The summer between his sixth and seventh grade year, Taylor and
Marcus decide to move to allow Thomas the chance to excel in his piano
performances. They are taking the initiative to set him up with a musical
education just in case his skill set is not enough for the future. Taylor
and Marcus did discuss this with twelve year old Thomas, and he agreed that he
wanted to pursue piano and go to the Conservatory of Musical Arts in Southern
NJ.
Thomas adjusts very quickly to the new school. He easily
makes friends with similar interests, starts taking a few beginner as well as
advanced classes and soon becomes challenged with piano. The beginners classes
help him with his improper form and self taught tendencies. The advanced
classes also push him ahead several years with more complex compositions and
performances.
For his sixteenth birthday, Taylor and Marcus throw
Thomas a huge “sweet sixteen” bash. They celebrate with close family and many
of the friends Thomas has met these past few years. With his few best friends,
they go up to New York to see the Heritage Blues Orchestra perform, his
favorite performing group.
Thomas continues to develop normally along with his peers. He
focuses on his performances and skillset and excels at the Conservatory of
Musical Arts. Normally, adolescents with ADHD have much more trouble in school
and often have disciplinary problems, are poorly organized, and have trouble
developing relationships and controlling their emotions. Because of the
specialized learning environment and staying on a strict medicine regiment,
Thomas has done much better. He remains on Ritalin throughout school. He
develops in the same pace and ways as his peers. None of his instructors or
teachers even knows that he has ADHD. He has enough to get him occupied
throughout school between classes, performances, and being class president.
Soon. It's time to start looking for colleges.
Thomas graduates in the top 10 of his class with honors. He
receives a partial scholarship to the University of Alabama's School of Music
in Tuscaloosa. After talking to the head of the school of music, Thomas
realizes he is really interested in being submersed in an area where blues and
classical go hand-in-hand.
Throughout college Thomas struggles with his classes. It has been
a while since he received classes on anything other than music. He has trouble
with his general education classes and music theory and history. He does
however meet a girl who he begins to date who is also a music major. Once or
twice a semester, Thomas sells his Ritalin to students who know he is taking
it. He sees it as easy side money but never extends past friends and
acquaintances he already knows. It doesn’t become an issue and he gets away
with no issues.
He takes time to think about going off of Ritalin. He hasn't
spoken with his doctor for 2 years now and he's been taking it so long now that
he doesn't realize the difference from what his normal behavior would be. His
parents advise against this but give him the ultimate choice since he will be
living on his own now and not under their roof. He decides to wait until he is
finished with college. Just in case, staying on medication is helping him with
school and classes like it did since he was younger, he doesn’t want to chance
his grades dropping any lower than what they already are.
Four years later, he graduates and is offered an adjunct teaching position at the Julliard school of Performing Arts based on his performances in the school’s jazz band and classical orchestra. He plans to pursue a Master’s degree, has a girlfriend of three years now and dreams of traveling and watching different music around the world in person. He doesn't know if should put off the Master's for a few years when he's more settled or go right away while knowledge is still fresh in his mind. His girlfriend is also offered a position nearby Julliard in a private school teaching music classes in elementary students. They seem to be doing very well. They have their arguments from time to time but so do all couples. They talk about possibly moving in together and getting married.
Citations:
http://music.ua.edu/contact-us/
Questions:
1.What are the effects
of Ritalin on individuals who do not have ADD, ADHD, or another disorder that
it can be prescribed for? Approximately how much of it is distributed each year
in colleges illegally?
2. What are the possible
side effects of immediately stopping medications such as Ritalin? Are
withdrawal symptoms likely?
3. If given a general
overview and average, how does one partner with ADHD effect the outcome or
growth of a relationship? What about both partner?
Decision Point:
Does Thomas have enough motivation to become an adjunct professor
at Julliard in NY with his girlfriend, or does pursue his dreams to travel the
world first?
1) Ritalin is a safe drug when it is taken as directed. At the dosages prescribed for treatment of ADHD, Ritalin won't make children feel "high" or lead to addiction. The potential for abuse comes when people who don't have ADH take Ritalin or other ADHD drugs without a doctor's supervision. Some people take illicit doses to get high, to lose weight, or just to stay alert for a long meeting or a night of studying. However tremors, agitation, a rapid heartbeat, and hypertension are all common side effects of Ritalin misuse. Abusers have also been known to suffer severe psychiatric complications, including psychotic episodes, hallucinations, paranoia, and bizarre behavior. Other serious, long-term consequences are relatively rare. Ritalin isn't as addictive as amphetamines or cocaine, but according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, people who abuse Ritalin can still become hooked. About 20% of college students take Ritalin when they are not supposed to and they illegally acquire the drug from others.
ReplyDelete2) Ritalin should be stopped gradually. Withdrawal symptoms are psychological and stopping suddenly can cause extreme fatigue and severe, even suicidal, depression in adult patients. Therefore, an individual should consult the doctor in order to figure out a plan to help them begin to gradually not rely on the medicine. Since Thomas is fully relying on Ritalin, he will eventually build up a tolerance where he will have to take more and more of the drug in order to have to same effect. Eventually, Ritalin will not work because he will be at the maximum dosage that is safe. Therefore the doctor and parents should work on solving his behavior problems while he is taking some medication, that way they are co-existing and he is not fully reliant on either one. The end result in mind being that Thomas is not fully reliant on medicine but has learned strategies in order to cope with his disability (Ritalin, 2014).
3) Relationships where one or both members of the couple have ADD / ADHD can be troubled by misunderstandings, frustrations, and resentments. For the person with ADHD, they may feel like they’re constantly being criticized, nagged, and micromanaged. The person without ADHD may feel lonely, ignored, and unappreciated. They may get tired of taking care of everything on their own and feeling like theyre the only responsible party in the relationship. Transforming the relationship starts with understanding the role that ADD/ADHD plays. Once they are able to identify how the symptoms are ADD/ADHD are influencing your interactions as a couple, they can learn better ways of responding. For the partner with ADHD, this means learning how to manage the problematic symptom. For the non-ADHD partner, this means learning how to react to frustrations in ways that encourage and motivate your partner.
ReplyDeleteDecision Point: Since Thomas would need money to travel the world, it would be wise for him to first begin working. That way he receives more experience in his profession, yet will may also get the opportunity to travel within the job. Also , since he is currently contemplating grad school, he should begin working and maybe see if Julliard would fund him to go to school. Since there has been a lot of change going on in Thomas’s life, for right now he should settle down in one place with somewhere to stay and a steady job so that he can keep his life on track before making a major decision to travel the world.
Citations:
http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/substance-abuse-38/drug-abuse-news-210/ritalin-abuse-646145html
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adult-add-adhd-relationships-and-marriage.htm