It's a miracle

I get asked from time to time why I chose to medicate my son Drew for his AD/HD. Well first because it keeps me sane. I know that sounds selfish but I would be a far worse mother and be drunk in a house dress most of the day if my kids were not on meds for their attention issues. Secondly the research shows that a child with AD/HD is far more likely to have an accident, get in trouble with the law, take illegal drugs, and die (from unnatural causes) without medication to help them focus (and make safe choices). If you've ever seen my children unbridled you would understand. Ultimately I would like them to survive their childhoods.

In fact their second cousin on their dad's side was killed when a car he was working on rolled back and pinned him against another vehicle. He not only had failed to put the car in park but then when it started rolling he tried to hold it rather than getting out of the way. His family was completely against medication. Nobody will know for sure if his attention issues played a roll but I can't help but wonder if they did. It was a terrible loss of a promising young man who was only 17 year old. He had only seconds to decide what to do and he picked the wrong choice. And accidents seem to run in the family. Drew and Camryn's dad rode his bike out into the road and was hit by a car as a child. His brother ran into a car with his bike. His sister's have been in multiple car accidents. All five children in their family have had at least one major run in with the law as teenagers. All of them unmedicated. Frankly I want to avoid that kind of thing altogether for my two children.

Also very important to us is that on top of his attention problems Andrew is diagnosed with Autism, three learning disabilities, and Tourette Syndrome. He also has motor delays. With all of that going on life is hard enough for him. If I can take one of those things away and help make it a little easier why wouldn't I? Giving him one pill in the morning means that he then only has to deal with Autism, Tourette Syndrome, and his learning disabilities each day. I happen to think that is enough. If you think differently that's okay. I won't blast your choice so don't blast mine.

So with all of those obstacles poor Drew has never been able to learn his address or phone number. I started trying when he was about 5 when we moved in here. That was 7 years ago. I either suck at teaching kids their address or he just couldn't learn it. It's my blog so I can pass the buck. He he. We tried and tried but he just couldn't get more that the house number. This presents a major safety issue because if he gets lost he wouldn't be able to find his way home very easily.

So a few months ago I finally broke down and got him a Medic-Alert wrist band so that if he did ever become lost whoever found him would have a place to start and someone would be able to reach me. His Aide was working with him on learning his address before Christmas and he was sometimes getting parts of it but not very reliably. Then tonight Camryn started talking about if she ever had to call 9-1-1 and we talked about what to do and say. Out of the blue Drew adds that she should give them her address and then he says it out loud to both of us.....and it was right. I couldn't believe it. My kid who is 12 and a half has finally learned his address. I almost fell over. That might not seem like a big thing but in our world it's huge.

So now it's settled. We can never move. Ever!!