How are you doing, dear heart? I have been reading about you and your little one's plight... it seems they have reached a diagnosis, or several. At least you know what they are thinking, and now have an idea about the meds.
It is so hard when children are having problems - although I found in my 10 years of public school teaching (during the nineties), the problem was usually the school and the teachers, not the child. Whenever I hear that a preschool child has "problems" that require medication, I usually find that the preschool teachers are the child's problem. Too many teachers love labels more than they love children, and love conformity above all. Perhaps his is not the case, but so many times it is...
I understand that your case may be different, and I really don't know the circumstances and details surrounding your case. But it makes my heart break to see children come into our schools bright, lively and unique, only to be rendered as drugged, problematic zombies by the very systems which were meant to teach them. Not once in my years in teaching did I ever recommend a child for ritalin or drugs. Only once did a tell a parent that something was truly wrong with a child, and that child was later found to have a serious medical condition. I thank God that we were able to catch it in time, and in so doing save his life.
If you feel like sharing, let us know. If you really do think this is the best course of action for your child, then it probably is the best. But if you have any doubts as to whether or not all these drugs are right for your child, then please make sure to ask questions.
Please let him know we are all praying for him; please know that you have been in my thoughts and prayers so many times this week, deep in the night...
Ok hon I haven't divulged all the details of why D. is in the hospital. here goes (please don't think badly of me I'm going to be brutally honest)
Damian has been 'difficult' from the start. He had colic as an infant. He would cry for literally 18+ hours a day ( I even kept a journal to prove it). His Bio father was an alcoholic and abusive. He hit me in the belly when I was pregnant with Damian and also hit him in the head when he was 3 mos old. (this is why he is EX husband) Starting at age 3 the Drs diagnosed him as severe ADHD. Some said it was my fault and that I needed parenting classes. I took them but NOTHING helped with Damian. No form of discipline helped. He was BAD. No matter how reasonable the rule. No matter how much he understood it he'd break it. He started fires. He stole. He destroyed everything he could get his hands on.(gettng the idea?) It took me 5 years to figure out that it wasn;t my fault and that there was something wrong. But then when I tried to get him help I was told that 'Children this young don't have these kind of problems it's your fault' So I was referred for more parenting classes (same thing as before ) I was forced to take them or risk losing my children. So afther that we kept quiet about his problem behavior. A few days ago he tried to smother his 9 mo baby sister with 3 big bed pilloes. then felt so badly about it that he wanted to kill himself. I called crisis intervention. Then he was hospitalized. the rest is on this thread. (forgive typos please)