Leah is my youngest. She is a better reader and artist than anyone in her class. She can tell you about any animal you want to know. She has ADHD and Mood Disorder. I worry about her safety everyday. When you look at her you just see a normal girl. However, she struggles with being able control her impulsive moods and behavior. A lot of the time it looks like she is someone who gets everything that she wants. Unfortunately, a lot of the time she is anxious her behavior that she loses control over will cause her to lose her favorite things. Leah is not spoiled or over sugared. Leah has a medical diagnosed disorder.
Leah has been to at least 5 evaluations for this particular problem. She has had countless tests. We have been in regular therapy for 3 years and now do behavior therapy. It took over a year to put Leah on medication. I wasn't going to do it. I decided that she was too young. She would be able to mature and be a little safer. I almost lost her making the wrong decision. I thought that medicine was more dangerous than her impulsive behavior. I learned from my mistake. I put her on medication. Her impulsive behavior was better. I did not have to worry on a daily basis whether or not she was going to run away and into the street.
Leah also has trouble sleeping. I could count on my hands the nights my husband and I had the bed to ourselves. We put her in her own room and she will come in to ours between 12-3am. This was better than her being awake from then on so it works for us. She has nightmares and is very anxious about going to sleep. Generally my husband lies down with her until she falls asleep. After a fitful night of sleep if we are lucky Leah will sleep until around 5am. Now she has her own room where she can go and read.
Leah is ready to go in the morning. She is hard to slow down. It might be difficult to get her to sit and eat breakfast. She starts to get upset about having to sit. She might be quite angry by the time she gets on the bus. This is after fighting to get clothes on, eat and brush hair. We take our medicine. If I can get through the morning without hitting we are successful. We are rarely successful. Leah will mostly hit herself, however will attempt to hit her sister. This is obviously stopped immediately.
Most kids with ADHD benefit from a low sugar diet. However, with Leah she has hypoglycemia, or her liver doesn't process sugar as fast as she burns it. She also has sensory processing disorder. This affects what she will attempt to put in her mouth. She has a very limited amount of food that she will eat. Of course tried to get her to eat something undesirable. Leah does not give in and will not eat. When Leah does not eat she goes into what looks like a stomach flu. It is ketosis. Ketosis lands Leah in the hospital. We avoid the ketosis. We give as many healthy choices as possible in our limited selection. Leah has gone from a not thriving status to a very healthy weight.
Although it is the recommendation to start Leah on a mood stabilizing medicine, I would rather work as hard as I can in behavior therapy before doing so. However, If at any time I thought her life was again in danger, she would be on medication. It is not until she is a teenager that she is at an extreme risk for things like suicide. You better believe that this mother is going to do everything I can to fight for her. I try things before medicine absolutely but if medicine is the answer I will use it. Mental illness is a serious issue. It is not something to just decide to quick lets check a website about it. Ok I got my answer. It is a struggle day in and day out.
I implore that anybody that struggles with mental illness or has a child that does don't be afraid to do your all for them. Don't be afraid to get them the best help possible. Don't let anyone that has no clue about it dictate what you should do. I think you should do what is best. I think that if diet doesn't work that behavior therapy doesn't work the logical step is medicine. There is life saving medicine out there. It use to be that children like mine were put in an institution because we didn't have medical advancement. We do know. They can be productive adults. We have always dealt with children like mine. Even before we had processed foods and vaccines etc.
There was a brief moment in history where we did not deal with illness and hardship. Adam ate of the apple. Even if we did all the things that were listed on a health website, we are fallen creatures. We are in need of a Savior not the latest supplement or a way to get rid of this or that naturally. We can't get rid of our sin. We can however, help those who need it while we are here. We can be kind to those who struggle with things like ADHD and other disorders that you can't see but very much are there. We need to ask questions instead assuming that someone needs what you would think is much needed advice. ADHD and Autism is still being researched. We haven't even scratched the surface of something that had not been defined for centuries. I have read more books and articles than I can count and I know this to be true. This I do know is true: It exists and I live it. Telling me it doesn't is going to get you into heap of trouble every time. If a "Doctor" says it doesn't, I am sorry but that Doctor has immediately been discredited.
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