You remember that kid back in 1st grade who got punished for all sorts of things?
While everyone in class was silently completing a seatwork, he couldn’t bear to sit still even for a few minutes.
He would want to use the restroom.
He would say he’s hungry, or tired or sleepy.
At times he would just roam around the room and distract everyone.
Sometimes he would approach a classmate, pull her school bag away, and make her cry.
Just when everyone thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, he got the other kids to join him running nonstop and the whole class became rowdy.
He wasn’t really the favorite kid type.
Others called him all sorts of names.
He is trouble. He is bad. He’s an attention seeker. A problem child.
Oh, it didn’t help that he’s behind the other kids in the learning department.
It’s almost the end of the school year and he hadn’t memorized the alphabet, much less read!
He was actually known for forgetting what he was talking about midway through.
And speaking of forgetting, he’s done quite a lot of it. He forgot to bring his notebook to school, forgot to copy the reminders from the board, forgot to do his homework.
Everyone was so sure he was doing all these things on purpose.
Everyone, except this teacher who understood.
She suspected it was something way different than an attitude problem.
She called the kid’s parents so they could discuss things. And she found out how much they have been suffering.
It’s not easy for parents to hear negative things about their child, is it?
Nor to learn he’s not making any friends because they think he’s different.
Good thing somebody cared and so they knew.
He wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt those around him.
He’s not bad, nor a problem child.
It’s this neurodevelopmental condition called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD that hindered his ability to concentrate, sit still, and remember things. It’s caused him to behave impulsively even if such actions caused harm to him or others.
This condition cannot be cured. It can only be managed.
It requires support, both from people around him and experts in the field.
It takes patience and understanding, not judgment nor ridicule.
If others could only ask him what he feels about the way he does or fails to do certain things, they might be surprised to learn how it hurts him that he does or fails to do these things too.
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