We’re Going to Try Something NEW.
Dylan has been really trying lately. He has taken it upon himself to get straight A’s. In doing so, he has learned some interesting things.
- There’s so much work. Even when there was work yesterday, new work appears again today!
- If one paper isn’t even finished, the teacher hands out another paper anyway! And sometimes they’re both due at the end of class!
- It’s very challenging to attempt to keep pace with a world that moves substantially faster than one’s own brain.
Dylan has ADHD. I’m not sure he realized that before these past two weeks.
He spends every day desperately trying to finish things that the other kids finish in half the time. He spends all his post-class time talking to teachers, meeting with teachers, and arranging times to finish what’s not-yet done. He stays after school almost every day – and missed most of (and all of) his Ultimate Frisbee team practice this week.
He races downstairs in the morning, mostly dressed, and finishes putting on his shoes while he scarfs down whatever is on his breakfast plate. Then he wraps up his breakfast and runs after the bus, which has usually just gone by. (He has to run about a quarter-mile to catch it.)
He texts me several times a day. “Mom, I’m going to do _____ at lunch and then I have to do ____ after school.”
Later it might be, “Mom, I did this thing, but I didn’t do it the right way. Do I have to do it again?”
“Only if you want credit,” I text back.
Days are looooooong for Dylan. He’s trying hard. He’s taking his Focus Factor and his L-Tyrosine. He’s eating a high-protein breakfast. And he drinks a latte or an espresso at least once a day, plus iced tea at lunchtime. Caffeine really seems to help him – although he still says his best day was after drinking one of those God-awful energy drinks.
But all those things are still not quite enough.
Dylan can’t focus in class. His teachers talk about him staring into space – the telltale sign that he’s giving it all he’s got, but just can’t jump-start his brain.
So we’re going to try something new.
I can’t believe I never thought of it before. I mean, I’ve been thinking for eight years about what to do for Dylan. And today, I suddenly thought of something new.
He’s going to take a caffeine pill.
Side effects are minimal. There’s nothing in the pill, except caffeine. Each pill is the equivalent of two cups of coffee. And while coffee works pretty well for Dylan, two cups are a lot – and it’s hard to drink that much during (or between) classes in high school.
So… Caffeine pills are acquired. We’re ready to launch.