Tag: adhd

On Parenting an ADHDer. On the positive side of things: My son’s community college professor offered her students the opportunity to share (privately) their learning differences and accommodation needs. On the wonky side of things: She seems to think the sole trait of an ADHDer is the need to fidget. I told my kiddo that… Continue reading In the Classroom

When my son was first diagnosed at 10 with ADHD, I questioned the diagnosis because I knew he could spend HOURS reading, playing with certain block building toys, and playing video games. What I thought I knew about ADHD was that it was all about an inability to focus. How could my kid who had… Continue reading HyperFocus

A bouncing knee at the dinner table, the measuring tape being absentmindedly pulled out and released, chewing on a pencil, drumming fingers on the kitchen table, snapping a rubber band, manipulating a spinner toy, smushing a soft ball …. these are all fidgets – secondary tasks that ADHDers commonly do while focusing on some other… Continue reading Fidget Toys

A few weeks ago I posted the ADHD Iceberg that’s all about the misconceptions about ADHD behaviors that live in the “negative” realm. Then I saw this posted on Instagram by ADHD content creator, Jesse J. Anderson, who has really helped me to better understand my son’s struggles. I appreciate that this iceberg poster focuses… Continue reading The ADHD Strengths Iceberg

There’s this idea/concept/phrase, ADHD Tax, that a lot of ADHDers use to reference the extra effort, resources, and time they must put into everything they do. The idea is that this extra effort is taxing on them. Usually it’s an emotional toll, but it can be a monetary one as well. For example….The other day… Continue reading ADHD Tax

My younger son is 19, but still likes me to help him with things. The other day I spoke to someone on his behalf. I said to the woman, “well, he has ADHD so that might make it more complicated for him,” and she was quiet and I said, “does that have any particular meaning… Continue reading Parenting Exhaustion

Did you know that kids with ADHD may be targeted more often than their peers for bullying? But, you’re asking, how could their peers be picking on them for their ADHD? It’s not exactly the ADHD itself, but the behaviors ADHDers tend to exhibit that are relatively easy to target. Things like being clumsy and… Continue reading Bullying

I once had a therapist ask me how I felt about seeing that my son’s peers were on very different trajectories than his own. Honestly, it was hard to watch. There were a lot of tears and a bit of anger. I confess to making a lot of exclamations about how how he was, “lazy,”… Continue reading Shame

When my son was first diagnosed at 10 with ADHD, I questioned the diagnosis because I knew he could spend HOURS reading, playing with certain block building toys, and playing video games. What I thought I knew about ADHD was that it was all about an inability to focus. How could my kid who had… Continue reading Hyperfocus

A bouncing knee at the dinner table, the measuring tape being absentmindedly pulled out and released, chewing on a pencil, drumming fingers on the kitchen table, snapping a rubber band, manipulating a spinner toy, smushing a soft ball …. these are all fidgets – secondary tasks that ADHDers commonly do while focusing on some other… Continue reading On Fidgeting