For most people, a quick glance through my half open front door is enough to send them running down the street screaming. Six children, fifty five arguments, jumping, yelling, hair pulling and a soccer ball or two whizzing past your face. People always ask me “How do you do it?” My response is “A glass of wildberry, duct tape, and drugs.” I may be joking about the duct tape, but when it comes to the drugs that are prescribed for Joshua they have made a huge difference in his daily living. The decision to put Joshua on medication for his ADHD was never an issue. The issue was his inability to swallow pills. The Dr. first placed Joshua on 10mg of Ritalin 2x a day. These pills were tiny and I was able to crush them in a spoon, pour some juice on, and Joshua would swallow it no problem. The effect was incredible, however, the downfall was with him having to take it 2x a day, this meant that I to go to his school at lunch time and give him his second dose. The other problem was that the effects of the medication lasted on average two to three hours, so by the time school was over, I was assaulted with verbal and physical assaults, and wild behaviour due to the medication wearing off. As Rick Hodges points out in his article “Making Meds Work.” (ADDitude Spring 2010) it can take eight to ten weeks before the right dose of medication is determined and sometimes changes may need to be made. This was the case for Joshua. After about 6 months of his roller coaster ride we decided to try Biphentin a longer lasting medication, which is made up of granules that can be sprinkled onto apple sauce, or as Joshua prefers with juice on a spoon. Once on medication, some Dr’s recommend that the ADHD child take a “Vacation” from them on weekends and during holidays. I know many families who do this and have no problems. We tried this approach and it didn’t work. We had more things broken, twice the amount of fights with siblings, and Joshua actually told me he didn’t like his behaviour when he was off his medication. That was all it took for me. Is your ADHD child on medication? Do you take a vacation from them during holidays? Post your comment below and let me know what’s worked for you. Until next time The 6packmom