One concern that many parents of ADHD children share is the secret fear that their kids will end up living on the dole because they won't be able to hold down a job when they become young adults. Will his employer think the same way about him as all of his teachers have over the years? Will I have to support this kid my entire life? He can't even get both of his shoes tied without losing attention, so how will he ever hold down a job?
During some of our more exhausting moments in raising Danielle and Dusty we've had this thought: Wouldn't it be great to be able to wave a magic wand and disengage this kid from all the behaviors that are driving me up the wall at this very moment? Fortunately, neither of us was omnipotent, so our kids have survived intact.
Your child and ADHD are together like peanut butter and jelly. And the Lord created him or her that way - uniquely special. Jesus was always putting things together that didn't seem to work very well. He said that the meek would inherit the earth. He promised that those who were hungry would be filled. He said that he gave us a yoke that lifted us up. He healed us by being wounded. He told us that we live by dying and receive by giving. Is turning what our educational system considers a disorder into a dividend beyond his control? We don't think so!
There have been many gifted people over the years in all fields of endeavor who have turned their disabilities into dividends. Helen Keller was 19 months old when brain fever left her without sight and hearing. And yet this remarkable woman, with the intervention of a gifted teacher, Miss Anne Sullivan, was able to graduate from Radcliffe College with honors at the turn of the last century. She went on to champion the cause of the handicapped in speeches and in her writings. Her inspirational life story was made into a movie, and her victory over seemingly insurmountable odds continues to inspire students all over the world.
An article in USA Today contained the kind of story that makes wonderful copy for sportscasters everywhere. A very special young man was nominated to carry the Olympic torch in the relay leading to the 2002 Winter Games.
Nick Ackerman was a college senior who won the 2001 NCAA Division Ill national title in wrestling despite having both legs amputated below the knees. He is quoted as saying, "I just read a poem one of my teachers gave me. One of the lines was something like, 'You are the handicap you must face. You're the one that chooses your place.' " After the final match in the National Championships, a reporter was said to have asked Nick about being disabled. He responded, "Don't call me disabled." When asked what he would prefer, he responded, "Call me a national champ if you want."
What a lesson for anybody diagnosed with a learning "disability"! Perhaps it should only be considered a disability if you consider it to be one. Think about other remarkable people with handicaps who accomplished great things: Beethoven was deaf when he wrote some of his most remarkable music. Van Gogh was in a mental hospital when he painted some of his most beautiful paintings. And then there is the magical name of Walt Disney.
We were kids when Disneyland was constructed in Anaheim, California. We can still remember the excitement that the theme park generated all over the world when it opened. Fantasy had become reality! We can still feel the excitement in the pit of our stomachs over the very special vacation days spent there. What type of mind would envision such a place? And further, what type of person could take that vision and make it a reality? We think Walt Disney displayed many of the characteristics of a person with ADHD, and that this unique way of looking at the world was what gave us Walt Disney cartoons and eventually the Disneyland theme parks.
One morning in 1948, Disney elected not to go to his studio at all but play hooky instead. He donned his striped engineer's uniform and his railroad hat, and slipped behind the controls of his beloved "Carol Pacific," a miniature train he had built on tracks that circled the perimeter of his home. As he rode his train, he tried to piece together in his mind an idea that he had toyed with for the past 13 years - since visiting the Statue of Liberty.
He had circled the house a good half-dozen times when his train suddenly jumped the track and slammed into the side of a 90-foot S-shaped tunnel he had installed. It didn't stop there. It crashed through the living room wall before coming to a halt - something that must have really made his wife's day since she had recently purchased new furniture! Out of this type of mind - one that could be so distracted as to wreak havoc on his home - came the vision for the theme parks we all love today.
Similarly, children and adults with ADHD characteristics exhibit impulsive behavior. Unfortunately, this usually doesn't end in multimillion-dollar ideas like Walt Disney's did. These people are often inattentive and easily bored. For example, Diane never was able to take Danielle on a shopping trip that lasted longer than 45 minutes, even if the purpose of the trip was to purchase something Danielle really wanted. She would become unbelievably restless and bored with the entire experience. (Some man will be grateful for this characteristic some day. Imagine a woman who hates to shop!)
Diane cannot remember one time, prior to leaving for college, when Danielle actually packed her own belongings for a camping or athletic trip or vacation. Her attention span was fine for the first several items that went into her bag - the first of which was usually a ball or a game. But her sister, Nicole, often had to make sure Danielle had everything she needed in her suitcase before leaving. It always seemed an impossibility for Danielle to gather her thoughts and her attention to take care of this 30-minute chore unless Mom or Sis was in the room looking over her shoulder and keeping her focused.
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