Choices

I recently made the decision to take Ryan off of his ADHD medicine.  Some of you may know that at the beginning of this school year, he had a severe reaction to his Ritalin.  It caused his blood pressure to skyrocket, and after all kinds of tests it was decided that we would try him on Straterra. This is a non-stimulant ADHD medication, and to be honest, I didn't see a difference in Ryan while he was taking it.  It was, however, keeping him from sleeping. 

So, after weighing my options, I decided to let him go a couple of weeks without taking it to see how he would do in school.  For the first time since he was diagnosed with ADHD he started getting A's and B's.  He is able to focus and get his work done without any problems.  He's been off the medication for a couple of months now, and I have no plans of starting him back on it.

I am not sure if it maturity or the fact that he loves his classes that is allowing him to get such good grades.  The only subject he seems to be struggling with is social studies.  Luckily, he has a few options for next year, and I think he is leaning towards some criminal justice classes.  He has always said he wants to be a mechanic when he graduates, but I think he should be open to other things.  For instance, I think if he enjoys his criminal justice classes he should look into a career as a california criminal lawyer.  I know that requires a whole lot more schooling then becoming a mechanic does, but I believe in him enough to know that if he puts his mind to it, he could be whatever he wants to be.  I'm not sure he would like the prosecuting side of being a lawyer, but he has a knack for defending himself, so maybe becoming a los angeles criminal defense lawyer would be more up his alley.  He might enjoy the challenge of convincing a jury that a person is innocent.

As his mom, I will support him no matter what he decides to do with his life. 

ADHD

Ryan is going to the doctor today. As most of you know, he has ADHD, and has to take Ritalin every day. I am supposed to give it to him over the summer, but I don't. This means he needs a couple of weeks to get it back into his system before school starts back. I am hoping he will have a good year this year. He has a hard time keeping up with all his subjects...when he has a problem in one subject, he puts all his focus on that one subject, so the others suffer. We need to find a way to get him to spread his focus to all subjects. I know last year he had a lot of tutoring, and I hope they offer him that again this year.

Another Day Another Note

Ryan had another note today from his teacher. It seems he got 3 circles today. For those of you who don't know what that is, every time a student gets in trouble, they get a circle. One was for playing with his pencil sharpeners, one was for talking, and one was for not following directions. I don't want to sound like I am making excuses, because that behavior is totally unacceptable and he was punished, but over the weekend, another student in his school was killed. I don't know all the details, but I do know it was a car accident. Ryan is a very sensitive and emotional kid, and I think he was upset in class, and dealing with it in his own way. They postponed PACT testing. Too many kids were absent or upset and they need every student to be able to focus. My prayers will be with that family.On a better note, Nicole's Grandmother will be leaving the hospital in the next day or so. The Doctors never did find out exactly what was wrong, but she is feeling better. Thanks to all who kept her in their prayers.I'm off to feed the hungry. My kids act like they never eat at school. Salad for me, fish sticks and french fries for the kiddies. All in a days work.....