Where to begin...hmmm...How about it is 10:00pm and all but one are sound asleep.  My 10 yr. old is fighting it something fierce and is full of excuses.  What it really boils down to is I forgot to remind her to take off her "patch" that she wears to help control her ADHD.  Luckily she is homeschooled and can sleep in tomorrow. 

Out of my 10 children 4 have ADHD and several of them have a long line of intials attached to both their physical and mental health statuts.  Most people know what the ADHD abbreviation means but for those who might not (yes, some people have the good luck of being able to live in a glass bubble), Attention Deficit Hyperativity Disorder.  What does it mean??  Mostly that someone can not stay focused even for a minute on anything, not even if it is something they love.

 Now what most people do not know is there are varying depths of this disorder.  One of mine is relatively mild with the attention part aspect, is impulsive and has trouble controlling her outburst. Another is strictly attention and impulsivity but very little hyperactivity.  Another is a "wall bouncer" and yes I mean that literally!  That child never sleeps, is impulsive, has NO focus ability, is on hyper alert status 27/7, known to hit others just because and yes it wll wear you down! And my last child with ADHD is more of the "normal" type.  Struggles to focus and tends to be fidgity, easily agitated.

Sometimes I think if the public school system would learn how to educate these children without medication they would be better off.  If I had the choice I would take all my children off the meds.  They already blame their behavior on their medications which is so detrimental to a child's mental health.  I always remind them that they still have to learn to control themselves and not count on the medication to always be there. Of course that would mean I would have to be medicated to survive them all!!    Oh, the choices!!!