Hi Noah's Mom,

You're not alone. One thing many of our readers repeatedly tell us is the importance of finding people who "get it," who've been there, who are there still, dealing with kinds of struggles you and your child face every day.

An article that comes to mind that touches upon this topic, that I hope will bring some comfort to you, is The Value of Support Groups for Parents of ADHD Children. In it, mom/author/ADHD expert Michelle Novotni shares these comforting words:

"When my youngest son was little, I used to dread getting together with other moms ... I knew I needed to find other moms with kids like mine, people who would understand. People who understood why I was always exhausted. I found what I was looking for in my local Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) parent support group. I remember tears rolling down my cheeks as I listened to a mom speak about her son’s adventures on their roof. I wasn’t alone! In the years since that first meeting, I’ve attended dozens of other events with parents of attention deficit disorder (ADD ADHD) children. These gatherings have given me some of the best ideas and strategies I’ve found to manage my child’s behaviors. Most importantly, they’ve been an invaluable source of support through the ups and downs of parenting..." Read the full article

You may also be comforted by a few more of these ADDitude resources:

How to Find or Start an ADHD Support Group

The Simple ADHD Expert Blog

The ADHD Mom Blog

The ADHD Dag Blog

Parents Share How They've Helped Their ADHD Children Make Friends

Expert Advice for Helping ADHD Children Make Friends

Why ADHD Children Have a Hard Time Making Friends

Help for Socially Immature Children

All the best,

Mary

Web Editor

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There really is a miracle cure out there for Noah. It's called the Feingold program. The Feingold association is a non-profit helping parents to "fix" ADD and other learning and behavior problems through diet and other non-food product changes. We have been using it for almost 11 years and my life went from nightmare with a totally out of control son to him now an honors high school junior (haven't used any meds in years!). I encourage you to try this for yourself. More information at www.feingold.org.

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My heart goes out to you! I know that there are days where you just want to throw in the towel and crawl into a big black hole! My son just turned 12 and was diagnosed with ADHD 2 years ago. He was adopted from a Russian orphanage at 1 1/2 yrs. old. We started therapy 2 years ago when Dad and I didn't know what to do with him anymore. Any type of discipline for his "innappropriate behavior" doesn't phase him at all. We constantly get phone calls from school for some type of impulsive, inappropriate, offensive behavior. Last year alone he was sent to the office at school 15 times. We tried behavioral therapy for about 9 months with no success and then made the agonizing decision to medicate. We were warned by our doctor that meds are not a "magic Pill" that ADHD is a daily struggle regardless. We have since tired a variety of meds, some which work some which don't. We had to stop stimulants due to unhealthy weight loss. We have just started intuniv and are waiting for it to build up in his system. We have also been advised by a nutrionist as to the proper foods which help ADHD symptoms. I have gone round and round with our school district trying to get help and the most I could wrangle from them was a 504 plan.

Being a Mom of an ADHD child is a struggle every day. Some days are better than others. No family or friends can know what you go through every day. Know and acknowledge that your child is loving and a gift from God. Don't ever stop advocating for the help your child deserves because no one else is going to do it. Not your therapist, not your school teacher, etc. Try to remember that your child is not a "bad child" and that you are a GOOD MOM!

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I just had someone point out to me the other day , that all I talk about is my "ADHD" kids. IT's so true..I tell everyone, because when they were gets I felt like I had to explain their behaviors and I continue to do so. They are not just ADHD kids. I don't know how to let that go..does anyone?

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