Aggression: Life with ADHD by Robyn Cuspin

Courtesy of Flickr.com user mdanys

This article’s author writes: “The first time I gave my son medication, I felt like I was poisoning him.”

I think this article is of supreme importance and should be read by every single Jewish mom! About ADHD and how medication can help…

I am putting my five year old son to bed, when suddenly his hand reaches out and grabs my throat. Immediately, he transforms his action into a caress; it is as though his hand had acted on its own, and his mind only caught up with it a moment later. The threat lingers in the air as I turn out his light and leave the room.

I watch him. I see his little acts of violence. I see them often directed at me – always unprovoked, and always unexpected.

I find graffiti under the table. His destruction is subtle, and hidden. It is very hard to catch him in the act.

The cover of a new book is scratched now. It is a small thing, but when was this done, and why? I don’t ask who did this.

I am lying in bed when he comes in and throws a die at me. The die cracks against the wall over me with a sound that is sharp and menacing.

I squeeze my eyes closed. When I open them, he is still smiling.

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2 comments

  1. There has been a back-and-forth over this at Aish. Sara Yocheved Rigler’s piece is here http://www.aish.com/f/p/48923662.html and at the bottom of it there is a link to an article with a different perspective.

  2. I have gone thru that back and forth many times, but now give my son Ritalin and thank Hashem for giving me my son back. It is a very personal decision, each case is unique. In my situation, I did a lot of introspection. The bare truth is that it was my own pride that stopped me from going down this road. Me? Good at everything? With a son that can’t learn without a drug?! Never… I was determined, but so is The Almighty: and he’s a far better Father than I am a mother. It got to a point that NOT to give the drug was detrimental to my son, and for that I was grateful since I was able to jump off the very judgmental high horse I was perched on. I feel so humbled by this whole experience, and it has opened a whole new facet of my personality that I didn’t know existed. Surrender. Sweet surrender.

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