About this Blog Some call it attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), others talk about being hyperactive. Here are the accounts of the life of a parent trying to help a child with ADHD.
About the Author I am the parent of a child with ADHD who believes that the one of the best ways to help such a child is by sharing experiences with other such parents.
The true story of a family trying to adapt and help.
03/04/2006 - 12:40:22
How this story started (November 1999)
So how did I get involved? The easiest of ways, I fell in love with a special woman (Sandra). At the time, her son (I'll call him "A.") was six years old.
We'd been going out for a few weeks when she called me at the office (I work at home now, but used to rent a small office) and sounded terrible. Basically, A.'s first grade teacher had had a talk with her to explain that she believed A. might need to be examined by a doctor because of the way he was behaving in class. I don't remember if it's the teacher that mentioned hyperactivity or if Sandra came to that conclusion herself, but however it occured, she was upset.
One of us had found a simple test (a few questions, basically) to see if your child might be hyperactive. While she was reading me the questions and answering them herself (I couldn't help, I hadn't met A. yet), I was searching for every last bit of information I could find on the subject on the Internet.
By the end of our conversation, the conclusion seemed virtually inevitable. A. was probably hyperactive. What we read during the next few days simply confirms this conclusion. Sandra would have to set up a visit to the doctor to see what we could learn.
I met A. a few months later. He's an intelligent boy who seems to study me in order to learn what makes me tick. I'll explain later how well he learns about people...
As the year progresses. A.'s grades go from terrific to terrible. The great interest he had in learning at the beginning of the year dissapears. He barely passes first grade.
The summer vacation is also pretty difficult. He's an insecure child who often dislikes change and he's trying to cope with the fact that his mother no longer lives with his father. He's also trying to cope with me, the new man in her life. Things eventually calm down a bit.
And here comes a new school year... And here comes a whole new kind of stress.