A little background on me… I am a mother to 3 boys, in my mid-thirties. I expect, although I am undiagnosed, that this ADHD thing came to they from me.

At this point, my kids are approximately 9,5, and 2. Two of them have been diagnosed with ADHD, and the other although very young, may be exhibiting early signs of such.

My kids are very different from each other in some of their symptoms and needs. I suspect that it is different for every child. Don’t expect an easy fix with a pill. But it’s ok!

Having ADHD is not the end of the world!

There may be benefits to neurodivergence!

What to expect:

1. Expect diagnoses and successful treatment to be something that constantly needs tweaking.

My 5 year old was started out slow on meds with increasing dose to effect. My almost 9 year old started this journey somewhere around the age of 5. We’ve gone through a couple different medications, and several different dosages.

Just when you think things have gone well for awhile, expect to be knocked down slightly when they need a higher dose suddenly. Kids grow and their body composition changes, making it hard to treat with the same dose for long periods.

2. Expect to also have to take them to counseling sessions. Probably monthly or every few months once things begin to go smoothly. It won’t hurt!

3. Expect extra check-ups. Now, when going on many ADHD meds, they are required to do a 12 lead EKG for baseline, and follow-ups to check that there are no adverse cardiac reactions to the meds.

4. Expect to get repeat evaluations from teachers. One of the most important reasons for meds, is to make sure that your kid does well in school. If your kid is bouncing around, or their mind is elsewhere, they’re probably not learning much, and will start to decline in school.

It’s good and reassuring to find that the teachers see what’s going on as well. No one wants to put their kids on unnecessary medicine, and it’s easy to second guess ourselves. Those evaluations will help with that.

5. Other issues might pop up, or they might not. When your child is constantly going for a check-up (every 2-3 months) with a psychiatrist, and also checking in with a counselor, any issues are more likely to be found.

Currently, my 9 year old is also being treated with a mood stabilizer( for everyone’s benefit). He went through taking an anti-depressant prior to that with little improvement.

He had a constant, seriously grumpy, angry, moody issue. That has since been fixed with some adjustments to dosage along the way.

6. Expect possible other side effects. For at least a year or so while on Adderal, my son had a serious lack of appetite and hardly wanted to eat. It’s a difficult battle to be constantly trying to get your kid to eat, just enough at least to maintain his weight.

He was super skinny for a long time. Eventually with the addition of the mood stabilizer, he regained his appetite, and since has maintained a healthier weight.

Also common is insomnia, which we have not encountered. If you see other side effects, make sure to tell your Dr. right away!

7. Expect to be constantly monitoring your child for any issues or slips in effectiveness of the meds. The quicker you catch it, the less likely it is for things at school to be impacted by it. You will need to be aware of small changes. Plan to forever advocate for your child(you should have expected that anyway 😉)

My final thoughts are of feeling that I have lived through these kinds of experiences without treatment, which has caused me to have to work harder to be successful.

In college to avoid missing bits of the lecture, and as a study tool, I recorded the lecture to listen to later. It’s a losing battle to maintain attention, and try to sit still for long periods of time. I’m not lacking in intelligence, just the ability to do these other things.

I wish that my parents had taken note, and tried to help by having me diagnosed and treated. Perhaps it was just an unheard of thing then, or too controversial.

I always hope that I am doing the right thing for my boys. But I overwhelmingly believe that this is helping them to do and be their best.