Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
You are not alone, am I?
My daughter was 6 when she was diagnosed with ADHD. Before that, she was a happy go lucky, pretty well behaved child. She was struggling in school (she couldn't stay in her seat, talked all the time and had trouble staying focused) and her pediatrician said it sounded like it could be ADHD. The doctor had me fill out this paper full of questions about my daughter (we'll call her Jo) and I had to give one to her teacher too (she was in 1st grade). I had never really heard of ADHD before that but that list of questions had me pretty worried (of course my 6 year old doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs!) I soon discovered that there was only one list of questions for everyone, regardless of age.
I have decided to write this blog because my mom thinks that I should share my story with other people. There seems to be this notion that kids with ADHD are just labeled that because parents want to drug their kids, there is no discipline or these kids are just plain bad. Because of this, parents are afraid to talk about it out of fear of being judged. I know this because I am guilty of it. I hate the looks I get when I say she has ADHD, the look that says "you must just be a bad mom" - I'm not even sure people realize what we "hear" in a look.
I don't know if anyone will ever read this but if they do I hope that it sheds some light on what families go through when a child has ADHD. I believe that as a Christian, I should be reaching out to others who are going through this too, but the parent in me is ashamed to admit that I struggle.
So over the next few days I will blog about the last 5 years (she is almost 11) and then we will move on to present day life. I know you will laugh (I have to just to keep from crying sometimes) but I hope you will also see that ADHD is a real disorder, not just a label for bad kids. And if you are a parent struggling with a child with ADHD, please feel free to share too! It is always comforting to find out that you are not the only person going through something!
So for now, have a great weekend and I look forward to telling you all about this crazy ride called ADHD.
I have decided to write this blog because my mom thinks that I should share my story with other people. There seems to be this notion that kids with ADHD are just labeled that because parents want to drug their kids, there is no discipline or these kids are just plain bad. Because of this, parents are afraid to talk about it out of fear of being judged. I know this because I am guilty of it. I hate the looks I get when I say she has ADHD, the look that says "you must just be a bad mom" - I'm not even sure people realize what we "hear" in a look.
I don't know if anyone will ever read this but if they do I hope that it sheds some light on what families go through when a child has ADHD. I believe that as a Christian, I should be reaching out to others who are going through this too, but the parent in me is ashamed to admit that I struggle.
So over the next few days I will blog about the last 5 years (she is almost 11) and then we will move on to present day life. I know you will laugh (I have to just to keep from crying sometimes) but I hope you will also see that ADHD is a real disorder, not just a label for bad kids. And if you are a parent struggling with a child with ADHD, please feel free to share too! It is always comforting to find out that you are not the only person going through something!
So for now, have a great weekend and I look forward to telling you all about this crazy ride called ADHD.
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