My "adult" child has ADHD

United States
August 31, 2007 2:01pm CST
Raising John was not particularly easy. He was very thin, hyper and uncooperative in most matters. At the age of 2, he refused almost every food we offered him. For a week, all he would eat was Spaghetti'o's. Then for a l week, all he'd eat was peanut-butter, then peaches. Eventually, he settled on a steady diet of chicken nuggets, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. From the age of 2-7, he never put a single vegetable nor fruit in his mouth. His dad and I disagreed on how to handle it. I wanted to let him go hungry until he ate what we gave him. His dad was afraid he would starve to death. He was abnormally thin and unusually strong willed. As his school years went by, he became more and more strong willed. Doctors would give him meds (Cylert, Welbutrin, ect...) and promptly take him off them when he lost weight. When he was 13, his dad died waiting for a heart transplant. After that, I couldn't get him out of bed in the morning or get him to go to bed at night. His teen years consisted of skipping school, smoking cigarettes, refusing to get a job, and being generally defiant toward me. At the age of 16, he was arrested for domestic violence for hitting his little brother. He went through a live in domestic violence rehab program that included daily talk therapy. His therapist was frustrated because he would get in trouble for things he did and then he'd blame somebody else for making him do it. He barely passed the program. I remarried and moved from AZ to TX when John was 18. My younger 2 children (10 and 15) came to TX with me. John stayed in AZ. He bounced around because he couldn't keep a job and hence couldn't pay his rent. When he was staying with a friend, he invited a stranger to his apartment to drink. (He was about to turn 20.) The stranger showed up with 3 other young men to rob him. The incident ended in the shooting death of one of the intruders. (John's roommate shot the guy who had pulled John's loaded shotgun on him.)We relocated John to TX a couple of days later. We cosigned for an 18 month lease on an apartment. IN that 18 months, John worked a total of about 6 months. He met a girl on line and drove to Atlanta to bring her to TX to live with him (in violation of the lease we had cosigned for.) Then he got a German Shepherd for his 3rd floor apartment. Then he got his girlfriend pregnant. In May, he had no job, a dog and lease that was about to expire and a pregnant and homesick girlfriend. So, what did he do? He drove to Atlanta to visit her family. His car broke down while he was there. So he called us to send him enough money for gas to get home. When we called him to confirm where he could pick up the money, he was waiting to be seated at TGIF for dinner. That was the final straw. We told him "Not another dime from us". The girlfriend had a miscarriage in the end of June. John got a job in July installing cable. But he didn't get paid enough money quickly enough to get an apartment. So he stayed with us for a few days....dumping all of his garbage in my daughter's closet and in my family room. When we kicked them out, they went to stay with friends. That's where they are now....with another baby on the way already. Today, he called to ask me to pick him up and drive him around because he needs to fix his truck. He is about to loose this job too. What can a mother do? I know I can't keep bailing him out.
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1 response
@eden32 (3973)
• United States
1 Sep 07
It sounds like ADHD might be a misdiagnosis. Has he had a full work-up? Anyone ever suggest bi-polar, ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) or borderline personality disorder? The ADHD might be accurate, but perhaps there is an additional mental health issue also going on. My eldest son (18) also has a history of mental health issues, some "self-medicating" and some involvement with the police. It's so hard as a parent to watch. You love your son, perhaps you feel guilt over things you didn't do differently or for not knowing then what you know now. But it doesn't help the situation at all to beat yourself up over it now. My son is also a parent now, of a not quite 1 year old daughter. For quite some time it seemed having her changed everything for him, but then he lost his job & the negative feelings came back even stronger. It's not just his normal bouts of depression, now it's depression coupled with this feeling like he's failed as a parent & he'll never get out of what he sees as the mess he's in. All you can do as the parent of an adult with mental health issues is stand firm in what you will & won't tolerate from him. Mental health issues does not excuse anyone from treating their parent with proper respect. Be an ear & a shoulder for him when he asks for it. As best as you can, keep the lines of communications open and let him know when he's willing to do the right things you'll help him make those things happen (I mean things like be willing to drive him to therapy appointments if he is willing to go or to help him find a job placement service- I don't mean bail him out when he gets over his head) but that you will not help him sink deeper into problems. You're only adding your own pain & delaying his potential to do better for himself. When you are dealing with people with substance issues, mental health issues or violent tendenancies (etc) they don't get help when everything is peachy, when they know they still have a safety net or when they know that someone will still bail them out. They don't reach for real help until they reach their 'rock bottom'. It's hard and I feel your pain. But really, it can only get better if you let him see how bad his choices really are.
• United States
2 Sep 07
Thanks everybody for the feedback. You are all very insightful. Actually, when he was 16 or 17, a counselor did suggest that ODD was a possibility. You are all correct. I love my son very much. I also love his girlfriend. I am afraid for him that there may be no peace in his life. I also fear that he will have a very difficult time surviving when I'm gone. So, as hard as it is to watch him suffer now, it is necessary for his survival later. BTW: I didn't pick him up yesterday. I let him solve the problem on his own. He managed to get his truck fixed without my help. Hurray!