In the post “Mid-Air Without a Net,” I wrote:

The taekwondo teacher wants to talk to you, [Samara] texted Saturday morning. He’s wondering if Martin is taking any drugs for his ADD.

 Oh no! I texted back. (More on that in a later post.)

It’s “later post” time.

When I received that text from Samara, I panicked. Mostly because I was in the middle of panicking about everything else, but still. I thought the Master Rob might tell us not to return Martin to class until we drugged him. I followed up the text and spoke with Samara, and the situation got worse (at least, in my head): When Master Rob asked her if Martin is taking any drugs for his ADD, Samara had responded that we do “alternative medicine.”

That’s a phrase I never use. To begin, I don’t consider treating Martin’s underlying health issues to be “alternative medicine.” We have chosen against trying to manipulate neuro-processing with drugs. We are pursuing non-pharmaceutical options. We are working with new discoveries in treating immune dysfunction. We have been lucky enough to find cutting-edge therapies. We are targeting overall health. We are following the path that, for our son, has garnered the best results. But alternative medicine—no.

At its most benign, I think, “alternative medicine” suggests that we’re a hippie-dippy family trying to cure a spectrum disorder with yoga. (No disrespect to yoga. Yoga is great for mindfulness. It does not, however, do much for the gut biome or neuro-receptors.) “Alternative medicine,” to some, suggests that we are treating our child as a laboratory experiment, or harming him, or failing to accept “proven” treatments that could benefit him. At its worst, I (like other biomed parents) fear that proclaiming “alternative medicine” could invite intervention by well-meaning individuals who think they know better for my son.

I met with Master Rob the next week. I explained that we aren’t pursuing pharmaceutical options at this time because we are trying to heal some gut and other health issues that affect Martin’s attention, and that using drugs would interfere with gaging our progress. I went on to say that we aren’t categorically against drugs but that we want to take this path as far as we can first. Master Rob said that he understood, and that he had resisted pharmaceuticals for his own son, who has ADD, until sixth grade, when he thought the transition to middle school had made them necessary. He said also that he was curious about Martin’s regimen in order to give him as much help and support at taekwondo as possible.

Good enough for me.