The acronym that never defined me

Posted on July 7, 2010
Filed Under Daily, Family, Little Sabreen | 16 Comments

When I was 5 years old, my parents took me to the pediatrician’s office after my teachers voiced their concerns about my short attention span, and unwillingness to follow directions in school; my rambunctious, energetic, and curious personality was a stark contrast to my older sister’s docile, obedient, and joyful nature. My doctors ran a few general behavior tests, and concluded that I had a mild form of Attention Deficit Disorder, more commonly known (then) as ADD. That day, my parents were given two choices: to medicate me with a low-dose prescription, or let me be, and see how things played out over time.

When I was in 7th grade, I had a friend who had been on prescription medication for his ADD since he was in first grade. As a middle school student, he struggled with depression, and was always uninterested in learning though he was extraordinarily intelligent, yet equally as unassuming. He had severe withdrawals when he came off his medication, and would often experiment with the dosage hoping to shake his dependency. The days he wasn’t on his cocktail of prescription drugs, he had jitters all day, and would sweat — even as we sat like stagnant water at our desks directly under the air vents in school. Once, during science class he told me he wished his parents never put him on medication, and his confession pierced through my heart with the strength that I’m sure it took him to say those words out loud.

When I came home from college during the summers, I worked as a camp counselor with kids ages 3 to 7. Many of them were being treated for ADD, and some even took anti-depressants to counter side effects their other medications caused; one of my 7 year olds was on Prozac.

A 7 year old on Prozac. Let that sink in for a minute.

It was painful to watch the kids that were medicated. They stood out amongst their peers like a cherry red Cardinal surrounded by a dozen Blue Jays. These kids had a social awkwardness that they couldn’t shake, and watching them try to maneuver through life was like watching brilliance chained to itself with a wide-open world of potential floating just out of reach.

I’m not against treating behavioral disorders with the proper form of therapy and appropriate dosage of medication when needed, and I know that each child and situation is unique. But what I am saying is a deep-rooted, from the pit of my being Thank You to my parents and my pediatricians for recognizing that I had a big spirit that didn’t need to be tamed, but needed to find its own way of self expression. When I talked out of turn in class, it wasn’t to be rude or disrespectful. It was because I felt a fire light up inside as my audience fell into my stories — captivated by my imagery, and uncanny humor. The roars of laughter from my peers made the room swell, and I felt like I could right any wrong.

That day at the doctor’s office, a handful of adults had to make a choice for me when I didn’t have a voice of my own, and I can’t even begin to imagine who I would be today if they had made any other decision. I know that every parent does the best they can for their children with what they have and know at any given moment, and I will be forever grateful that mine understood that I would find my own path in life even if it didn’t always seem conventional. The decision they made that day carried a lifetime of weight. In that moment they didn’t decided not to put me on medicine, but they decided they would let me find my own creative outlets — they gave me the freedom to navigate through life with the confidence that wisdom, maturity and faith would meet me somewhere on that road to help carry me the rest of the way.

Comments

16 Responses to “The acronym that never defined me”

Falling Up on July 7th, 2010 9:54 pm

I don’t think kids that young should be treated for ADD. OR EVEN DIAGNOSED. They’re kids. kids are hyper they are forgetful and well, they’re kids. I mean sure maybe when they’re a little older and still can’t control themselves then maybe, but 5? 7? That’s too young. Yeah those drugs cause serious side effects and depression isn’t easy to deal with. I was shocked the kid was on prozac.
Suslique on July 8th, 2010 1:46 am

western world (and especially US) has a serious problem in form of prescription drugs and all sorts of made up ‘disorders’, which, imo were made up just for pharmaceutical companies, so that they could make money.
uzma on July 8th, 2010 2:42 am

wow.They put kids on medicine so early in the US!!! wow. In India , I think we just let them run free. Incredible story,makes one think. U have awesome parents, mashallah. God bless
Shahirah MY on July 8th, 2010 2:46 am

Thank u for sharing
F on July 8th, 2010 5:47 am

I really loved this post. My son is hyper-active and his teacher suggested I take him to the doctor to get him a prescription to calm him down. I know teachers don’t want to deal with it, but too bad. Kids at his age, especially boys, are super active, he’s only 7.

Reading this post just confirms what I’ve always believed, medicating is NOT the answer for most of these kids with behavioral problems. I’m going to let him be regardless of what others think, and it’s not that bad, I’m sure he’ll grow out of it. If not, we’ll deal with it then.

Thanks so much for sharing. Love your blog!
A on July 8th, 2010 6:26 am

Interesting post….Have you come across any articles discussing the causes of ADHD? I remember once reading that children who watch excessive TV at an early age have an increased risk for developing ADHD. In regards to medicating children, its definitely over used, however, I don’t blame teachers as much as parents, I think if parents provide more attention to their children at home and focus on behavior therapy, it will help them focus and learn better at school. Parents now days are preoccupied with a million other things apart from raising their children.
Jen on July 8th, 2010 7:14 am

Great post.

My best friend in middle/high school was on Ritalin for her ADD and usually got her pill at lunchtime. I remember how it just sucked the life from her in the afternoon. She quit taking it around age 15 because she said it made her into a person she didn’t want to be.

She did get into trouble a few times after coming off it but I think that actually helped her to learn how to function without the pills.

It makes me sad that some children that are just high energy are mistakenly put on drugs to calm them down. Children are supposed to be energetic and carefree, not little drugged zombies.
Brandi on July 8th, 2010 9:17 am

You know, this post made me very VERY happy just now. I’ve seen within my own family children be treated with all sorts of medications for being who they are. My mom also made the choice not to medicate one of my siblings…and it was because she didn’t like what the medicine did to their spirit.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees it this way. If the child is not harming himself or another…why place them on meds? Why won’t we take the time to teach our children how to cope with life in a healthy (non medicated) way???
LK on July 8th, 2010 7:18 pm

I was diagnosed with ADD at age 10. They did put me on medication but my doctor was very smart about it. Low dose, and was time released so I never had the highs and lows. By high school I learned how to deal with ADD without medication and was able to go off. It just takes a lot of practice.

But more so teachers need to understand ADD. Thank God they understand it a lot more now then they did when I was in grade school. Its not that they aren’t paying attention, but they can’t just sit there. Its like you need to do something physical in order to pay attention. I learned sketching in my notebook solved the problem. And once I trained myself to do homework it was all good.

But I do agree. 7 is awfully young. And little boys are just hyper by nature.
Marrissa on July 8th, 2010 11:27 pm

envy u sab to be blessed with parents who believe in u and yr abilities. I hope they are reading this post.
Layla on July 9th, 2010 12:24 am

Salaam

Really good post! I really think children are over diagnosed here in the States, and a lot of the time given medication they don’t necessarily need. Its really the whole pill culture here. Almost everyone is on some kinds of pills. They are started from an early age and it just follows people thru their lives. Then u end up needing a pill to help you deal with the damage the pill you took before it caused
Sarah S. on July 10th, 2010 8:06 am

Since im becoming a dr. i just recently finished my pediatric rotation. I was assigned to a special needs clinic where we saw kids to evaluate them if they had add/autism etc. we saw about 12 kids a day. 8 of them didnt have anything and just were healthy active kids. a lot of them though (4 to be exact) had been started on medications by other doctors. it was sad to see that other physicians were just tossing meds on kids who really didnt need them. way too sad.
mida-chan on July 11th, 2010 7:23 am

One of my close relatives who is about the same age as I am was diagnosed with ADD at 21. All her life she was a super hyper, energetic and extremelly talented child, she passed trough grade school and high school with flying colors. The problem was in university she started failing her courses left and right for no reason whatsoever. The problem was that as a young child she did not need to focus on her school work, she was naturally very smart and was able to get by , without much needed assistance, hence why her ADD was unnoticed by her teacher. By the time she got to university and she had too actually apply herself, she lacked the kind of focus she needed to get trought school. It became really hard for her to pay attention in class, or go trough the necessary readings for classes. I dont necessarily think pills are the answer but behaviour therapy could be.
Fairy on July 11th, 2010 3:49 pm

its called ADHD now, btw…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Faatimah on July 11th, 2010 4:46 pm

Alhamdulillah! Thank Allah swt that your parents said no
Robyn on July 22nd, 2010 9:37 pm

I was never formally diagnosed, but know I had attention problems. I was talkative, antsy, etc. My mom always just encouraged me to do my best, but also never let me use as an excuse the fact that I had difficulty paying attention.
I am now dealing with a child who probably has some form of ADD, but I reuse to have him diagnosed. It’s not serious enough and I don’t ever want him to use it as a crutch. Instead, I just try to teach him about the times when he is successful and what worked and what didn’t so he can begin to modify on his own.