<p>Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiance disorder,<br>and pervasive developmental disorder in the early 1990s, Robert Stevens was an<br>exceptionally intelligent child who could not function in a mainstream environment.<br>Being the “problem child” of every play group, sports league, and extracurricular activity<br>he joined, Robert had no friends, no internal means of self-control, no “off switch,”<br>and—as his parents, Robert and Catherine Stevens, were warned—perhaps no real<br>future. Thinking it for the best, Robert’s parents did what the experts told them to do.<br>Despite having a remarkably high IQ, Robert was placed in a special education program,<br>under a psychiatrist’s care, and on several powerful medications, including Ritalin and<br>Prozac. Unfortunately, nothing worked quite as intended, and Robert suffered from nearly<br>every side effect these drugs had to offer.<br>Robert’s parents saw they were losing him. Witnesses to Robert’s drastic mood swings<br>and anxious displays, they did not know whether they were seeing their son or the<br>results of the medications he was taking. While initially helpful, the special education<br>class began to create its own world of problems, with Robert taking a step backwards for<br>each step forward. Desperate, the Stevens family turned to holistic therapies. Amazingly,<br>Robert began to show improvement. Wondering why their son’s doctors had discouraged<br>such strategies, Robert and Catherine started researching new approaches on their own.<br>Using nontraditional approaches, Robert was found. By third grade, he was off all<br>medications, attending a mainstream school, making friends, and simply being himself.<br>Finding Robert chronicles one family’s journey through the world of developmental<br>disorders. It depicts the struggles faced, examines the decisions made, and offers a<br>thorough analysis of the therapies utilized. Amid sadness and confusion, with strength<br>and resolve, Robert and Catherine regained their son and undertook a mission to change<br>the way we look at these conditions.</p>