A is for ADHD (Part 1)

Now that I got that boring and “best hidden under the rug” topic of labelling out of the way, I will try and make this a less boring topic but I can’t promise. Life is a mixed bag of boring and awesome as I promise my ADHD son, after the boring stuff comes the fun reward; so bear with me.

The stereotypical labelling of ADHD is that kids are hyper. Forget that there is ADD and ADHD. While being hyper and restless is one of the factors of ADHD, it is not the only trait. Being ADHD is awesome. We get to multi task, brainstorm, be great leaders, perfect a sport ; just ask the greatest and most decorated Olympian of all time; (I want what he’s having) and Simone Biles the most decorated American gymnast.

 

I choose the label of strong; of leadership; of out of the box thinkers who change the world and who see things different from others. Why would schools want to fit every child in a box? My son wants to be a scientist, an architect, an inventor and then some. Who am I to tell him otherwise? Who am I to crush his dreams? I will do him a disservice to not get him the help he needs and to tell him he can’t do that because he is hyper or society says he can’t. Instead, I will fill his room with books on Albert Einstein, Michael Phelps and a host of others who changed the world and of course, the bible, because normal is as boring as my last post and possibly this one but I promise the next won’t be quite as.

 

ADHD is not a stomach bug that lingers too much when it ought to go away. It is something people are born with. It is not a bad behavior, it is a different behavior. A behavior that gets interesting along the way.  When I see my son pacing back and forth, I’m curious to see what intelligent thing he is about to come up with. You see, he is light years away from regular folk. Where he lacks in coordination, he very well makes up for in instruction and teaching. Where he lacks in sitting still, he very well makes up in multitasking. I am not a lazy parent who makes up excuses for my son but I am not a, well I am no longer a, worrisome parent. I spoke to God and told Him His word said children are a blessing and mine isn't acting like one. Should I say, I ought to have been ashamed of myself? Was I being a blessing by shouting at him and showing him his shortcomings? Well I prayed and meditated on His word and got to know the God I serve and what do you know, He has a label, we pray in Jesus name. He is a merciful God, yet people see Him as this tyrant and dictator. So I repented. I asked God to help me and show me the label He made my son to be.

 

ADHD kids are one of the most beautiful creatures out there. So God made me realize my child is me and I am my child. I began to ask Him to show me. I began to listen to my kid. I saw an angry kid. It was a reflection of me. You see i didn't need God I spoke to my pastor and asked him why God gave me this difficult child (mind you who am I to dictate to God) but he said trust God that my child is going to be a testimony. You see all the while, I forgot I had ADHD myself; well it's not that I forgot as much as I grew up in a country where they don't diagnose to change my kid; I needed God to change me. I had been in this world too long and my child had just got here so it's fair to say my views had been distorted. This is a kid who came from heaven with a message from God and I refused to hear it. Literally, he would give me tips on how to raise him and they worked. Who says kids don't come with instructions. Yes many looked at me weird for not spanking him at all. It's not their fault. God directed my steps.