ADD and My Kid, Part 2: After the Diagnosis—Concerns About Self-medicating, by Laurie James

ADD and My Kid, Part 2: After the Diagnosis—Concerns About Self-medicating, by Laurie James

After my oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD her freshman year of high school, I began to worry—and for good reason. She was fourteen and I’d witnessed what happened when someone self-medicated through high school and beyond. My adopted brother, who was four years older than me, had ADHD growing up. I watched my parents worry about him from the time he started grade school. They'd get calls from his teachers complaining that he’d disrupted class or had a hard time focusing that day. His report cards reflected his struggles, and when Mom and Dad would talk to him about that, he’d have outbursts—sometimes unable to control his emotions. 

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