Saturday, January 17, 2009

ADHD and me


Hosta


Much to my surprise, I've found that I have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. I seem to have had this terrible problem as a child, and it never left me as I matured. Now to qualify that statement: One of the main symptoms is the inability to stay focused on any one thing. My teachers in grade school used to send notes to my mom about my lack of attention. Of course she became concerned and had several meetings with them to try to find why and ascertain what to do about the malady. To get to and from these meetings, she had to walk two miles each way to the schoolhouse—usually with me in tow—so you can take my word that she was serious.

The teachers said I was a daydreamer, and that I was learning very little from their efforts. Yet when test times rolled around, I always received decent grades. I was one of the best speilers (sic) in school, but my mind was continuously wandering. One teacher even threatened to hold me back a year beacuse whenever she called on me in class, I didn't respond until she said my name several times (she claimed). And even though I had no clue as to the answer for the questions she verbally asked, at test time I passed. In the sixth through the eighth grades, I was an honor student.

My mom proved to be the wise one; in fact she encouraged my daydreaming. She wanted me to dream the impossible dreams, read anything I could find, and see the world in a different way. Although she never finished high school, she intended that I would, and I eventually did so. She understood that all the great people that ever lived were dreamers first and doers second, and even if she did not know where my future lay, she made sure I was able to do all the daydreaming I wanted; as long as I passed in school with at least an average grade. Yes, I had and still have ADHD, and if modern drugs had been around then, I would probably not be here writing this because I may have wound up being someone else in an elsewhere place. That would have left an emptiness in each and everyone of you, knowing somehow that you were missing something very important in your lives. Oh, Yeah!

I had a good mom.
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2 comments:

Mark said...

I think people with ADHD need the right teachers. Usually they are the smartest kids who just need the right teacher to focus them towards something they enjoy. I daydream everyday. I need a teacher.

Anonymous said...

With all the modern drugs they throw at ADHD and other childhood "illnesses" it is a wonder that any of them survive without their brains being zapped. I had only one teacher (7th grade) who encouraged us to take time each day in class and daydream. I learned more about life from him than any one person outside my family.

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