We are blessed to be surrounded by family and friends. Most of these people truly see Bobby for his strengths. Some of those go a step further and point out the ways those strengths could be used in his future. On a recent kayaking adventure, Bobby found some hooks, bobbers & used fishing line. While on the bank, a close friend watched over him as he began to patiently work his fingers, untangling the many knots to make his new line useable. Because she knows his background with impulsivity & impatience, she was amazed by his skillful dexterity and commented to him about it. Later she shared this story with me, pointing out how she wasn't certain he really heard her observations. When we were making dinner that evening, Bobby sat at the deck talking about his fun-filled afternoon. He was pretty proud of himself as he told me that Claudia thought he was incredibly adept with his fingers and that line. She told him he had skills that could lead him to possibly being a surgeon one day. I think he was holding his head & shoulders just a bit higher that evening-someone believed in him, had faith in his future. Something our Bobby so desperately needs. Thank you, Claudia. Whether or not Bobby chooses to pursue medicine, remains to be seen but today that doesn't even matter. A strength was identified & everyone needs this-especially adhd kids!
4 comments:
Charlotte,
I have a 10 1/2 year old son and your blog makes me think I'm reading about him. He takes Concerta during the week and none on the weekends. He doesn't sleep well and has NO appetite while on his meds. Please help! He take melatonin to sleep but I can't get him to eat. He is small for his age and this worries me greatly. Have you had this problem? What did you do?
Thank you,
Jill
Hi Jill, We've never had our son on Concerta so I couldn't offer much experience there. Our son's appetite was very poor with both Strattera & Adderal. He was on each of those for 2+ years and recently switched to Ritalin. Appetite is HUGE! Constantly wanting to eat. Gaining. Much better attitude at this point. Switched 3 months ago. If he's been on Concerta for a while his doctor would probably be willing to try another med. Our doctor has been really helpful. Hope this helps!
Hi Charlotte
As a mother of two children I can completely identify with how important it is to focus on their strengths. I find there is so much that I am guiding them with and providing the boundaries that they can live in that sometimes it all seems to be about what they can't do and what they should rather do....I have noticed that the minute I focus on the positives and praise them on their strengths their whole attitude changes and YES the shoulders seem to lift. And I am reminded about how wonderful they are.
Great advise - thank you.
I need frequent reminding about this very thing! Then we head out to have fun together and I forget for awhile what problems we ever had.
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