Your best approach is probably one that aims to educate. Try not to take any comments you receive personally,
even if they are personally directed. Try to nod your head, smile, and say something like "I agree (people love when you agree
), meds are over used today, and this makes it hard for those families that truly need them to feel at peace with their decision..." Most people have no idea what they are talking about when they comment off the cuff.
I really like this approach. I think it's true that once things become disorders with available medication, the medication tends to be overprescribed. There are lots of people today on depression meds who probably don't meet criteria for depression and there are kids on ADHD meds who really do have poor parenting as the root of their issues. But that doesn't change the fact that depression is a frequently fatal disease and the SSRIs have been life-saving for some. Similarly, there are kids with ADHD who benefit enormously from the medication and it certainly sounds like your kid is one of them. Just because some kids don't need the medication they're on doesn't mean that *your* kid doesn't need medication.
From what you've described, it sounds like meds have been wonderful for your son and he's lucky to have you willing to endure the critcism to get him proper treatment.
I think the only parents who get no criticism from others overstepping their boundaries must be those who have perfectly normal children. (Are there such kids?) If your kid has any outlier tendencies, it seems to open up lots of criticism from others who don't understand the situation. In the GT world, people get criticized for homeschooling, for skipping grades (just let them be kids), for advocating (overinvolved helicopter parents), for getting testing (leads to a "label"), and for thinking school should involve academics and not merely be social. It took me a year of being really nice in the school system before I accepted that I'd rather be "one of those" parents than let the school harm my kid. Now I'm much less sensitive to the criticism from family, friends, or school personnel because I don't think they know enough about GT issues to comment effectively. And sometimes, just giving in to being one of those parents can have positive consequences. We found people in the school who agreed with us and were happy to see us advocate and encouraged it (quietly and only when alone with us!). We found that many people were willing to learn about the HG world as we were and it turned out to be ok!
Welcome and I hope you find support for your choices here that will bolster you against those who criticize IRL.
