My oldest son was kicked out of kindergarten on the 2nd day of school. It wasn't until after his first surgery that we could even try Ritalin to deal with the hyperactivity. It helped a little, but not enough to warrant continuation. Cylert didn't help at all. We opted to line him up with special ed classes prepared to handle the problem. He has completed half of his work toward a BS in geology, but just doesn't have the capacity to handle more than one or two classes at a time. Completing his degree is going to be exorbitantly expensive due to the fee schedules oriented to people taking a more standard 16 units per semester. At 27 he is still somewhat emotionally immature. He is still inattentive. His is currently working as a cashier at Deseret Industries. A week of consecutive "zero out" events on his till is a big deal for him. He just passed his driver's license written exam too. It's a supervised license. He really needs a "safety" driver in place to augment his attention issues.
I suspect I'm also somewhat an ADD case myself. My mom was always nagging me to "finish" things. That prompted me to make lists of things that need to be finished, then ravenously consume the work on my list.
My youngest son hasn't faired as well. He was in special ed in San Diego too. When we moved to Idaho, the school system failed him in a big way. He dropped out in 8th grade. I'm trying to get him motivated to complete the GED so he is marketable. He says the special ed classes in San Diego went over the same narrow range of material, so he has much work to catch up with the curriculum of the "normal" students.
A brain MRI and PET scan should be considered as well to rule out organic disorders. I'm not a physician but a doctoral level biomedical scientist who has had to evolve into the areas of neurology, psychiatry, and substance abuse.
And I did stay at a Holiday Inn. 8~)
It sounds that he is afflicted well beyond that which is typical for an ADDer. Effective intervention, pharmacologic and/or psychotherapeutic may spare you all a lot of unnecessary hardship.
My heart goes out to you, your son, and your family, brother. I'm glad that he's working at DI. He likely knows a friend of mine (whose dad also is a friend). His family moved from our ward a few years back, and the lad had a benign brain tumor that was removed/irradiated but left him with moderate cognitive deficits that are more than offset by his great Christ-like spirit and his testimony of the Gospel.
He also served an honorable mission but I cannot recall where he served -- I have seen dozens and dozens of missionaries go out to serve around the globe and return home again and after more than 30 years most of them seem to blend together in my memory, such as it is. 8~)
I can provide you with the names of some medical specialists in your general area and beyond (a couple of them are good friends of mine) or possibly in the DC area or elsewhere. We could work out the practical details through my ward and stake and otherwise if necessary. Please stay in touch -- probably best by FReepmail....
I answered your post before reading it through. You would do well to explore other possible sources for your younger son’s condition. I’ll keep you all in my fasting and prayers and hope that those from such as I do not end up being a jinx (just kidding, of course)....
I was among the skeptics of ADHD, and one of those who believed if the parent would just apply the board of education to their seat of knowledge they could cure the kid. See post #11. But my 6-year old son most definitely has ADHD, and despite some peoples beliefs it is not something that can be beaten out of a child. I have learned in a short time that a kid with ADHD is not the same as a kid that is a spoiled brat. Far from it, my child is the sweetest kid who is very generous to others, fun loving, and always happy. I have been working with him at home with that Total Transformation program that you hear advertised on the radio, and it does seem to have helped at home - but at school I have been pulled aside by the 3 times so far by his kindergarten teacher this year, to tell me is not listening to simple directions given in class. A typical incident would be her giving directions for the students to grab a pencil and eraser and gather in a circle on the mat. He will join the other kids on the mat, but be the only one who did not grab the pencil and eraser. I’m at wit’s end, but I don’t believe in giving them drugs, unless they are a danger to them selves or others, which he’s not.