him the medication, I cried the most. (I am getting teary-eyed writing this right now).
This was the hardest decision I have had to make for Cameron so far, and I was scared. I was scared I was going to lose my little boy. The little boy that drives me nuts sometimes with all his energy, and the little boy that makes me laugh because he is at times just crazy...in the best way possible with his wild imagination and, again, endless energy. I was scared he was going to be this zombie that just sat around with a glazed look in his eyes. I was scared that he wouldn't eat anymore, which was a possible side effect.
But then I thought about the other side of his life. The part that makes him sad because kids don't want to play with him. The part that makes his self esteem low because the teacher constantly has to say his name to get his attention or to calm him down. I remember the statement, "I don't have any friends." And again, I cried.
So here we are, a Saturday morning, the first day of his new medication. The first step in this process was to teach Cam how to swallow an actual pill, which he had never had to do before. Luckily, Shawn was amazing at that, and Cam actually thought it was pretty cool...not sure if that is good or not!
I told Cameron to let me know if he felt different in any way, and to let me know right away if he felt sick. Then he took the pill. My heart sank, fluttered, skipped....why was this so hard on me? He certainly didn't mind doing it!
Then I waited. An hour went by, no change. He acted the same, ate the same, everything was the same. I don't know what I was expecting to happen, but I was at least expecting SOMETHING to happen. Nothing. Same thing the next day. We stayed with this dosage for the next week, then called the doctor to let him know it wasn't working.
Basically, we amended the dosage 3 times before we finally got results. Then when we did, it was amazing. My mom, who lives in Minnesota, called to talk to me, and I put Cameron on the phone, as I usually do, and they had a conversation. A real conversation. Normally, Cameron says Hi, love you, bye....and he's done. My mom even said that she didn't know what to talk about, because she has never had a real conversation with him on the phone. He even asked her, "What have you been up to Grandma?" And then he listened, commented, and kept talking. I was seeing a positive difference.
His last quarter of school ended up being fantastic. He went from the kid that was shunned to the kid that the kids were asking for help from. Cameron was one of the best readers in his class, according to his teacher, and she said the other students were always asking Cam what this or that said. He became a class helper and a leader, and he was happy. Really, truly happy.
The teacher and counselor said they no longer needed regular meetings, and most likely his first grade teacher would not need to see us other than regular conferences either.
His appetite has decreased, mostly at lunch only, but I don't think that is a bad thing. Cameron loved to eat before, and not just when he was hungry. He would eat a full meal, as much as I would eat, and then ask me 10-15 minutes after dinner for a snack. There is no way he should have been hungry, but he would always ask. And keep asking all day long. Now, I do have to make him eat lunch, but breakfast and dinner are relatively normal. He just doesn't ask for more anymore, which is good. He has grown taller and thinned out a lot in the past 3 month, and he actually looks great!
We are still in the monitoring stages with his medical doctor and the medications, and we are still seeing the psychologist for behavioral help. The focus for the future: He now knows what it feels like to be under control, now he needs to figure out how keep that control and someday wean off the medication. That will most likely be years down the road, but we have the time, and we will do whatever it takes.
For now, we are all still adjusting, and still trying to figure out his diet and other factors that change how can act on a day to day basis, but overall, I am happy with the results, and most of all, Cameron is happy in his life right now.
