With school back in session it can be a great challenge for kids who are diagnosed with ADHD.

So what is ADHD? ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. My son was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade and when we were doing the long assessment found out that I definitely passed on the gene from my mother’s side. Many kids who have been diagnosed with ADHD eventually outgrow the disorder or learn how to manage it.

My life positively improved with, initially the Palm Pilot, and now my iPhone. Before that, there would be added stress because I would forget too many things. I would use calendars but would have a few of them because I could not put everything on one calendar. One that was work related, one kids related, one for social and health related events/ appointments. Of course, that created an issue. There are certain things I remember for life and then there are things I don’t remember after one minute.

One thing that I have found is that there is a huge division about whether to use medication to treat the disorder (after it has been properly diagnosed) or not. People are completely against it or completely for the medication. I believe that it takes a team of people to first properly diagnose then find the right solution for your child’s challenge. A parent, the teacher, the counselor or the doctor can’t make this decision by themselves.

So speaking as a parent of a child who was hyperactive at one time, you need to keep an open mind, do lots of research and ask lots of questions. Then, after lots of feedback from your teacher and guidance counselor your doctor or specialist, you make a choice. You don’t have to sign in blood, it does not lock you in for life and you can change your decisions if needed/wanted. Just don’t ignore what is going on with your child.

I truly had a hard time putting my son on medicine. It was a struggle to finally find the right medicine and dosage but we, Salisbury Pediatrics and I did succeed and found the right dosage where he was still my son (not overmedicated “zombie” like) and he would be able to focus in school. The reason I decided to try the medicine is that that someone told me, “If your child needs glasses to see better, you wouldn’t tell them to “look harder” and not give him glasses to see well.” That hit home. He was on medicine until he went to high school and asked me if he could try without it. I said that it was his choice, academically he did very well off the medicine. He is grown now and has a very successful business. Staying very active, organized and an amazing work ethic has helped him succeed.

Here are some major characteristics of ADHD (not limited to):

• Having a hard time to respond at the appropriate moment (blurting out), having a hard time to stop and think before acting, or not having the ability to delay gratification. Start conversations at inappropriate times.

• Excessive task irrelevant activity. Fidgety, restless and always “on the go.”

• Having a hard time staying on task even when important tasks must be performed.

• Lack of remembering to do things or holding information to do things now, or at a later time.

Everyone has their “on or off” days. Just because your child is not sitting still does not mean they have ADHD. There are all different tests your team can do to diagnose this disorder. You have lots of choices, and one of them is to keep them active in after school activities like swimming, martial arts, basketball, football, etc.

Judo, a form of martial arts helped me to control my “bounciness” and helped me focus on schoolwork and control my temperament. All in all, don’t ignore issues that need to be addressed. Listen to the people who spend a lot of time with your child and ask lots of questions!

Ester H. Marsh is director of healthy living at the J.F. Hurley YMCA and a poster child for ADHD.