Any success stories of high school students with ADHD stopping stimulant medication to qualify for a service academy?

[Anonymous]

My middle schooler is obsessed with aviation and wants to be a pilot. To the point where he's reading a ground school book at home for fun. DC does well in honors math and science on medication and gets by in other courses. DC is also a good athlete, but whether DC will be good enough to be a recruited athlete is unclear. Is there any chance we can get him off medication later in high school and still have a shot at the Air Force Academy? Other schools with aviation programs would also be fine, but I understand that we have to get off stimulants regardless if the goal is to become a commercial pilot. I am looking for a sliver of hope, and if there is none, we need to gently nudge him away from the goal of being a commercial pilot as a career path. Maybe a hobby pilot with an aeronautical engineering undergrad is more realistic.

[Anonymous]

Why is he on meds in the first place? The over diagnosis and over medication of ADHD is pretty well documented.

[Anonymous]

My nephew took stimulant meds for a few years and then went off of them. He graduated HS and went to college then covid hit and he dropped out. So he has ADHD, does not take stimulant meds, does not have a college degree but there were extenuating circumstances.

Our DS currently takes stimulant meds in 6th grade and is very interested in the military. We have run out (due to shortages) for a week or two here or there and it has been okay at school. I think it may be possible for him to go off of stimulant meds sometime in the future, maybe in the next few years, in order to keep his options open. Or maybe not. We'll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is he on meds in the first place? The over diagnosis and over medication of ADHD is pretty well documented.

oh STOP this nonsense on the special needs board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is he on meds in the first place? The over diagnosis and over medication of ADHD is pretty well documented.

oh STOP this nonsense on the special needs board.

Thank you. He is on meds because he was diagnosed at a very young age. Despite a high cogat score (lower standardized test scores), he couldn't learn in a classroom setting. He is doing well now because of meds + years of both parents tutoring him at home. My biggest fear is that everything good we've achieved academically falls apart without medication, but he's also decided he wants to be a pilot (and this is all him; there are no pilots in our family to spark interest).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is he on meds in the first place? The over diagnosis and over medication of ADHD is pretty well documented.

oh STOP this nonsense on the special needs board.

It’s not nonsense - it’s in fact well established. I brought it up because OP wants her child to possibly be off meds so it seems extremely relevant.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8042533/

[Anonymous]

There are some kids who are able to swap out significant athletic training with Meds.

Doing ice hockey or swimming in the morning before school.

Can you try a few weeks of going to the gym before school and see if it works?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is he on meds in the first place? The over diagnosis and over medication of ADHD is pretty well documented.

oh STOP this nonsense on the special needs board.

Thank you. He is on meds because he was diagnosed at a very young age. Despite a high cogat score (lower standardized test scores), he couldn't learn in a classroom setting. He is doing well now because of meds + years of both parents tutoring him at home. My biggest fear is that everything good we've achieved academically falls apart without medication, but he's also decided he wants to be a pilot (and this is all him; there are no pilots in our family to spark interest).

A kid that “cannot learn in a classroom setting” shouldn’t be a pilot. Sounds lije he has a special interest in aviation that he could explore through other professions like engineering. Even if he can do well without meds that doesn’t make the ADHD and need for supports go away. A service academy wants to see that the ADHD was outgrown not that it is unmedicated only.

[Anonymous]

OP, it might be best to start the gentle letdown now. The service academies are notoriously difficult so if he was diagnosed at a young age and had difficulty in a classroom setting, unless he has a miraculous executive functioning turnaround, I would steer him away. I am prior service and currently work in an environment filled with service academy grads. They are all exceptionally well organized to this day. Perhaps if it continues to be a goal, you could have him try going off medication and attempt an AFROTC program. However, and I mean this in the kindest way (my son has severe ADHD), would you want your unmedicated child potentially flying a fighter jet at mach 1 or 2?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some kids who are able to swap out significant athletic training with Meds.

Doing ice hockey or swimming in the morning before school.

Can you try a few weeks of going to the gym before school and see if it works?

Yes, DC already does one of those sports in the morning before school. Maybe we should start trying a day here or there without meds when there are no tests and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some kids who are able to swap out significant athletic training with Meds.

Doing ice hockey or swimming in the morning before school.

Can you try a few weeks of going to the gym before school and see if it works?

Yes, DC already does one of those sports in the morning before school. Maybe we should start trying a day here or there without meds when there are no tests and see what happens.

If you have not done any med breaks in the past, then be aware that it's quite possible that the first day or two without meds may be wild. He will be even less focused and/or more hyperactive than baseline as his body readjusts. It actually takes days-to-weeks for the brain receptors to return to baseline so a week or more med break might be more useful than just skipping a day here or there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it might be best to start the gentle letdown now. The service academies are notoriously difficult so if he was diagnosed at a young age and had difficulty in a classroom setting, unless he has a miraculous executive functioning turnaround, I would steer him away. I am prior service and currently work in an environment filled with service academy grads. They are all exceptionally well organized to this day. Perhaps if it continues to be a goal, you could have him try going off medication and attempt an AFROTC program. However, and I mean this in the kindest way (my son has severe ADHD), would you want your unmedicated child potentially flying a fighter jet at mach 1 or 2?

Probably not, but he does very well when he hyper-focuses on activities he loves (think competitive math or chess), and he's an adrenaline junkie, so I understand the attraction for him. However, the issue regarding executive functioning is not lost on me. I don't see a miracle coming his way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it might be best to start the gentle letdown now. The service academies are notoriously difficult so if he was diagnosed at a young age and had difficulty in a classroom setting, unless he has a miraculous executive functioning turnaround, I would steer him away. I am prior service and currently work in an environment filled with service academy grads. They are all exceptionally well organized to this day. Perhaps if it continues to be a goal, you could have him try going off medication and attempt an AFROTC program. However, and I mean this in the kindest way (my son has severe ADHD), would you want your unmedicated child potentially flying a fighter jet at mach 1 or 2?

Probably not, but he does very well when he hyper-focuses on activities he loves (think competitive math or chess), and he's an adrenaline junkie, so I understand the attraction for him. However, the issue regarding executive functioning is not lost on me. I don't see a miracle coming his way.

But your miracle is his goal.
So he may be receptive to support where other kids are resistant.

Conversations are focused on - I want you to have the tools to accomplish your goals.
Here are some planning hacks that you need to start implementing. You can either get an outside coach (like a sports coach) OR we can do this together - which do you want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it might be best to start the gentle letdown now. The service academies are notoriously difficult so if he was diagnosed at a young age and had difficulty in a classroom setting, unless he has a miraculous executive functioning turnaround, I would steer him away. I am prior service and currently work in an environment filled with service academy grads. They are all exceptionally well organized to this day. Perhaps if it continues to be a goal, you could have him try going off medication and attempt an AFROTC program. However, and I mean this in the kindest way (my son has severe ADHD), would you want your unmedicated child potentially flying a fighter jet at mach 1 or 2?

Do you think your coworkers are exceptionally well organized because they attended a service academy, in large part? I've even wondered if a military-style boarding school with the right sports would help.

[Anonymous]

Well, my husband was at a service academy and now that we both know more about ADHD from our son, there is no way my husband doesn't have it. I think the structure helped him a lot. He taught himself habits to stay organized, at least at work. Home is a whole other story, but he has been working on it. (He's 55, so...). He has been unmedicated this whole time. He was infantry though.