Thanks to everyone.....things are looking good

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for always being there to help me through the bad times(especially SOCKS). My son is having the best year he has ever had this year. Just got the first nine weeks report card, he got 2 C’s, 2B’s and 1A, and the wonderful thing is he did it all on his own. I helped with homework one time the whole nine weeks. For those of you who don’t remember me, from all my previous posts, this is just short of a miracle.
I have basically done all his homework for the last 3 years. The teachers (he has the same ones as last year) have even commented on how different his attitude and behavior are. I think the whole change came about after I hired a tutor for the summer, she told me my son had the worst self esteem she had ever seen. She said at the very beginning, I don’t know that I will teach him anything but I will teach him to believe in himself. She did it too. All it took was a little praise. He had recieved so much negative feedback from all his teachers, that he had just given up and decided that he was dumb, so why try. She did really easy things with him at first and praised him constantly. Of course he was against the whole idea of tutoring, because of his dislike for school. So, we sort of bribed him. I paid him for going to the tutor and she paid him for doing well (which I actually gave her the money for, but he didn’t know that) This got him motivated and before we knew it, he was enjoying it. He used to call me at work and tell me about how well he did and what nice things the teacher said about him. He even said, she is the only teacher who doesn’t make me feel stupid. His confidence level soared in every aspect of his life. He talked to people he wouldn’t talk to before, he went to spend the night with people, when before he wouldn’t. We had always told him he wasn’t stupid, the teachers just didn’t know how to teach him. But, like she said, he expects you to tell him that, you love him. he needs to hear it from someone who doesn’t have to say those things to him.
It seems everything just fell into place this summer, when he went for his sports physical, the doctor ask him why he stopped taking medicine for ADD, we explained he has stopped almost 4 years ago, because of bad side effects. The Dr. talked to him and told him there were new medicines out now, that might help. He told him to think about it and let him know. He decided on his own that he wanted to try. He put him on a low dose of Concerta, it helps, enough that my son ask if he could take it on the weekends. He said when I don’t take that medicine, I get bored and I can’t concentrate on anything. He says it even helped him play football better. He has none of the awful side effects he had with the other medicines.
I just wanted to let everyone know how he was doing and maybe give some other parents hope, because believe me, I had just about given up. I also don’t know how I would have gotten through all those terrible times without the people here, so knock on wood, we’re having a good year. Thanks to everyone who helped me when things were bad.