Queen of the Distracted

Imagine life in a house with 6 kids - now imagine if 5 of those kids and their father have ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) - that is our house! Welcome to an inside view of my life and our home dominated by ADHD... THERE IS NEVER A DULL MOMENT!

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls!"

Those were our oldest daughter Rachel's first words, from the time she was a toddler she would belt them out proudly standing on the arm of the couch. At the time we had no idea what ADHD was or that it would play such a central roll in our lives.

Since then we have learned a lot, not the least of which is how many individuals and families suffer in silence. We have experienced first hand how misunderstood and misrepresented a disorder can be.

As a family we decided to take action - to risk embarrassment and labeling to get this important message out to the world. Come join our family, share in our lives, and see ADD/ADHD as we see it...
A gift with a heavy price tag.

WELCOME to life in the ADD/ADHD House!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Waiting is Definitely the Hardest Part

It is no secret that waiting is generally not the strong suit of people with ADHD.  I am personally not a huge fan of it either but I usually enjoy the forced break that comes with it.  To my children and husband it is torture.  Unfortunately, life is a whole lot of waiting.

Because we live in the country and all our doctors are in the city, about an hour away, we rarely "go to town" for just one appointment.  Monday was one of those days where we were waiting in several doctors' offices.  The day really started to drag on.  By the time that Hunter finished his med check appointment with our psychiatrist he looked at our beloved Dr. House and announced, "I have noticed that even when I am sitting still, I can't sit still."

He meant that even when he was able to sit in one place, like in the waiting room, he couldn't stop moving and fidgeting.  I have proof.

I said in my post, My Soap Box Moment, that life in our house was a continuum between my expectations and what my kids can do.  They have learned over the years that I will tolerate a little movement, quiet talking and a few other things while waiting in public places.  I have learned that I generally have to remind them where that line is.  They will go until I tell them to pull it back a bit - or as we say in our family, "reel it back in."

I will give you an example, in a crowded room my young sons are generally gentlemen, they get up so that some one else can have a seat.  I like that.  Their father has taught them that.  They are still on the small side so they can usually share a chair if need be but not until Jaren has hopped on Hunter's lap Santa style and blurted out, "...and I want a pony, and a PlayStation, and a..."

They would just keep going if I were not there to put a damper on their fun with a mommy look and mommy voice guiding, "okay, reel it back in."

Monday, Hunter didn't have his partner in comedic crime.  He had me and his oldest sister who was far more interested in spending some quality time with the computer.

He did, however, have his three eyed monster hat.  While at first he was clearly bored it was clear that he realized that there was great potential in his hat.

He could turn himself into a complete and total monster.

He could have eyes in the back of his head.

His mind wandered,  Dr. House had not seen the hat so he wanted to surprise him with the awesomeness of it all.  He decided to take the hat off.




It was okay though, he still had hands.  Eyes open...........Eyes closed.

Open...closed.  Open...closed.  Open...closed.



That hat was still pretty tempting.  He twirled it around.  He made a puppet.  Hmmm....big sister is getting annoyed.  She may be 19 years old but she is really not that much better at waiting.  She goes in for the ...gentle reminder.
 
Which sparks a completely new train of thought.  Now he wants to be choked, lovingly of course, but he wants her to wait.  He holds his breath so that he can get a really red face to make it look more realistic.

After all, who can resist a good death scene.

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