As I sit here at my desk, leg shaking of course, I think about what my life would be like if I could just settle down. And I don't mean with a family, I have a great one of those. I mean calm myself, and stay there. Oh, I could do it for an hour, two at most (Titanic reference there) but I can't consistently stay still.
Looking back at my childhood, I wondered why I was frequently told to go to the hall, "sit down", can't you just pay attention? Problem was, I got good enough grades for those "problems" to be a minor nuisance. Of course, teachers were more patient back then. Or maybe they had more power and weren't afraid of lawsuits. I know that I saw my teachers as demanding the same respect as my parents and any other elders you trusted. So if one told me to STFU and sit down, I did just that without running home and telling my mom that a teacher swore at me (How dare they?!).
The underlying fact is that I was and to this day live with ADHD and now so does my son. Do we grow out of it? Absolutely not. We get better at understanding ourselves and how to react. What foods to stay away from, how to keep yourself calm, etc.
Playing sports from a young age definitely helped keep me a little balanced, so I am thankful I had passion in that. I'd like to thank the people who "understood" me as a young boy. And those that didn't, I understand why.
My son is going through similar circumstances. I need to continue to remember those early years so I can relate. I want to help him, help himself. I don't want to tell him how to live, I want to show him. These are the toughest years because you still don't know much about yourself yet, and adding a motor that runs 24/7 is like fuel to the fire. These are my first thoughts about an illness I never really knew much about, even though I have had it for 37 years. I never let it win, and I never used it as an excuse. If we let him be himself, my son will do the same.
Looking back at my childhood, I wondered why I was frequently told to go to the hall, "sit down", can't you just pay attention? Problem was, I got good enough grades for those "problems" to be a minor nuisance. Of course, teachers were more patient back then. Or maybe they had more power and weren't afraid of lawsuits. I know that I saw my teachers as demanding the same respect as my parents and any other elders you trusted. So if one told me to STFU and sit down, I did just that without running home and telling my mom that a teacher swore at me (How dare they?!).
The underlying fact is that I was and to this day live with ADHD and now so does my son. Do we grow out of it? Absolutely not. We get better at understanding ourselves and how to react. What foods to stay away from, how to keep yourself calm, etc.
Playing sports from a young age definitely helped keep me a little balanced, so I am thankful I had passion in that. I'd like to thank the people who "understood" me as a young boy. And those that didn't, I understand why.
My son is going through similar circumstances. I need to continue to remember those early years so I can relate. I want to help him, help himself. I don't want to tell him how to live, I want to show him. These are the toughest years because you still don't know much about yourself yet, and adding a motor that runs 24/7 is like fuel to the fire. These are my first thoughts about an illness I never really knew much about, even though I have had it for 37 years. I never let it win, and I never used it as an excuse. If we let him be himself, my son will do the same.