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Re: ADD/Ritalin
Darcie Wallace (DARBIN@AOL.COM)
Sun, 10 Mar 1996 17:38:04 -0500
I lived with ADD (without the hyperactivity) for almost 17 years before being
diagnosed. That was about 1 1/2 years ago. I was always very scatterbrained
and got bad grades all through school. I got tested right before my senior
year of high school. I hated it because everyone else I had known with ADD
was obnoxious and hyper. I figured that I just didn't care about school,
even though I was bright. I was always distracted, and I got bored very
easily. A doctor put me on a generic form of Ritalin. I didn't want to take
it, but did it to please my mom. I only took it for two weeks. It had no
effect on me during the day, but one night I had a late dance class. I came
off the drug right in the middle of it and ended up having to leave. I had a
huge letdown that caused me to become very emotional. It turns out it was
probably the wrong prescription. Ritalin isn't the answer for everyone. For
over a year, I have been without it. Since being diagnosed, I've gotten the
best grades ever. Sometimes just knowing there's something wrong can help in
fixing the problem. I know that I have to do things a little different. I
often forget things, but I've learned to write everything down and leave
notes for myself everywhere. I think that it makes me the person I am
though. If I didn't have it, I don't think I'd have as much of a
personality. My best friend also has ADHD. There are more people out there,
especially adults, who are just realizing they have it. It isn't necessarily
a bad thing, as long as the child/parent/scout leader knows how to deal with
it. It may be hard to get these kids to focus now, but if they set their
mind, they can do anything they want. With a little encouragement from my
mom, I earned the Silver award, but I never got around to the Gold, even
though I was fairly close. This was long before I was diagnosed. High
school was too much of a distraction to concentrate on finishing it,
especially when I was the only girl in my troop. Try to help these kids out.
Talk to the parents. If they haven't been diagnosed, they should be.
There's usually help available through the school district. There is a
chance that they're just "rowdy" and being kids. Most times, that isn't the
whole story. Good luck.
Darcie Wallace - Davis/Orange, CA
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
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