my baby is 16 and she just got her drivers liscence

[BattleRifleG3]

I have ADD myself and have done the same, never considered drugs and just had to work harder. Mechanical stuff actually tends to be pretty good tome. And yes indeed, I had to take care of maintenance when I got to drive. Certainly wasn't alone, but I did some, especially when it was my fault.

[Apollyon67]

I feel for all of you. I have taught three different female drivers so far and the last one just refuses to slow down. She payes her own insurance now, and still gets tickets. She has wrecked 3 so far and the last was a total loss, my daughter is 12 and is being taught the rules of the road now and her mother is like atilla the hun when it comes to disipline. Seems to be working so far with her. Time will tell I reckon.

[jerry]

I don't remember it being this difficult back when I learned to drive. Of course there were fewer cars on the road, fewer distractions, no cell phones, girls wore clothes, :nod:

[Troy]

Originally Posted by jerry

Your right. He is mechanically inclined. I have more trouble with the motivation factor.

We have never used it as an excuse, and I'm not sure how much I buy off on it, but he was diagnosed with ADD as a young child.

Heck, I had the same symptoms, just had to work harder than average to work through it. We never put him on any kind of meds as I don't believe in them.

He gets tough love and a boot in his rear now and then.

Other than that, he's a great kid. No drinking, drugs, troublemaking. He has a heart of gold and would throw himself in front of a train for you.

BTW, grandma got him the X-box.
He's called me out on my computer time before. I told him the difference is, I take care of business, then play. Big difference. I have had to cut back on some of the PC time though. I'm more addicted to forums like this than most crack addicts are to crack.

My brother in laws kid was diagnosed with ADD. Now i am not a big fan of meds either. However in Roys son it made a good difference. It settled him down, in a good way and he copes better. I have heard of examples where the kid was made into a vegetable cause of the meds, that wasn't the case here. It worked well, but that is not the story one usually hears, luckily it worked for him.

[jerry]

I think that there may be some call in special cases for the Hyper activity portion of it. ADD & ADHD are two different animals.

My son is not hyper buy any stretch. Another reason I kept him off meds was so he could go into the military if he chose to. Yes, with some types of meds they will reject an applicant.

[Shaun]

I know that if some quack would diagnose any kid of mine with the fake problem the kid will become home schooled -- this problem cannot be diagnosed with a simple questionaire - where are the brain scans, chemical analysis, and other physcial work ups that would prove there was a such a thing.

[BattleRifleG3]

It certainly is a complicated issue and there've been a ton of bogus ideas out there about it. Ultimately there's no substitution for just plain trying harder. Medicine has come along way, and the military may need to catch up with understanding what todays medicines do compared to yesterday's. There are alsoover the counter herbal medicines that may help. Some physicians and counselors might be able to give pointers.

[Troy]

I should have also mentioned that Roy had resisted the doctor on putting his son on meds for a long time. It was not a decision he came to lightly. There was a lot of exams done as well as other tests. It was an informed decision, not one to "shut the kid up". Luckilly for him it worked, that is not common enough though it seems. I agree that too many parents needlessly put their kids on meds with all kinds of ill effects. I also agree that in many of the cases some extra hard work, discipline, and focusing the child is all it takes. There are some success stories to the meds though.

[allan1898]

I've had ADD, not ADHD for all my life. Led to depression for a while, but worked through it. It can be quite a challenge. But life is like that. I learned to drive with a friend by "borrowing" his Dad's car. 57 Buick. New. I was 8. He was 9. Ended when he tried to down shift (an automatic) and hit reverse, but I wasn't with him at the time. It was really funny when my Dad tried to teach me to drive. He asked me to back up, then went wow, that was realy good. I figured that I had better do something really dumb, quick. I never have told him. My first car was a model A with a B engine. Hand ground the valves myself. Really fun car. 55 top speed. I learned that there is a limit to economy, though. Don't re-use cotter pins. My brother had a rear wheel come off, only one nut held them on. Casteletated, with a cotter pin to keep them from backing off. Wheel ended up a hundred yards out in a field. Good that the car was front heavy. It stayed level, and he stopped down the road. Good luck teaching. I remember when my son was going somewhere. I had gone out and moved my truck, so that it would not be too close to his car. He came back in and dropped all his money in my lap. A couple of hundred bucks. I still have the ding. I gave him back his cash. Figured that I had done much more in my time. We mostly survive. Thanks for the great memories. Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[Apollyon67]

Allan good read there, thanks. I learned the hard way about those cotter pins. Same way with my fathers truck after repacking the wheel bearings. Made a turn and pop, off it came. Had a jack and a nail to get back home. Now I replace anything that gets bent to stay in place.