- Children And ADD - All About Dusty (Part 1)
Dusty gets so excited about things that he acts before he puts his mind in gear. Once he was in the passenger seat of our new Suburban when he begged Lauree to let him push the button that opens the gate on the driveway. Well, he got so anxious about pushing the button that he pushed it again before the car was all the way through the gate. As the gate closed, it scratched the whole side of that sparkling new car! I knew something was wrong when Lauree came out to meet me when I came home from work.
"I don't want you to get mad, Honey. Dusty didn't mean to do it! Tell him it's OK. His little heart is broken," It took every ounce of restraint to keep from yelling what was really on my mind, but I went into Dusty's bedroom and sat down on the bed. "Don't worry about it, Son. I want you to get a good night's sleep. I know that you didn't mean to wreck the car."
The look on Dusty's face made my self-restraint worth it. He was so relieved. He expected to be blasted, but it would have been wrong for me to do that. After all, it could have been me doing the same thing at his age.
You see how important it is to remember their good qualities? ADHD kids have many positive traits, but it's up to us to be patient and draw those traits out. Sometimes it helps to recall that throughout the Bible the people God often chose to bless were the unlikely candidates, the underdogs. A number of Bible heroes seemed to have ADHD traits; they were diamonds in the rough God chose in order to show His power and glory.
Like those biblical characters, ADHD kids are also jewels in the rough. Raising them is like polishing a diamond. It takes a lot of energy, but they can make the world fun. Many love to laugh and make others feel good. That helps to balance out the frustrations they bring, doesn't it? Life with Dusty in the house is a blessing, despite the stories I've just related. He lives out the biblical adage to "rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). He is the first to shed tears in our family when he can sense someone is hurt or disappointed.
In the 2001 football season, Dusty played nose guard and center on the high school team. His team lost a playoff game, and when I went down on the field afterward Dusty was crying - not for himself or his disappointment, but for the seniors on the team who had wanted so much to win a championship their last year in high school.
It gave me great satisfaction to watch my son throughout the season displaying this tendency to encourage and to be sensitive to his fellow players. He was the first to put his arm around an injured player, the first to speak a positive word to a frustrated coach, the first to appreciate a sports fan's "Good game" with, "Thanks, we couldn't do it without you!"
What is ironic is that he maintains this attitude despite the fact that he is always in trouble with the coaches for forgetting his shoes, his football pants, his jersey. He has to do laps after practice - all the time! So I guess you could say that his ADHD works for him and against him all the time. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Dusty's ADHD dividends show up every Sunday and Wednesday when it comes to attending church services. He loves church, and in our family he is the first up and the first dressed and the first to leave. His love for the Lord was never more evident than following a tragic car accident involving three of his friends. One was killed and two injured - one with serious brain damage. Dusty was at the hospital with his friends, praying, supporting, and encouraging.., standing strong as a Christian witness.
These are the things that make me so proud of Dusty as a human being. They don't measure these types of characteristics on the SAT or ACT tests, but these are the "test results" that matter the most to me as his father - the caliber of his character.
You would think I would have shared Dusty's perspective early on, since we are alike in so many ways, but I had gotten so caught up in the fact that I had paid big bucks for lousy seats that I no longer viewed the situation through the eyes of a child.
After the game, I prayed, "Is he going to make it in this World, Lord?" And I got my answer, "Yes, because ADHD kids see the big picture. They see life through a wonderful set of lenses!" ADHD kids, like Dusty, can see what the blimp sees.
ADHD children need more care initially. Once they've grown up like other kids, they will be able to take care of themselves, in fact, doing much better. To learn how to handle ADHD kids, you can get ADHD Natural Remedy Report right now!
