Dillon's Medication Vacation

Dillon taking his medicine

My last post was about medication "vacations", what they are and how/why parents do and like them. So, after doing my research on these, I talked to my husband about what his thoughts were on doing something like this for my son Dillon....

Before I get ahead of myself here, I want to give you a little background on Dillon, his ADHD and his medicine. Dillon has been on this medication for his ADHD since 2nd grade (now going into 8th). His medication dosages have pretty much stayed the same until last year. Since he has been having such growth spurts, puberty and being on the same medication/dosage for such a long time, we had to up his dosage twice last year.

ADHD and Siblings

Kiera and Dillon

Like any family, my kids will fight like crazy sometimes. My oldest two, Dillon and Kiera, are the worst fighters though, which I think is because they are closest in age (2 yrs apart). But, as they got older, I started to notice some jealousy developing in Kiera towards Dillon. This was because Dill got more "attention" due to his ADHD. Does this ring a bell to any of you?

You see, Kiera is the complete opposite of Dillon. She is an honor role student, very motivated and strives to do everything perfect whereas Dillon struggles more in these areas. Now don't get me wrong, Kiera gets a lot of attention and praise for all of her hard work and achievements, but, she also doesn't need much help with homework or have doctors and counseling appointments, school meetings and behavioral issues. It's hard to impossible to give all of your children the exact same attention, especially when you have a child with special needs. Every child is different, while some require more help and assistance, others are more independent. 

Kiera and Dillon

I found that one of the best things you can do is to talk to all your children and teach them about ADHD and to understand your ADHD child's needs and struggles as much as possible. There are actually even children's books about ADHD that you can read with your children to better understand ADHD that I found to be wonderful for all the kids to learn about and understand ADHD, even Dillon. You can find some great ones at my Child ADHD Store. I feel the more all the kids are aware of and understand ADHD and it's challenges the more supportive they will be of their ADHD sibling.
 

Dillon, me and Kiera

 It is so hard to split your time up evenly among all your kids all the time, especially when one is independent with homework while you're fighting half the night with your ADHD child. Even though we may be arguing or struggling with our ADHD child and it may be considered a more "negative" attention, it still can make others jealous of the attention.

The most important thing you can do though is to make sure all your kids know how much you love them and that they are all important and special to you! I have been looking into more ways to help with siblings of ADHD kids and will be posting a list shortly.

Raising a Child with ADHD

Raising a child with ADHD is not easy, it is a very frustrating and stressful life long journey. I know it seems like they aren't listening to you when you talk, or just don't care about their schooling. I know this because I have a 13 year old boy with this condition. The truth is though, that even though it may seem like they don't care or listen, most ADHD children DO care and WANT to listen, pay attention and do well. I know my son always says "I just want to be normal" and it breaks my heart. I always tell him he is normal, he just has to try a little harder at things. But, the reality of it is, that little things like sitting still, doing homework, remembering to bring things home and turn them in that we think are easy are an everyday struggle for our ADHD children. They honestly want to all those things, it's just a lot harder for them.

Most ADHD children are on some type of medication such as Adderall, Ritalin, or Concerta, and though these can help with the symptoms, it still can be hard for your child. Some of the most important help your child can get for his/her ADHD is non medication help from you.

Dill's ADHD

  When Dillon was 7 years old he started going to see a counselor. His father and I had split up about 1 1/2 years earlier and he has always been very close to mom. So, he was having problems with not wanting to got to or stay at his dad's. We took him to see a counselor and he also saw a Psychiatrist. She diagnosed Dillon with ADHD. I was worried again that maybe this was all because his dad and I had split up! But, again was told that it was usually genetic,
and his fathers nephew had it as well,
poor Dillon was so upset!