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Understanding Treatment
Joe, a seventh-grader, wanted to be “like everyone else” and began skipping his lunchtime dose of medication. When he came to see me, he explained that he did not want to go to the school nurse when his friends went to recess.
He believed that if he stopped taking his medication, he wouldn’t have ADHD anymore. Together with his parents and doctor, we made a plan to try a week without medication. His teachers provided daily ratings during our experiment.
When I saw him again, Joe told me how much harder it was to finish his schoolwork and pay attention.
After talking with his doctor, he agreed to go back on medication, if he could try a new kind that he could take in the morning and that would last all day. Joe felt in charge of his decision to use whatever helped him to do well at school.
Next: Falling Behind in Middle School
A version of this article appears in the Summer 2009 issue of ADDitude.
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