Hello.....
    I've been kind of hanging back and reading this echo since I first
    brought it to my BBS a few weeks ago. I would like to share some HOPE
    with people here, on a personal note, the story SO FAR of our son
    Daniel.
    Daniel's father, my brother died a number of years ago. Through 
    circumstances I won't go into in this forum, Daniel needed a home
    around 4 years ago. After discussing it with my wife and other two
    children, we decided to adopt Danny as our own. The people he was
    living with told us he was fine, no problems, and that he was not
    hyper, nor did he require the medication the doctor had prescribed
    for him. I found this a little odd, but we went ahead anyways.
    To cut to the chase, the wheels completely fell off about 3 weeks
    after he had moved in. When he started school, he wasn't allowed
    to sit with the other children. He could not sit still, he could
    not stop touching others, or interrupting the teacher constantly.
    It was obvious he had some major difficulties, not the least of 
    which was his start in life. We continued on like this for the 
    first year, then I began to realize we needed help for this child,
    or things were going to go from bad to worse for him, and my family.
    So, to shorten this story up, Danny was diagnosed by several 
    psychiatrists as having ADHD, and some emotional problems to go
    along with that. He was down to 38 pounds at age 9, and had to
    be hospitalized for what was thought to be an eating disorder.
    Finally, after months and months of my wife and I running to
    doctors, and specialists, and meetings, Danny began to make some
    progress.
    Fact is, Danny came home from school with a near perfect report
    card this year. Danny is a top contributor in his classroom. Danny
    is an avid reader, and loves to play games etc. Danny sits with the
    rest of the kids, and has many friends at school now, and is just a
    regular kid. Does he take ritalin? You bet he does. This drug has
    saved this child and my family from certain emotional disaster. He
     is going to make it thanks to Ritalin. 
    I think it is extremely important for parents who don't understand to
    consider how difficult it is for an ADHD child to walk into a room,
    sit down, and be still. It is pretty much impossible. They see
    EVERYTHING at once, all the lights, pictures, toys, furniture, all
    at once, very quickly. His one doctor told me it would be like me
    going to school, and trying to learn everything without my glasses.
    Ritalin gives ADHD children "focus". 
    More than anything about this story, I'm very happy for Danny, for
    the kind of child he has become, for the way he feels about "who" he
    is and what he has accomplished. The pain children like Danny go 
    through when trying to control the impulses without medication is 
    incredible. When we have such a miracle as Ritalin, we can actually
    change the life course of kids like Danny, and save them from a child
    hood filled with low self-esteem, and humiliation.
    So, this is my message of hope to those parents at the end, those who
    think they are losing it, that they just can't take it anymore. Hang
    in there, pray, get help, do what you have to do, but don't ever give
    up. There was a time when we though Danny was lost, and that there was
    NO HOPE. At times like that, it can be very lonely in the world. Find
    other parents of ADHD children, support one another. Just remember,
    never give up hope. 
    For those who disagree with my feelings on using Ritalin, keep it to
    yourself. I'm not here to debate it's use, but I'm here to share some
    hope for those parents who like we were, are at the end. Things DO
    get better, kids DO change, and yep, there is LIGHT at the end of that
    long tunnel. 
    Jim Walsh
... I have a mind like a steel... uh... thingamajig...
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