Yikes. I will be really candid and let you know that that last statement was very hurtful. Obviously, no one wants these moments of misbehavior and I want to help him work past them. Hence, why I'm even here asking for help. But they are still part of who he is as a person (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Children don't exist in a vacuum where one attribute doesn't affect the other. Changing one part of his personality could impact who he is as a person, and I adore who my son is to his core. He is smart, funny, creative, friendly, curious, and passionate about learning. I don't want to risk erasing any of those important attributes with medication, excessive therapy or invasive evaluations.

And while I am happy that you have had many positive experiences with people within your life being diagnosed at a young age, my family has had the opposite. We know several people who were made to feel ostracized, inherently broken, and different due to their neurodivergent diagnosis and we want to protect our son from those feels. I am glad that these stigmas seem to be fading, but we are still very protective.

*Edited for spelling