We had struggled with it for years.  My wife was more inclined to being open to the concept, where I was resistant.  I had seen and heard about it being overdiagnosed for years.  I felt ADD was something that often was a crutch for parents who would rather rely upon medication than instilling discipline, that teachers often relied upon rather than working to manage behavior.  While I wasn't completely wrong, I was for the most part...wrong. 

What didn't make sense was why this was something that had never been a major issue throughout the existence of the human race, but was now rampant.  Thus, I resisted and worked harder, was tougher on my son.  It wasn't a diagnosis that I rejected, but rather a suspicion that I was hesitant to investigate.  After all, the kids I had seen have a problem with this were often struggling in school or had behavioral problems. My son was an elite student and behaved impeccably.  How do I put my son on medication because he has trouble getting ready for school in the morning unless I'm standing over him, because he loses things (how Don's blog was my inspiration), because he takes over an hour to find the motivation to do homework that he finally completes easily in less than 10 minutes when he finally sets his mind to it or because he has trouble keeping his focus during sports when he is not directly in the play.

I remember telling my wife that if he could simply take a pill that would fix this that I would do it, but that it didn't make sense to me that it was that simple.  Last year in fourth grade he got a teacher that changed his life.  He was having trouble focusing on in-class work.  In the past teachers motivated him with more challenging work to entice him to focus.  This teacher explained how her brother started medication for his condition during law school and that it made a world of difference. 

I agreed to look hard into this solution.  As I read and attended seminars, an ironic inspiration occurred.  Not only did it appear that my son was dealing with ADD, but if one would believe all of the symptoms and indicators, so was I my entire life.  Looking back on my life, I remember always losing things as a kid and always being late for everything.  I literally could scour my entire life and identify all of the systems that I had unknowingly developed to overcome my challenges. 

We spoke with our pediatrician who explained it even more simply than all the experts that I had seen lecture.  He described it as if you had a really bad secretary who doesn't restrice any of your calls coming in so you can't get your work done because you are getting barraged with phone calls and messages.  The medication simply acts as a good secretary who manages the inflow of information and allows you to perform at a higher level.

He started the medication and for just over a year now, it has made an incredible difference in his life.  The biggest difference is not in his grades or behavior, but in his sports and his confidence.  His day to day life is less chaotic and he feels better about himself because of it.  Lesson learned.  Now every once in a while I wonder if I should consider trying it...I hate taking medication.