Dick and Jane were the proud parents of an incredibly happy little boy. At three years old little Ritchie was joy to have around. He was just as comfortable around adults as he was children, mainly because his parents began socializing him very early in life. He took his first boat ride a just two weeks old and when his parents went anywhere to meet friends, go fishing or camping or to a party the little guy went along.

In so Ritchie’s early formative years were spent learning from a myriad of people ranging in ages from seven to seventy. As he began to toddle and talk he acquired a wide array of social skills. By three years old he could just as easily play with another child as sit contentedly and converse intelligently with a senior citizen.

One of the things Ritchie loved to do at that age after a morning fishing trip was go to a local fish camp where his parents and their friends used to hang out, sitting on the dock by the river to enjoy the afternoons. While there, Ritchie became the Dock master, helping people moor their boats for gas fill ups or stopping in to enjoy the food and entertainment. To his parents and friends, the majority of whom were avid and experienced boaters, watching Ritchie was quite comical.

It was astonishing, and extremely funny to watch an adult “boat captain” take mooring orders from a three year old. He would call to them “throw me your line” and incredibly, they would. Ritchie had learned once the line was caught to quickly wrap two or three times it around the mooring post, dogging it so if the “captain” did something dumb he would not get pulled in the water. He would survey the approach, which was usually incorrect, and then instruct the operator what to do. Typically “turn your engine,” to the right or left depending on the angle of approach, and then “now put it in reverse.” The errant docking was corrected and the vessel softly crept right into place. Also typically the inexperienced “captain” was taught a lesson and little Ritchie was rewarded with a tip, usually just enough for ice cream. The real reason he liked to do “his job.”

Then came school, and while Ritchie liked it well enough, since he had been such a dynamic child, the teachers could not keep him involved for long periods of time and he became, “the Talker.” In the early years his academics did not really suffer but his parents noticed his “behavioral grades” slipping to the negative.

Now I will not go into “scholastic opinion” as being part of a young one’s development since my belief is the “educational short comings” of a child are usually a direct result of teacher skills, and the typical response from academia is to immediately apply drugs. In the case of little Ritchie that was exactly what the school counselors “recommended” once he hit first grade. They, the school, “diagnosed” him with ADHD and hence treated him as such and he became a second-class student and not worthy of their full effort.

Now at that age, six he was far from ADHD, he was just precocious. Dick and Jane were dead set against drugging their son. They had already witnessed the lethargy and dazed looks of other children whose parents were goaded into this position by school administrators. They did however discuss this with Ritchie’s pediatrician during a normal wellness check and the Doctor disagreed with the School. He did however advise that Ritchie might be susceptible to ADHD as he matures.

So on school went, Ritchie now by in third grade was beginning to struggle. Primarily because he now had a reputation with the teachers, and their time and concerns went spent on “normal” kids and because he was labeled as “parent ignored” ADHD he was left to flounder.

His mother had more than one “conversation” with teachers and counselors about him but they always maintained their “diagnosis.” Ritchie though “struggling” kept his academic average passable. Now school for him had become just a chore, not a learning experience. His parents kept close tabs on his work and they realized his grades went up and down depending on the level of interest he demonstrated in a particular subject. At home preparing for tests or doing homework his productivity was directly related to his interests, and although he had learned all the course work putting it on paper to demonstrate his “knowledge” for a grade did not work out that well. The simple “chore” of writing got in the way of academic achievement.

No matter how many discussions his parents had with the school, the teachers refused to yield their now four-year-old opinion, and he now following 4^th grade was required to be a special ED student, an even more degrading stigma for this happy little boy to deal with.

And I mean happy, outside of school he was engaged, joyful, active and intrigued by his interests. On his own he learned and passed both the State of Florida Hunter Safety and Safe Boating courses online with flying colors and though to young to attain the certificates it proved when properly motivated he could do any coursework required. And fortunately, even with all his scholastic troubles, he never lost the social skills he acquired.

This was a boy that spent much of his time playing with a neighbor child who is developmentally challenged. As a matter of fact he was the only kid in the neighborhood that would, even passing up invitations from other friends to do “more exciting” things because he knew abandoning this child was the wrong thing to do.

All through these years Ritchie’s parents allowed him to be the person he was, but school became harder and harder for him. Socially he was a superstar, scholastically the engagement was not there. But his parents then began to notice subtle changes in his personality. He did to and he didn’t like it. During a normal check up his doctor noticed it as well. He had become agitated, quick to loose his temper, noisy and in constant motion.

Ritchie now, at twelve appeared to be demonstrating the onset of ADHD and after some consultation with the doctor, and explanatory conversations between Ritchie and his parents they all decided to attempt Adderall. The deciding factor in this decision was Ritchie himself. He had begun to notice his attention span lapsing and self-perceived peer pressure had given him a different perspective of school. He had been trying very hard to get better grades and stay involved. Since getting to middle school the course work had him interested but he complained that as much as he tried he couldn’t get good grades. He was very frustrated, and that frustration manifested itself in his personality beyond the normal for a pre-teen.

"Adderall is a brand-name drug psycho-stimulant composed of mixed amphetamine salts, which is thought to work by increasing the amount of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. Adderall is widely reported to increase alertness, concentration and overall cognitive performance while decreasing user fatigue." (From Wikpedia) In Ritchie’s case Dextroamphetamine Salts were substituted as a generic. This particular drug was prescribed because according the doctor it is the easiest to manipulate.

The change in Ritchie was almost immediate. His grades in one quarter went from “Ds” to “As” and “Bs”. But this all happened not because the school officials were right. They were not, The school would have turn him into a Ritalin zombie at six years old and not for his educational benefit but for behavioral control.

This worked because Ritchie was involved in his own therapy. The doctor originally prescribed a very low dose of the drug and allowed Ritchie’s mother to adjust the dosage to find the appropriate amount for his needs. Jane did just so, but she also granted Ritchie input into the process. Following a week’s worth of experimenting with dosages beginning at 5 mg. and moving slightly upwards Ritchie and his mom found exactly the right dose for him, and even what the best time of day to administer.

Ritchie even felt when the dosage was too heavy. Communication between them was the key in finding the correct balance. After the first weeks and what appeared to be tolerance Ritchie again began to feel a bit “off”. By now he was well aware of the effects of the drug in how it made him feel and perform. So they began to experiment again, all with the doctors approval and supervision. Interestingly enough the result of the second round of experimentation was the dosage was lowered. Ritchie now doesn’t even take the drug every day anymore but only when he knows he needs it to level his concentration.

The real success here is that Ritchie was provided the latitude to be involved in his own therapy. He was provided all of the drug information and told this is not a “smart pill.” He was informed of the side effects and abuse precautions all of which he understood. Because he was involved and educated to over dosage or side effects he was able to recognize them when physically realized and discuss it and intelligently recommend adjustment thereby benefit from the therapy.

If you decide this approach is best for your child apply the example above, get your youngster involved in the process. But before you decide, be sure administering these types of drugs are for the benefit of your child not some school administrator or teacher. You are your child’s primary caregiver, don’t give in to “peer” pressure from doctors or counselors. This worked out for Ritchie but only because his parents did what was best for him, and only for now. Next month, next year this could change and he may not need to use the drug at all.

This is the only real success story I know of concerning these types of drugs. I am not an authority and I am definitely not a believer in the broad use of these drugs, but in this particular case, for this particular boy it worked. But it worked because the appropriate drug was applied at the right time in his life and is being used in the correct manner.

Note: While this story is factual, Dick, Jane and Ritchie are fictional names employed to protect their privacy.