Sunday's article about the kid who hanged himself after getting hooked on Adderall was a big topic of conversation around here. Ian is on a low dosage of a different ADHD drug right now. He gets a patch on his butt every morning. After he eats his Cheerios, he drops his pants. I stick it on and press it into his flesh for a count of 30 in French. It comes off at 3:30 every day leaving a big square welt on his butt. 

As the article pointed out, it is extremely easy to get these drugs. His school practically insisted on it, because they think it helps him sit properly in his mainstream classes. His neurologist is just a prescription writing machine and really doesn't do anything for him except take his blood pressure and hand out the drugs. 

He doesn't take it on the weekends or holidays, because he doesn't need it then. He needs it to concentrate on boring stuff at school. That's it. He's able to pass for normal at all parts of life. So, really the drug is just about making the kid conform to school. That makes me a little sad, because the drug isn't without its side effects. 

Ian is on a super low dosage. It's really for a kid half his weight, but still there are side effects. If it doesn't come off promptly at 3:30, he can't sleep at night. It makes him pick at his t-shirts. I have to toss out his t-shirts after six months, because he pulls about the lining of the shirts or he bites holes in them. It increases anxiety, depresses appetite, and slows growth. But we keep him on the drugs to be good citizen-parents. Schools just aren't set up for kids like Ian.