ADHD is a GIft

Kyle trying to walk using his crutches.

Kyle’s recent accident wasn’t the first time his life was put on a string. His life was threatened the first time when he was just about four to six months old. A cousin (father side, then on his teens) was so jealous of him that he put a rubbing alcohol on Kyle’s bottled milk. We’d like to believe his guardian angels saved him because young as he was, he’d turn down the bottle each time that milk would be offered to him. Perhaps, it was his olfactory nerves that we should thank for. Perhaps Kyle had smelled the rubbing alcohol as a baby and knew that particular milk would not be good for him because of the strong smell. 

I didn’t know how he was saved at that time, all I knew was that I had taken care of him before he turned a year old for fear that Kyle’s life would once again be put in danger. He had long forgiven that Uncle (remember he’s our cousin) and they’re even friends now on Facebook.

I recently read that people with ADHD are accident-prone. I didn’t know this until my recent read. After what happened to his tricycle accident and his near-death experience of hitting an Isuzu car almost a month ago, I knew I had to watch Kyle more carefully.

Just being with Kyle makes me smile. He invariably had something special in him—a spark, a delightful quirk—which he’d sometimes try to hide, but which I usually can find. Then he’d relax, brighten up, and make me laugh and learn. Indeed, I think that people dealing with Attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) represent some of the most fascinating, fun, and fulfilling of all the people I meet.

People would often ask me, what’s hard in raising a child who has ADHD? The answer to the question “How many times do I have to tell you?” is about two thousand. Kids with ADHD are popular among their peers because they’re often the topic among teachers and parents alike. They would ask, “What are we going to do with___ (insert the child’s name)? They’ve been often subjected to a number of issues involving in school behaviors and often “labeled” by insensitive and sometimes harsh people of the society. 

With all the negative traits I’ve written, it’s easy to say that having an ADHD is a curse. To be honest, I used to think the same thing myself. I didn’t know much about the advantages (Yup, you’re reading this right, Mommy!) of ADHD until I came across this book I’ve recently read called Super-Parenting for ADD (An Innovative Approach to Raising Your Distracted Child) by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and peter S. Jensen, M.D.

So, what are the advantages of having an ADHD or ADD child? Energy. Curiosity. Creativity. They’d easily forgive. People with ADHD can’t remember a grudge long enough to hold one. Kyle immediately forgave Jamie after seeing her at the hospital the day she visited him. Kids with ADHD are often big-hearted and generous. They also have a tendency to be highly sensitive, plus a tendency to surprise people with sudden unexpected insights.

Kyle’s highly imaginative and has a real knack for thinking outside the box and being artistic in so many ways. He’s special, sometimes his zany sense of humor drives me crazy, alright, but it is also cute.  He’s got a special quality that draws people in, a kind of charisma even.

When he went back to school last week, he received a very warm welcome from his classmates and other third graders, two girls even wrote “Welcome Back Kyle, Love Teachers and Classmates” on the black board, bringing tears into my eyes. The boys seemed to be happy that he’s back, giving him high-fives as well.

Each time I look at his baby book, I couldn’t imagine how fast Kyle had grown into a fine young lad. Besides enjoying making people laugh at his jokes and playing pranks on people, he’s still the same old kid I know. Nothing much has changed in him and I will savor every moment of these remaining months or years that he sees himself as a child. With his third lease on life, I will forever be grateful that he’s still alive and kicking.