A Daughter's Thank You: How Medication Made My World Right

Many parents of children with ADHD face this dilemma: should they follow medical advice and give their child medication like Ritalin or Adderall, or is the medication simply for the convenience of those around them and not truly for the child's benefit? A crucial perspective in this discussion emerged last week when American media figure and author Jessica McCabe posted a thank-you letter to her mom on her Facebook page and YouTube channel, highlighting her mother's insistence on providing her with medication:

"I want to say thank you to my mom, who 'medicated' me."

Thank you. Thank you for listening when I told you I was struggling. Thank you for standing by me when Dad tried to dismiss my difficulties as 'normal.' I now know that ADHD has a genetic component, and it's possible he felt that way because he has ADHD himself.

Thank you for taking me for a proper evaluation so I could understand that my brain was different and that it wasn't my fault. Thank you for taking me to the psychiatrist every month to get a new prescription. I know you were busy and yet we never ran out of medication because you made sure I never missed an appointment.

Thank you for ignoring the critics. I know there were many.

Thank you for understanding there's a difference between how my sister would occasionally forget homework or lose something, and how I would lose or forget things almost daily. Thank you for recognizing that even though any child can be bounced, impulsive, or distracted, I had a much harder time than kids my age. Today, I understand this is because a brain with ADHD develops differently. You didn't know that, you didn't do the research I did, but you listened when I said I needed help.

Because of you, I got the help I needed, I did better in school, felt more confident, and was able to reach my potential. Because of you, I never turned to drugs like so many people with ADHD that I know. I never sank into depression. I never gave up on myself. I never felt misunderstood. You understood. You believed in me. And when you did that, when you took me to the doctor who could explain what was happening in my brain, you lifted so much shame off of me."