Wanna help build "pros" side of adhd list | ADHD Information

Okay heres another one that always makes me laugh..

* takes everything i say literally..

Do yours do that too? Sample conversation that happened this morning..

DD " mom, is the milk bad?"( yelling from the other room)

me " smell it"

DD " how "

me " stick your nose in it"

I walk in the room dd has milk dripping off the end of her nose and her 10yo sister is laughing hysterically.

me " what did you do?"

DD "stuck my nose into the milk....(pause) mom, if your nose is in the milk and you sniff it..the milk goes up your nose"

me " also now laughing hysterically with other 2 children..."

DD " whats so funny?"

I usually try to be careful about my words...but once in a while i forget how literal she is!

emirateswife39642.6429050926That is histarical!!! I needed a good laugh!!!

1. always trying new things.

2. always willing to hug and kiss.

3. can be counted on to do what he says he will do.

4. Not easily distracted when focusing on something.

5. Enjoys doing things for others.

6. loves animals

7. never gets tired of listening to 'old' stories about when I was his age.

Ability to see many different points of view

I find the following to be true:

- Desire to be the leader, which will be a great quality to have throughout life

- Amazing intelligence, which includes the ability to think ahead of peers

- Great memory

- Show lots of affection

- Stand up for themselves

- Just have a little something extra about them that makes you confident they'll do great things in life

Hope those help!

I don't really have anything different to add that hasn't already been stated. I love this thread. I think sometimes we tend to focus on the negative and really there are so many wonderful qualities that our children have. Thanks for starting this thread.

Hooray for the positive!

No worries about becoming a couch potato.

Assertiveness.

Tenacity.

Quick problem solver.

Doesn't know the meaning of the word "bored."

From what I've seen, with ADHD can also come:

*big creativity

*an ability to be tenacious and stand up for themselves- really good protection against future peer pressure

It seems so strange to me that the last couple of posts/replies I've sumitted have been soooo stressful.

I tell me son all the time, "You drive me crazy, but I love you anyway" (its actually the title of a ADHD book written for kids at my local library). Anyway, I felt like shoving all the bad behavior/meds issues aside to see what I could come up with that could be a positive about ADHD. I know there are lists online and whatnot but thinking specifically about our individual children is more what I mean. So here's what i've thought of about DS:

1) hyperfocusing has helped him learn more about nature/animals than most his peers

2) Get a really early start to the day

3) has enormous empathy for others and worries when another child is sad

4) Energy...oh my! I don't think I'll have to worry about fitness with him

5) Even though it can be annoying when he has a crazy laughing jag, he has one of the BEST laughs I've ever heard

6) So he might be called "immature"....I'll be getting hugs/kisses long after his peers stop with their moms

I could go on....but I have to study.....I know this sounds corny........

twodoodles,

I was wondering the same thing. My husband is ADD and always played baseball and soccer. Me (non-ADD) just ran track (and not very well at that). Emily is great at sports. She could hit the ball pretty far by the time she was only 3. Maybe it's all their energy and ability to hyper-focus! Gotta love em!!

emirateswife,

That is hillarious!! My cousin did the same thing to me as a kid but he didn't just stop with my bangs. He cut a HUGE chunk out of the back of my hair!! LOL I never saw the problem (it was summer and I wanted short hair) but our parents sure did freak!!

Excellence with scissors should be added to my list: the curtains were crooked- trim a little off the bottom. eyelashes were too long - cut them off. Sister's pigtails were too long - cut them off.

Also - great with a flyswatter at getting those pesky critters!

emirateswife, OMG!! I am cracking up at that!! I can just imagine my own expression when she said "Do what?" I love that story!!

Okay heres one to add....My daughter had been making all those papaer dolls with long hair..Well she got into this "thing" about cutting the long hair off the paper dolls.She did this for hours..make a paper doll with long hair then cut the hair..So oneday she decided paper just wasnt cutting it ..excuse the pun...so my friends add daughter was over and she is 6..My 11 year old said dont your bangs bother you hanging in your eyes..she said yes and thats all it took for my dd to give her a trim..When i nearly had a heart attack , freaking out saying "why,why,why"...She said..."they were bothering her and I couldnt see her eyes." When i asked my friends add dd why did you let her do that to you .....she replied.." do what?"... This is a great thread. I don't know if I can add to what's already been said,
but I will say life with Jillian is not boring! I get a charge out of her getting a
charge out of herself when she masters a new task (like pouring milk from a
big jug or even just learning to do a cannon ball). Her enthusiasm is great
fun!

I am curious if the athleticism is a common characteristic of kids with ADHD. I guess it could be genetics alittle for DS, I was a runner and exercise often and have always loves playing sports....but I can't hit a baseball or get a basketball in. DS hits the bballs way out of the yard, across the street, into the neighbors yard and can already gets the bsktball in a regulation height net!....and he's 6!! He has amazing eye hand coordination and balance (started riding a 2 wheel bike - no training wheels around 3 1/2). There are other ADHD kids I know that are very similar. I wonder if whatever it is that causes the imbalance/reduction chemically in the brain for our kids (or the under development of certain areas of the brain) or whatever they attribute adhd to, in turn makes them more gifted this way. Just thinking outloud I guess.....is this true of your kids too?

I don't think I can add anything to this list!! What a great thread!! Sometimes I get so wrapped up in what is going wrong that I forget all that is going right and how blessed I really am to have such a great kid. I guess the one I could add is:

-Great at any sport she tries, very athletic

this is why I love it here. You guys are the BEST!

Awesome thread!!!! We definitely need this. In our house we have a sign that says ADD is a gift and this thread proves that!!

* persistance..doing what ever it takes to get what they want.

*strong willed..which allowed my 11 year old daughter to compete against 12 boys in golf camp even though they laughed at her! She was going to do golf because she loved it and didnt care what they thought.

*and let me just share the time i decided to take away all her toys..in one of my moments i thought that would be a good punishment..well she made her own toys with paper..A whole family of paper dolls with interchangeable clothing and furniture and food...I gave her the toys back when i realised it wasnt a punishment to someone who can hyperfocus.

I enjoyed all of your posts .Thanks for that !!!!

Nice thread, nice responses.

Let me see ... ditto to some of the above when it comes to my DS. I'd like to add that (probably an area where he is able to hyperfocus) he's our electronics answer man. Any time we can't figure something out or have a question, he's our guy. My DH is so mechanically inclined but he just doesn't get it with electronics, and I could use help sometimes, too, so our son gives us a hand.

*The ability to forgive is enormous!!

*When you give them a good 'surprise' they always react in a way that makes you feel like it was SO worth it!

*Thinking outside of the box will save this world and their lives!!! I adore my NON conformist (in a positive way, though, in a positive way!)

*They are STRONG! Physically, maybe, but more emotionally and mentally, who else could go through what these kids go through and still smile at the end of the day?!!

I agree with ALL of the other comments as well...I tell you what, my heart is so blessed by this thread that I could seriously cry!! THANK YOU FOR STARTING THIS THREAD!!

[QUOTE=twodoodles]

[/QUOTE]

Your post reminded me of my DS. At four years old, he was able to ride his bicycle without training wheels, he has always been athletic (mostly playing football - played for 10 years), is pretty talented that way, and I have always thought this ability has helped get him through the rough spots over the years; that is, it is one area where his performance was "acceptable" to his peers. After all, with him struggling in school and not being able to reach his potential and him noticing that he was different from other kids has had a big impact on his self-esteem (something he's not going to admit to everybody, mostly just to me). I am glad that he has his athletic ability and that he's always been active, even though he was hard to keep up with as a child (understatement, there), as I'd rather him be physically active than never budging from the couch!

My story's a bit long, sorry... I my son was just diagnosed with ADHD, we found out today. Not that it was a huge surprise. He is 7 and started having problems last year in first grade. Close to the end of the year, I started looking up ADHD on the internet and reading lots of stuff. I knew that ADHD runs in families, but I never, ever thought that I could have ADHD, my husband maybe, but ME? But there it was on the screen, the story of my life. The thing is, I am a sucessful, happy, well adjusted adult. It didn't make any sense, I was never treated, shouldn't I be a dropout, a delinquent, or worse, in prison? But the more I read, the more I became convinced, maybe ADHD isn't a deficit at all, maybe it's actaully a gift! I know that sounds a little riduculous for us parents who have to deal with our p-i-a kids, but think about it, it's all in the eye of the beholder:

is he stubborn or is he tenacious?

is he hyper or is he multitasking?

is he disagreeable or is he thinking outside the box?

is he daydreaming or is he imagining?

is he "on the go" or does he "go the distance"?

These traits are not so attractive in a 7 year old, but as an adult, these qualities can make for excellent job and life skills. It worked for me anyway. We haven't yet decided if we will put Grahm on medication, but we do know that we will emphasize these traits as "skills" to be developed and refined. I mean really, what else can we do, this is who he is, and this is what he's been given. Besides, everybody likes lemonade - right?

WOW, Heather!! That is so good and TRUE! What a perspective you hold...I wish you were my neighbor! I appreciate your post and your little Grahm will appreciate your heart!

Hi Itsagift,

I beg to differ with you about these qualities not being attractive in a 7 year old. I would absolutely go bonkers if I had to live with a kid saying "I'm bored!" ninety times a day. There is nothing more unattractive to me than a child sitting around like a lump who can't think of anything on their own.

The problem isn't with my son - the problem is with other adults who have to "deal" with my son. Like you said - eventually the "negatives" that schools are hoping our kids will grow out of are exactly the qualities achievers must have. They're just supposed to develop them instead of being granted from birth.

But to get back on track:

Humble enough to say "I'm sorry" when he is

Magnet of affection

Willing to stay "my baby" - I'd be devestated with a "mature" child who didn't want to touch me (or lay on me - I'll take those wiggly boney elbows!)

That is so great!! It's amazing what they pick up isn't it!!

I love this topic as I am new to the world of ADHD!

*Wonderful imagination-can build things out of lincoln logs that an engineer could never dream of building!

*Explores the environment and has an amazing attraction to rocks.

*Shows empathy to those around him.

*My ds future wife will never know love like my ds can express.

*Can take the tires off of 10 different hot wheels at the same time and know exactly which tires go back on the car they came off of!

*Has so much joy, love, and compassion!

Hilarious, Ilovemyboys! Whenever our son starts to pitch a fit, we ask him if he wants to be a bad egg like Veruca Salt. Gotta love the "I want it now" response. Cracked me up!

ilovemyboys - that made me laugh so hard I had tears running down my face!

That commercial where all those people are yelling that out of the windows is one of my sons favorite. He makes a habit of sticking his head out of any little hole he can find and hollering it. Windows, dog kennels, playhouses, you name it, he has stuck his head out and yelled "it's my money and I want it now!" HAHA!

I think that this post should be put on the front page PERMANENTLY!! Especially for the newbies!! I'm not kidding, what a true spirit lifter and heart warming topic!! I seriously feel so blessed by this post!

These stories are hilarious!!

I love their spiratic (Spelling??) humor, too! Our ds is in swimming lessons. They're public lessons taught by these "How hot am I today???" teenagers...They basically just tell the kids what to do and walk away. So, my ds and the other boys are just making up their own fun...I'm fine with it!! It's burning energy after all! And this teenage guy lifeguard walks over to our Tristen and says "Tristen, dude, you gotta like listen and be still" And ds looks up at him blankly and then belts out "It's myyyyyy mooooooney and I want it nooooow" My mom just about fell out of her chair!!

Well, you know...he gets it from his daddy!!

ilovemyboys wrote:
Tristen, dude, you gotta like listen and be still" And ds looks up at him blankly and then belts out "It's myyyyyy mooooooney and I want it nooooow

Smart kid you got there