A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. Are Driving Me N.U.T.Z.

By Page Anderson

A Mother's account of having a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder from birth to diagnosis. The challenges, questions, guilt and rewards of day to day life. The professionals can tell you what you should or should not do. I can share with you how you can feel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524613655

Page Anderson

The mother of two wonderful children. One who deals daily with the challenges of ADHD. This disorder has changed not only my life, but the lives of everyone I have been closely attached to. If I can help any parent that feels desperate and that no one will ever understand what they are going through, my goal has been achieved.

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A.D.D.

AND

A.D.H.D

ARE DRIVING ME

N.U.T.Z.

PAGE ANDERSON

37977.png

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2016 Page Anderson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/21/2016

ISBN: 978-1-4520-7606-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1365-5 (e)

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

THE FIRST YEAR

CRAWLING

SWINGING

TALKING

BOUNCING

CLIMBING

THE FIRST BIRTHDAY

THE EARLY YEARS

SIBLINGS

TOYS

RELATIONSHIPS

PRE-SCHOOL

LEAVING THE HOUSE

CHURCH

GROCERY STORES

MALLS

KINDERGARTEN SCREENING

RITALIN

PSYCHIATRISTS

KINDERGARTEN & FIRST GRADE

FIRST GRADE

NO MORE DRUGS

THE PSYCHOLOGIST AND NEW IDEAS

NO MIRACLES

THREE TIMES AND YOU’RE AT BATTLE

WE DID NOT LIVE ALONE

BIG BROTHER WAS WATCHING

THE DECISION

MOTHERING FROM A DISTANCE

COMING HOME

SUMMER VACATION

THE HOSPITAL

A NEW DIAGNOSIS – A NEW TREATMENT

SCHOOL

MEDICATION … AGAIN

WHAT’S IN THE FUTURE?

PROLOGUE - WHY THIS BOOK

PREFACE

For any parent having a child who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, please read this book. You owe it to yourself. Chances are you don’t have a lot of uninterrupted time. You try to get up before your child in the morning and enjoy one blissfully quiet cup of hot coffee. Before the pot can finish brewing, or as your spoon clinks against the side of the cup the first crash, scream or pitter- patter is heard. You then begin a twelve to fourteen hour marathon day. You run from one disaster to another, preventing one and cleaning up another.

As the end of the day approaches, and bedtime, the real test begins. Who has more energy left? You or your child? Maybe you can have a quiet half- hour at the end of the day? You pick up the endless clutter, thrown food, broken parts and pieces of the day. You finally sit and think about your life. How did this happen to you? What did you do? What can you do? Quiet time becomes very depressing – luckily you are so tired it doesn’t last long. You go to bed and fall asleep! Maybe tomorrow morning, if you try hard you can drink that cup of coffee.

How do I know? I’ve been there … I’ve done that! Why do I say please read this book? I’m not a doctor. I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a teacher. I don’t have any miraculous ideas or solutions. I’m a mother with a fifteen-year-old ADHD child. I can share with you an insight these professionals cannot. How I feel! How you feel! You do still have the right to feel! You do not always have to feel hopeless and at your wits end. This is not a funny subject, but I’ve tried in this book to pick out some laughter in each day. Everyone needs to laugh … who’s got time to cry! Speaking of time, being a true ADHD survivor I know you can’t sit and read a book for an hour. A full hour of uninterrupted time comes only when your child is at the sitters (but that’s another subject). All of my chapters are short. You can put down and pick up the book when time and your child allows. See I told you been there … done that!

THE FIRST YEAR

BIRTH

I hope that you have had other children. Not that it makes it easier when you have an ADHD child. However, I’ve often wondered if I would have noticed, something was different earlier. Maybe I wouldn’t have done so much me bashing throughout the years.

Like so many other couples, my husband and I had been married a little over two years. We wanted to have children. The usual 2.4 per family. We tried to get everything right. When my pregnancy test came back positive, we knew we had gotten the first part right. Then came the prenatal care, which I followed diligently. I even took those awful vitamins with Iron followed by a prune juice chaser.

I gained a little more weight than the doctor wanted, but I did that before my pregnancy too. Everything was going well. Then at thirty weeks … not forty, I gave birth. My son was born ten weeks premature. We faced challenges right from the start, but by my original due date we brought home a healthy (somewhat smaller) baby boy.

The first three months were what we expected. Lots of diapers, lots of formula, doctor’s visits, two AM feedings, and lots of crying, lots and lots of crying! As I think back on it now, maybe that first day coming home from the hospital, something was different. My husband, showing he was a proud, new modern daddy changed his first diaper. He insisted. He was cooing and smiling, making all those new baby faces parents make at crying babies to get them to calm down. My son doing what all new male babies do when removing their diapers couldn’t have gotten his aim any better. Christening my husband right in the kisser.

Yes I probably should have know something was different then. I probably didn’t because I was laughing too hard!

CRAWLING

Once it starts it never ends. Crawling should be renamed exploration of the world ten inches above the floor. Most parents I know lay a blanket on the floor with a few squeaky, soft toys, maybe some stuffed animals. They encourage their children to first start crawling. Been there … done that…! Once those knees and elbows started to work at the same time my son changed the rules. The blanket was where he didn’t want to be. Once he crossed that binding on the edge there was a new world of toys. It was filled with lint balls, shoes, low shelves, and an occasional ant. Forget that nice clean blanket with fabric softener. The race began.

All that extra weight I had gained during my pregnancy was gone quickly. My new exercise was picking up my son and placing