Thomas and his girlfriend Magda decide to move in together in a bungalow
outside of Manhattan in Brooklyn. After much deliberation, they believe
that this would save them both money and it would give them a better idea of
what living together is like for future purposes.
Upon graduation, Thomas accepted the teaching position and will start out
making around $65,000 a year as an adjunct professor. Juilliard had ensured
that with experience and exceptional teaching, Thomas could become a full-time
professor within the next few years. They also offered to pay for
Thomas’s Master’s degree education.
Meanwhile, Magda and Thomas are having minor issues at home in their train
house style apartment. Oftentimes Thomas feels like Magda is on him
constantly about something and Magda feels distant from him. They decided
to go to the doctor together to see if it had something to do with his ADHD.
The doctor agreed that it was very much so the ADHD causing some of the
issues and advised them to begin doing activities together in the city and
spending stress-free time together since the past few months of their
twenty-three year old lives has been filled with drastic changes. Thomas
also voiced his thoughts about going off of Ritalin eventually. The
doctor decided that since this is what Thomas truly desired to begin taking a
smaller dosage every day. Eventually, the doctor wants to go to every
other day with this dosage. The current regimen of the smaller dosage
every day will continue for about three months, and the doctor wants Thomas to
return when the three months. The doctor advised Thomas to call ASAP if
anything strange or worrisome occurs because it could be a side effect of a
smaller dosage. The doctor decides only to go down 50 milligrams since
Thomas has had the same dosage for over ten years now.
Thomas follows his new regimen of medication and finds himself to be okay.
He does not notice a difference in his mood or actions; he is the same as
he has always been. Magda said that she notices he has been happier and
more care free instead of being uptight so much. She may think that the
move had put a lot of stress on him and could have contributed to his weird
moods and distance. They go running together every other morning through
a park right down the road from their apartment. They did this until
winter came and decide to join the local 24-hour YMCA to stay active while it
is cold outside. Magda and Thomas’s relationship has grown since this
transition. They manage everything together with open communication.
Magda is from Morocco and speaks fluent French, which opened the opportunity
for her to begin a nanny job. She quit her job at the private school so
that she could be a nanny for very wealthy people on the upper east side of
Manhattan. Thomas is happy that Magda is pursuing something she enjoys,
but is worried that it will make her want children of her own. Thomas
does not know how he feels about that-he loves her and wants to be with her but
he is getting worried that they want different things in life now. Thomas
still wishes he could travel, but he may end up having to put that off much
longer in order to make his true love happy.
Questions:
1.
How much do nanny’s get paid in Manhattan versus how much do private
school teachers make in Manhattan? With Thomas making around $65,000 a
year, would starting a family be a smart financial decision? (Keep in
mind that Thomas’s schooling for his Master’s would be paid for) Lastly, would
starting a family make life more stressful for Thomas?
2.
How long does it take for one to get weaned off of a medication like Ritalin?
Do people learn to live without it?
3.
How does ADHD affect offspring? Is it more likely to occur if a
parent has it? What could Thomas and Magda do to prevent this or manage
it if ADHD were increasingly likely in their child?
Decision
Point:
Does
Thomas decide to start a family with Magda together? Would this involve a
traditional ceremony or just a vow to each other?
Citations:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8669769_salary-professor-juilliard.html
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. How much do nanny’s get paid in Manhattan versus how much do private school teachers make in Manhattan? With Thomas making around $65,000 a year, would starting a family be a smart financial decision? (Keep in mind that Thomas’s schooling for his Master’s would be paid for) Lastly, would starting a family make life more stressful for Thomas?
If Magda was a Nanny is Manhattan she would make between 45,00-50,000 a year. However, this would definitely depend on the wealth of the family she would nanny for and how often they need her to nanny. For example, if they only need her for when the children return home from school versus all day long, she would probably make less. As a private school teacher in New York she would likely make between $50,000-55,000, therefore, with only roughly a $5,000 difference, Magda should do what she enjoys. With the two salaries combined, Thomas and Magda would make over $100,000 a year. Although they could start a family, since it is their first year working, they should start to save up money so that they are very financially stable to start a family. Raising a child through age 18 costs about $230,000. Therefore, they should begin saving for their future children. Because there have been so many life changes occurring in the lives of Thomas and Magda, they should take time to settle into this new environment and lifestyle before thinking about starting a family so that he has time to relax and focus on Magda and his work and possibly school. Anything else would be too much for anyone to handle, and especially with having ADHD, this may be even more stressful.
2. How long does it take for one to get weaned off of a medication like Ritalin? Do people learn to live without it?
Because Ritalin should be administered by his doctor, being weaned off this medication should be done by an individualized plan set up for Thomas. It can be very dangerous if Thomas started to wean hoimself off the medicine because if he doesn’t do it correctly, he could suffer from withdrawal symtomes. Ritalin withdrawal symptoms are most likely to be felt if you are taking a large dose of this medication. If you take a low or moderate dose, you are less likely to feel withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking Ritalin. Therefore the doctor knows what doses to give him because it is based on many factors such his past history of taking his medicine, medical history, age and weight. Therefore the only person Thomas should consult and fillow is the doctors plans.
3. How does ADHD affect offspring? Is it more likely to occur if a parent has it? What could Thomas and Magda do to prevent this or manage it if ADHD were increasingly likely in their child?
ReplyDeleteThere is also strong evidence that the primary cause of ADHD is genetic, due not to any single gene, but to combined effects of a number of genes. Otherwise states, ADHD runs in families. If a parent has ADHD, their child has more than 50 percent chance of having ADHD; for siblings of a child with ADHD, the risk is 32 percent. Causes of ADHD are linked to chronic problems in the release and reloading of two specific neurotransmitter chemicals, dopamine and norepinephrine, that are crucial for effective communication in the management system of the brain. The brain of someone with ADHD apparently makes these chemicals, just like everyone else, but often it does not release and reload them effectively. This may lead to significant inconsistency in the individual’s ability to focus and get things done, especially if the task is not a high-interest activity. Since there is an increased risk of having a child with ADHD, Magda and Thomas should continue to do research on ADHD. They should research effective ways to raising a child with ADHD and should look into meeting parents who already have a child with ADHD. I also think it would be beneficial for Thomas to write notes in a notebook for his child , discussing his own ADHD and how it has affected him in his life and how he has handled it. He can include what has worked, what has been most difficult, and what he has learned most. This would be a really cool thing to share with his child when they are old enough to help them understand what their ADHD may look like and to understand that their Dad has the same diagnosis.
Decision Point:
Does Thomas decide to start a family with Magda together? Would this involve a traditional ceremony or just a vow to each other?
Fast-forward 5 years, and Thomas decides to have a family with Magda. He decides that the number one thing in his life is to make her happy so he goes through with having children. Magda is not aware of his hesitancy to have children which could potentially cause problems when the child arrives. He decides to make a vow to her and she does the same. When Thomas’s parents find out, they are very upset. Thomas parents, Taylor and Marcus are very upset because they are a very traditional family and expected Thomas to follow the same values. They are upset that he is not married to Magda and believe that this should occur before the two of them pursue having a family. Also, they have only met Magda a handful of times and don’t know if they are comfortable having her raise their grandchildren. Despite all this, Thomas and Magda start a family and baby Isaac is born.
http://business.time.com/2012/01/20/the-economic-argument-for-having-more-kids/
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/finance/features/4086/index2.html
http://www.goodtherapy.org/drugs/ritalin-methylphenidate.html#
http://privateschool.about.com/od/salaries/a/What-Do-Private-School-Teachers-Earn.htm