I am trying to get my child to go to therapy but he refuses to go.

Is therapy an effective option for a defiant teen? The fact that a problem teen could benefit tremendously from a therapy session does not mean that they will be willing to go. Sometimes even getting a child to be tested for ADHD is a major task. In order to solve a teen problem it is necessary to know what the problem is. Teen depression could be a contributing factor for a youth that is abusing drugs. Some teens unknowingly are self medicating to deal with their depression. In our opinion a teen struggling with depression that is placed in a specialty school or some other type of behavior modification program may initially become worse if their medication is taken away. This does not mean we believe self medication with illegal substances is good. Teen success hinges on the child becoming drug free and also willing to discover what it is that makes them feel the way they do. The difficulty arises when you cannot get the child to share the problem with you. This can take months of work and time for the teen to develop a trust in you. This can be successfully accomplished in a structured setting where the professionals work side by side with the troubled teen on a daily basis.

Does ADHD affect my teen age child’s driving ability?

Parents should use extreme caution with a teen that has ADHD when they begin to drive Statistics show that 16 year old drivers have more accidents per driving mile than any other age. Youth with ADHD, in their first 2-5 years of driving, have nearly four times as many automobile accidents, are more likely to cause bodily injury in accidents, and receive 3 times as many citations for speeding as drivers without ADHD. Given the statistics mentioned above ADHD treatment or (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) treatment can be much less expensive and much safer than letting a child with ADHD go untreated. ADD or (Attention Deficit Disorder) is similar to ADHD minus the hyperactive component. Conduct disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder are sometimes mistakenly diagnosed as ADHD. It is always best to find a well trained professional to determine what is really going on with your child rather than trying to determine this yourself.