ADHD Awareness Week

This week is ADHD awareness week. There are some great links there. I don't blog about this topic much but ADHD has been at our house for a while and definitely not as a welcomed guest. ADHD is right up there with breast feeding in polarizing parents. The thing is that a child breast feeds or bottle feeds for a short time and no one can recognize in 1st grade whether the child has been breast or bottle fed but everyone can see ADHD. Nothing will get you judged on your parenting faster than having a child that has behavioral problems. As a parent of a ADHD child, I have been judged, shunned, and offered unsolicted advice. There is a certain school in my neighborhood that I literally get a panic attack when I walk into their office. I can only imagine how that feels for my son. I still have nightmares about 3rd grade for my son. I don't know what is worse the ADHD or the way people react to a kid with ADHD.

Things I would like people to know about this unwelcome guest ADHD

Try not to judge parents(this is a biggie) I have found that parents with ADHD kids have exceptional parenting skills but they are facing a uphill battle . It usually isn't a lack of parenting skills that are causing the ADHD. These people are in the trenches. Cut them a break.

Teachers can help by actually communicating with the parent. I don't need to find out a misdeed days after it happened. Chances are the child isn't the best reporter on their behavior. We got to work together. You got to give me information so I can make good decisions for my child. I do really need all the information. I don't need you working behind the scenes to undermine me. No one wants to hear bad things about their child but glossing over the problem doesn't help. Can you tell this a pet peeve with me? This actually deserves it's own post.

ADHD is not a free ticket to misbehave or not live up to your potential. Bad behavior is bad behavior and unacceptable whether or not you ADHD or not.

School won't solve ADHD. I read somewhere that for a child with ADHD that school is the worst place for them to be. Schools are not set up to deal with kids outside of the box. That is where parents have to be great advocates for their kids. ADHD is often accompanied by learning difficulties, bipolar, depression, and anxiety.

ADHD can only be managed there is no cure. There is no medication, therapy, nutritional supplement that can cure ADHD. What works for one child who has ADHD may not work for another. That is the crazy subjectiveness of ADHD.

Don't go this journey alone with your child. You need great support. I was lucky to have a great friend who help me start on this journey(thanks Carol), exceptional advocate OT, a fab 4th grade teacher who led us to a great program for our son, a psychiarist who really gets it, family that listened, and countless others who have cheered us on.

I am so lucky to have my ADHD child in my life. I learned so much about myself both good and bad. My kid has great gifts that I really hope someday others will see too.