We have a 31-year old son who suffers from ADHD. When he was a baby he slept only two hours out of every 24 and cried the rest of the time, he threw up constantly, and was seeing a psychiatrist at the age of 2! The psychiatrist called him "Hitler in a highchair". At that time ADHD had not been diagnosed so the blame was put on me since hubby was at work 14 hours a day. I was a bad mom who just didn't know how to raise a child. When our son hit the school system everything went from bad to worse. The teachers and other students picked on him and he bullied back. The school board even threw their hands up in desperation when our son was in 5th grade. We tried putting him into all sorts of activities where he constantly caused problems and was, eventually, kicked out. We tried counselling, tests, after-school treatment programs, etc., etc. ad nauseum. Nothing worked and our life was miserable. At this point we had 2 more boys; one with a severe learning disability and the other with epilepsy. Once our ADHD son entered high school he was in the principal's office more than he was in the classroom. He finally dropped out and went on the road with a band. He stayed with them for 7 years and now has a job teaching guitar lessons. He's still a difficult person at times but, for the most part, is a wonderful man and is happily married.
I empathize with anyone else who is going through this whirlwind, merry-go-round existence and sincerely hope you will seek help for both your child and yourselves. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. God bless!
Brenda
