My grandson is brilliant. He is charming. He is amusing. He is kind. He is generous. He is an imp with an already developing sarcastic sense of humor. Not that I am at all prejudiced.
He also evidently has A.D.D. His mother does not like labels, nor does she like admitting that there could be a problem with her son. This is not a problem. It is an opportunity to learn, to listen, and to be amazed.
The lil man has trouble focusing. He daydreams, he looks around, he distracts the rest of the class, he just does not focus well. Juls had already made the appointment with the doctor to discuss medication. While talking to his teacher, who majored in special ed, his teacher suggested a cup of black coffee in the morning.
I have know for years that medication, when given to small children, often has the opposite effect of what was intended. My mother, when I was two, gave me "something to calm me down" just before a cross-country car trip. I bounced all the way from California to Iowa.
I did not know that the same was true for caffeine.
Lil man's teacher said that often, when ADD is suspected, a child will be given coffee to drink first thing in the morning. If it does have a calming effect, it pretty much means that the kiddo has ADD.
Lil man has been on this regimen for 8 days now - Monday through Friday of last week and then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of this week. He has not had a referral since we started. He has brought home more "GOOD MARKS" in 8 days than he had since school started. Actually, he brought home more good marks in the 1st two days than he had since school started. This is nothing short of miraculous.
Of course, he hates black coffee. One morning, I tried artificial sweetener (sugar would sort of negate the whole purpose, you know) but he misbehaved rather badly that day. Anyway, I get my coffee, he gets his coffee and we sit down to breakfast together. I eat, he eats, I drink my coffee, he sips his coffee, I do the dishes, he sips his coffee, I fold laundry, he sips his coffee - you get the picture. And, needless to say, all of this is punctuated with "Drink your coffee" getting progressively louder and less kindly said. I have always been pleased with anything over 1/2 a cup actually getting consumed.
This morning (please insert the Hallelujah Chorus) he finished his coffee!!!!!
HURRAY!
5 comments:
I have never heard of this before. WOw. You learn something new every day. I'm glad it's helping him.
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I'll tell you what - black coffee has got to be healthier for him than a bunch of medication!! If it works, then great! (secretly, my daughter would LOVE this - I tell her that coffee and Pepsi are for adults because kids can't have caffeine - but she LOVES the taste of it. crazy girl).
nikki: I ran into his teacher at lunch....he got 2 more good marks today and 105% on his spelling test (bonus word).
karmyn: you are so right about the meds. I am willing to try anything else (well, almost) first.
Coffee is THE nectar of the gods!
wow. i've never heard this before, either. i'm going to mention it to my friend, whose wonderful intelligent but so easily distracted 8-year-old son is causing her to tear out her hair.
and i agree with karmyn. coffee has got to be healthier for him that meds. though sometimes meds cannot be avoided.
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