Personal Stories

David has had problems with ADD since he was in elementary school. So far back I can hardly remember. He has always been highly imaginative, but it became increasingly difficult to get him to follow through on any task. We have done our best to cope with it at home without meds. He is homeschooled, and can finish his schoolwork in a quarter of the time it takes the other kids, IF he actually does it.

He is now 17, and still struggles with completing tasks he does not like. He periodically has to look over his life and figure out what influences may be making it harder for him to function. For the last year he has worked two days a week as an office assistant, a job which has suited him well because it involves many of his strengths, while still challenging him to do repetitive tasks which he does not like. It has enough variety to keep him interested most of the time though. It reassures us that he will be able to hold down a job, at least of some kind.

He was given the choice at age 15 whether he wanted to use medication, or to make the effort to take over some of the responsibility for his own coping ability. He characteristically prayed about it, and came back to us to say that he felt strongly that medication would not be a wise route. It was presented to him as an option, not as a negative thing. He still struggles to maintain, but he does learn and grow. We feel that this will always be a challenge that lurks on the edge of his life waiting to swallow him up if he allows it.

He has noticed a direct correlation between his self-esteem and how well he controls his ADD. When he is having trouble functioning, he feels worse about himself. When he is managing it better, he feels better. Most of the time, we can pinpoint his difficulties to a specific unproductive activity that he is spending excess time at which is making it more difficult to concentrate. He is learning to take that type of activity and remove it from his life so he is able to refocus on things that matter more.