My Son

Thank you Hilda, for sharing this story with us.

I believe that one of the things for which I am most grateful of the ASSET Program was that I was given the opportunity to learn about ADD/ADHD symptoms and treatments.  I have an 8-year-old son, who I now understand probably has ADD/ADHD.  I knew my son is not the typical kid, as he is a unique person.  I have sisters and brothers and we all have children all around the age of my son.  But my son just seems to stick out in this crowd.  He is very temperamental.  He is usually the one that makes the other kids cry.  It is his way or no way.  He only likes his foods a certain way.  When I call him, it’s like he doesn’t even hear me.  I can tell him to do the same thing over and over and he does something else.  Now, I love my son very much.  But I hadn’t realized until now that my son probably has ADD.  I thought that he just needed to get more discipline but now I realize that all my son needs is a different approach.

My plan is to now learn more about ways to better assist my son.  I am reading as much as I can on the subject to help me find ways to assist my son.  Some things I do differently now; I don’t spank him, we do time-out or take TV and video games away.  If he is throwing a tantrum, I don’t get upset about it, I don’t show him that I am upset, I let him get it out of his system (course I make sure he doesn’t hurt himself) and we talk about it later, when we are both calm.

Next, I am planning to take him to the doctor to get a diagnosis and discuss treatment options with his physician.  I am also planning to meet with his teacher to discuss my son further with her and keep an open line of communication with his teacher.

Overall, I think that there is lack of awareness and diagnosis of persons with ADD/ADHD and sadly many persons with ADD/ADHD are misunderstood.  Eventually, I would like to start a support group for parents with children with ADD/ADHD to discuss and find ways to better help our children grow to be as successful as they possibly can be.  Thanks ASSET and ABLE Center for making me aware and understand ADD/ADHD.