Does DS sound familiar to any of you?
Your son sounds very familiar to me!! I have the female version living in my house.
She is a model child, behaviour-wise. Everyone who encounters her gushes about how well-behaved, mannerly, sweet, kind, etc. etc, she is. Even with all of the problems she has in school (ADHD, dyslexia?, dysgraphia) she is compliant and always tries her best. If the teacher points out to her that she is not paying attention, she apologizes profusely and is crushed that she disappointed. In short, she is NOT your typical ADHD child. She is 'moderately' medicated, and this helps with the physical symptoms. She can now sit fairly still in her chair and she no longer scales and straddles our furniture at home. She talks a little more slowly and her parents no longer feel like they are running a constant 100 metre dash to keep up with her (it is more like a marathon now LOL). Part of her problem with inattention in school is that it is just a really bad fit for her. Her school and teacher are beyond fantastic. Ultimately, she is not a kid who will succeed in a school setting of any type. Her brain works differently and she can't do the work required in the time/manner required to be deemed 'complete' or to show that she understands concepts enough to be accelerated. When she does learn a new topic, she is excited and engaged (as much as she can be), but she still can't show them what she knows.
Right now, she is really struggling with the inattention bit. She has commented that she can't even pay attention when she is really, really trying and it is frustrating her even more than normal. So, while we did not want to try any more medication trials... we have opted to give it a go once more. The stimulant she takes is way under the recommended dose for her weight due to mood disturbances. As I said, it helps with her physical symptoms. We just added in a half-dose of Straterra this week. If it works, we may keep her on both... if not, we will try the straterra. Ultimately, our goal is to make HER happy. If she feels better, than we are happy. Just keep in mine, that if you opt for meds that it is not a quick fix. It DOES make things better, but it will not make the ADHD go away! DD has been on meds for 2 years now and we are STILL looking for the right combination.
