Now onto the chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles.
A half an hour later Don was discusing his research with April. All that Don had read about fit Mikey perfectly. Certain things stuck out in his mind about when they were younger that pointed to ADHD.
"I just can't believe it April. I mean Mikey was always a little hyperactive. I never thought there could be something deeper than that." Don told April as he paced through the lab back and forth.
"There could be more too." April answered. "I read on one of the websites that ADHD is sometimes linked to other learning disorders."
"Yeah." Don said with a frown. "I saw that. I read through some of the other ones and one really stuck out."
"What was it?" April asked.
"Dyslexia." Don replied. "Mikey's always had big issues reading. Now he's better, but when we were younger it was terrible. One time, when we were eleven, we were reading outloud and Mikey ended up throwing the book down and leaving. He just gave up. Master Splinter taught us seperatly after that."
"Wow." April said. It was quiet for a moment. "How are we going to tell the others? Leo's deffinatly not going to have any of it."
"I'm not worried about him." Don sighed. "How am I going to tell Mikey? He's going to be really upset."
"Maybe he won't." April assured. "You don't know for sure Donnie."
"There's one thing I know for sure though April," Don said. "Let's keep this between you and me, just until…until I can get my thoughts together."
"Okay Don." April said. "You need to tell them soon though."
"I know April." Don said. "I just need to figure out how to."
"I know you'll figure it out Don." April told him. "Bye Don."
"Bye April." Don answered.
Don sighed when he hung up. How was he going to tell the others? What would they do?
Don sat down at the table again and began sifting threw the many papers he'd printed off that disscused learning disorders. What really got to Don was that, all this time while they all had been telling Mikey to focus or work harder, he couldn't. He had tried telling them too. They didn't believe him. They didn't understand what was wrong. They hadn't known that the answer to why Mikey could never focus had been at their fingertips all this time. Truthfully, Don had never even seen a real problem with Mikey until April had pointed it out.
As Don began reading a page over how to treat ADHD, Don began to wonder: Would Mikey need medication? It seemed wierd to think that his brother might actually need a pill to keep him focused. If it worked though, it would fix a lot of problems.
Don sighed and set the papers down. Who did he need to talk to first? Leo and Mikey were definatly out of the question. Leo was being stuborn and he didn't want to just spring this up on Mike. Master Splinter was an option. He'd want to talk to all of them about it right away though. Don scratched him off the list; Don needed to be subtle about this. He needed to tell them one at a time, otherwise there would be too many questions and not enough answers.
Raph! He could tell Raph. Raph could keep a secret. He'd listen to Don… maybe. Don never knew what Raph would do in any situation really. He was Don's best choice though.
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"So, what's this all about?" Raph asked as Don closed the lab door behind them.
Ignoring Raph, Don went to the table and begn sifting threw papers again.
Raph crossed his arms. "Ya gonna answer me Donnie?"
"Just hold on a second." Don answered. "I need to find some- oh, here we go."
Don pulled out a few sheets out of the stack and motioned Raph to come over. Raph walked over and Don handed him the papers.
"Read this." Don said. " Tell me if it seems anything like Mikey."
"Mikey?" Raph asked confused.
"Yeah." Don replied. "Just read it."
Raph began to skim over the paper and was surprised to find the description fit their younger brother almost perfectly. Halfway through Raph stopped.
"What is this?" He asked Don.
Don took the papers. "ADHD. Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder."
"What?" Raph asked.
"You know how Mike is always distracted or can't sit still?" Don asked.
Raph nodded.
"Well I was talking with April about how Mikey's always had difficulties sitting still or focusing. Then she mentioned ADHD." Don said.
"What is it?" Raph asked.
"A learning disability." Don answered. "We researched it. It's nuerological disorder that affects focus and attention. It fits Mikey perfectly."
"So you're saying… Mike has a learning disability?" Raph asked.
"Not one." Don said as he went back to the table. "Two."
"Wait. What?" Raph asked.
"I said I think he has two." Don said as he came back over to Raph with another paper. He handed it to Raph. "He might have Dyslexia. It affects reading skills and comprehension. Do you remember how Mikey used to really struggle when he would read?"
"He still does." Raph said as skimmed over the paper. "Jeez, Donnie this is all really…" Raph trailed off.
"Overwhelming?" Don offered. "I know. That's why I'm telling you. I don't know who to go to. I don't know how to tell the rest of them. I know Master Splinter will accept it, but Leo's going to be stubborn. The main issue is: how am I going to tell Mikey?"
"Don they have a right ta know." Raph said. He sighed. "Why did ya come ta me? Ya seriously think I'd know what ta do? You're the smart one."
"I needed to tell sombody." Don answered. "You seemed like the only option."
Raph sighed again, taking a moment to think. He looked Don straight in the eyes. "I think you should tell Leo first. He might need a little persuasion. Might as well tell him and get it over with now."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you have a point."Don groaned.
"This is seriously going to suck."
A/N: I think this is the worst chapter I've written so far. I kind of got lost and had to go over it several times because it didn't sound good at all. Sorry if it's terrible.