ADD Student

Here it is the start of a new year, and I’m looking back. Not back to last year, but way back. Back to when my children were small – babies and toddlers.

Do you remember when your ADD child was little? A toddler, maybe, or even younger? What did you think about them then?

Of course, you loved them. Did you think they were smart? Maybe even smarter than some of your friends kids? Did they learn to walk, or talk, or do something earlier than their peers? (My son learned to ride a 2 wheeled bike when he was 3 years old.)

Were you proud of them then?

What about now? How do you feel about them now? You can be honest – you’re only talking to yourself.

The love is still there. But what about the pride? The feeling that they are smarter than other kids? Do you still think and feel those things?

And if you don’t (it’s OK) – what has changed? Them? Or you?

You might be surprised to find out that the biggest thing that has changed is your perceptions about them. They really haven’t changed that much, at least not fundamentally.

Sure, they give you more trouble now, and headaches. They might be less adorable and more frustrating.

But all the potential and intelligence and wonderfulness you saw back then is still there. The problem is that it’s being covered up.

It’s being covered up by labels, and people who don’t know better and some who do. It’s being covered up by bad feelings and frustration and knowing who you are but not being able to express it. It’s being covered up by one more failed attempt, one more forgotten thing, and one more mentally foggy day.

You can uncover it, if you try. If you do, and you succeed, it will be the greatest thing you’ve ever done. To try means to go against the grain, to swim against the current along with your ADD child.

To try means that you still see them as they are, for all that they can be.