Let’s talk about ADHD

 

Let’s talk about ADHD.  The little tan cutie in this picture (the one with her is my niece!) is my oldest daughter. You’ll notice a striking resemblance to my youngest.  (It’s uncanny, right?!)

Although, Amelia is 18 now she was quite an active child. My oldest could sit for hours reading a book, but Emi could do no such thing!  

She was in school until 2nd grade when her teacher began giving her poor grades because she wouldn’t stay seated in class to finish the work. Her teacher’s comment to me was, “Don’t worry about the grades.  She knows all the stuff.  She’s the first one with all the answers, but she just wants to chat with everyone + won’t finish the work.”  🤔 

Something about that just didn’t sit right with me. If she went into 3rd grade labeled as a ‘D’ student but knew all the things, her next teacher would automatically categorize her as trouble + this mama was not going to let that happen. 

I also didn’t like what I was seeing in the way she was being taught to read by memorizing zillions of sight words + no phonics. (But that’s for another day!) 

Within a day of having her home I realized traditional schooling, like we had been using with our oldest, was not going to work. She wasn’t going to sit their and do hours of busywork, not did I see the need for it  if she knew the stuff, wasn’t that a win!  It seemed the method needed to change, not so much the child. 

Through creativity + what I believe was God himself giving me wisdom, (cause I prayed a lot!) we took a traditional curriculum + tailored it to fit her needs. Praying as I threw out this + that + hoping I wasn’t ruining my kid, we took off!

I began to realize if her body was forced to sit still, her brain could no focus. If I allowed movement, she could recite things so well.  We now know that’s because a child with ADHD is using so much energy to focus on sitting still, their little brain just can’t think about anything else!  

So what did we do? 

Jump on a trampoline while reciting Math facts? YES! 

Bounce on a big ball while reading? YES! 

Hang upside down on the couch while reading? YES!

Anything that could be done in a tree, she did!  Reading, writing, you name it! 

And she thrived!!!  She began reading everything in sight! 

Listen, I don’t think I did everything perfectly. TBH, there wasn’t the amount of support that there is today then.  There were very limited curriculums to use, but I was always searching. And thank God we found some wonderful ones over the years!

One of the things I remember she struggled so much with was Spelling. It almost drove me batty!  Then one day a seasoned homeschool mama told me to just get her good books to read + she will become a good speller. 

So we did!  Yes, we nixed Spelling from our days + instead focused on reading GOOD, QUALITY Literature.  

I can tell you that today Amelia has read more British Literature + more classics than I have.  She is a great speller + has an incredible vocabulary.  As a matter of fact she scored a 33 on the Reading portion of her ACT’s + just won a scholarship for college that covers 75% tuition based on her test scores!

Why am I saying all of this?  To brag on her?  Maybe a little, but mostly to encourage you mamas.  No matter what people may say, you KNOW your child more than anyone else.  If you see your child struggling, do whatever it takes to keep their struggles from becoming their  identity. 

Maybe that means homeschooling, maybe it’s fighting to get them in a program, a co-op or asking a friend to help you out. 

You are your child’s best teacher, because you know them more than anyone!  Don’t give up!