Children

My youngest did an amazing thing last night. She wrote a book report. I know, I know: it's just a book report. But the amazing thing is that she did it all by herself. This has never happened before (she is in the 5th grade.) And there was no screaming or gnashing of teeth or thrashing around on the floor. She simply sat at the kitchen table and wrote it. Occasionally she would ask how to spell a word like "souvenir" or "opinion", but all the words were hers.

This is my child who has ADD. This is my child who is now taking a medication called Adderall. I fought putting her on medication for a very long time. I watched her struggle to make passing grades. I watched her call herself stupid because the didn't make straight A's like her older sisters. Now, I have watched her do this task and finish it all by herself. And the point is not to make her like her sisters, not to get all A's. The point is to let her reach her potential - HER potential.

I always had problems with parents who "drugged" their children. I thought it was a discipline problem or a laziness problem. Now I know better. (Boy, am I glad I never SAID any of those things to those parents!) I'm watching for side effects, but what I'm seeing now is her success.