“You must be so busy, with four kids!” People say when I introduce my family. And I look at them, thinking, “Well, no, not really.” (Minus the doctor and specialist appointments). You see, until this year, there haven’t been extracurricular activities. It was enough to take two older girls to the park 3 days a…
Category Archives: ADHD
A Homework Miracle At The Kitchen Table
She looked up at me, wrapped tight in the blanket that was holding her together. Thirty minutes she’d been yelling at math problems on crumpled paper in front of her. Pencils strewn around, nerves frazzled. Now she sat quiet. Smiling with those big brown tear-soaked eyes. Oh, she was so proud of her work! She…
The Hardest Word I’ve Ever Said
Seven years. Over a thousand hours at hospitals and specialist appointments. Countless interventions at home. And it turns out the most important word to help my daughter’s treatment is this: NO. No… we’re not doing a nineteenth round of medication adjustments. It’s time for hospitalization. No… I won’t take her home from the hospital and…
Balancing Journey vs. Destination Mindset With Our Kids
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” – Ursula K LeGuin I think we as parents of special needs understand this more than any other parents in the world. And even still, I fight this truth so much. As someone who’s good…
Trust
Shirt soaked, the suds engulfed my arms. Water sloshed as she fought me. She’s 9 and I’m still stronger, so I finally got her in the tub. Breathing hard, I knelt next to the bath, stroked her dark hair, poured calm words over her anguish. Warm water wrapped her struggle-reddened skin. She slowly calmed, began…
Helping Kids With ADHD Make Friends
“They don’t want to play with me!” She yells, stomping up the stairs and throwing her book bag down the hall. As is my daily habit, I wait until she blows off steam and it’s calm in her room again. Then I walk in, plop on the floor next to her where she’s creating an…
Homework Strategies for Moody Kids
A few weeks back in school and all the old frustrations are in full swing. The pencil-breaking. The paper-ripping. The weeping. The gnashing of teeth. You’d think schoolwork was, in fact, hell on earth. But really it’s just hell to a child with a learning disability. Especially one that’s at the mercy of bipolar mood…
Do you still follow your dreams?
Do you still nurture your own dreams? I’m headed across the country to She Speaks in North Carolina next week. It’s the next step in my journey toward a dream. In preparation, I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams and purpose. Hours have passed writing a book proposal, working on talks for the speaker evaluation…
Would you let your child scale a mountain?
She grabbed the rock above her and pulled herself up. The water rushed cool and quick over our soaked shoes. Steadying herself, my 5 year old reached for the next rock a few feet above her. In the high altitude, we both breathed hard, but her determination pushed us farther as we climbed the waterfall…
Time to Reboot!
I’ve been MIA due to a viral infection. Thankfully, not my kids or me. This time, it was Dell, my darling laptop! Timing is NEVER good for this sort of thing. I was in the process of redesigning The Boys’ discreet trial curriculum, writing out my blue-sky-scenario for our encore performance of kindergarten and investigating the pros…
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