A Swing For Sanity

Abbie could never sit still, she always had an uncontrollable need to constantly move her body. I mean this literally. It was so clearly apparent that if she tried, her head would start twitching and the bolts holding her together would start to snap and pop off like a motorized robot held still under great pressure to remain in motion. This nervous agitated energy always running through her bloodstream. It looked uncomfortable and it was uncomfortable for her.

Alongside these symptomatic behaviors of ADHD, she is also unfortunate enough to suffer from anxiety, sad thoughts, emotion irregularity and anger that sometimes turns to rage. Abbie had to find interesting ways to alleviate it. We have a tree swing that hangs from two heavy eye screws in the ceiling of our living room. It's a quaint, sanded wood seat fastened by twine-colored rope, on which Abbie would twist and wind up as tight as it would allow and then let it whip to unwind itself, sending her to spin wildly. She would do it again and again. I would ask her, "Abbie why do you do that over and over? Don't you get dizzy?" I will never forget her response at age 5 or 6: "No. I like to twist myself around and around as tight as it goes and let go and I spin and spin and spin and all the bad feelings fly out of me and it's the only time that I feel still."

But even normal activities were acrobatic. Sitting in a chair or on the couch, Abbie would rotate her body 180 degrees like the hands of clock from 12 o'clock to 6, her body completely upside down, head hanging off and legs in the air and back around, as she read a book, watched TV, or ate her lunch. "Abbie honey, don't eat upside down, you'll get food stuck in your nose... Which, a short time later would follow with, "Mommy it feels like there's food in my brain." More than once I had to pull carrot from her sinuses with tweezers when blowing it would fail to dislodge it.

All of this is why we ultimately decided to stop resisting, and gave into trying medication. So many people in general love to judge this decision. It is commonly concluded that we make it for our own selfish reasons, as though we can't handle the hyperactivity. Only you can decide if you feel your child is suffering, is uncomfortable and / or unable to participate in class. Academics can be incredibly difficult for kids with ADHD. Abbie couldn't get through a day at school, having to leave class and sit in the hall with an aid specifically assigned to her nearly all day. So, it honestly wasn't a difficult choice for us.

Next up: I will let you in on what medications we tried next, what worked and what didn't and where we are with them today.