Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Medication - Part 2

I mentioned a while back that after much deliberation we were starting Ari on medication for ADHD, but I haven’t ever talked about how she’s doing or whether we feel it was the right decision.

Since before the medication I have had weekly contact through email with her teacher in order for us to be a unified front on encouraging Ari and helping her utilize her potential in school.

I’ve known almost from the beginning that the medication was helping, but I got this email from her teacher yesterday and thought I’d share.

Hello,

I am sorry I didn't respond sooner! I realized that I had not gotten back to you, and I definitely want you to know what a fabulous job Ari is doing!

She is so engaged and interested in history (the 6th graders were sharing their ancient China projects and she was so attentive with great questions). She is also confident and working well with me in math. She is so bright and it is so nice to see her using it! She still needs reminders to focus on what she needs to do when working in groups, but she is really managing that well. I am really enjoying her!

Thanks,
Carol

It’s so nice to know that you are making the right decisions as far as parenting is concerned, because let’s face it, half the time it really is a crap shoot and this is the confirmation that makes is all worth it. I’m really proud of Ari and her achievement in this area, the medication doesn’t fix everything, but it gives her that little extra push as far as focusing and attention are concerned during school hours. Anyway, I just had to brag on her for a minute…

5 comments:

The Proud Grandparents said...

What a wonderful confirmation to you as parents. Way to go Ari - keep up the great work.

Carol said...

Hooray for Ari! She deserves to be successful in school. Did you know that I was her reading aide in 2nd grade? She had more personality than anyone else in that class, but I could always notice what a struggle it was to focus. I'm glad she's doing so well!!!

Corri said...

What good news! I'm so glad that it is all working out for her. You are doing a wonderful job of helping her achieve her potential. I understand how hard it is to make all the "right" choices all the time for our kids. You guys are such great parents.

Karla said...

I am so glad that it is working for her. I am sure she will feel so much better about her scholastic accomplishments and be more excited about the whole "learning" process! You are a wonderful mother.

Kristin said...

I taught 7th-8th grade Spanish for a year and I had a kid in my class who was just fine and did well. The next year I substituted him in a different class and was shocked at the change in his behavior. I couldn't get him to stay in his seat for more than five minutes at a time. His parents called for a conference with all his teachers and I mentioned this to him. They told me they had taken him off his medication. I didn't even know he had been on medication. He was a completely different kid.

I know some people don't believe in using any medication, but I think for some kids, it's the best way for them to succeed. I'm glad it's working so well for Ari.