"The Defining Moment"
Being a mother of 4 boys is extremely adventurous! You’re rarely ever bored. Let me first say that my two oldest sons (step-sons) don’t live with us. They live with their mother. They stay with us during the summer months. I didn’t meet them until about 3 years ago. This is why I don’t have as many tales from their younger years.
My 7 year old is a very active child. From the time he was 2, we knew he was gifted. We also knew that he was abnormally hyper. He would blurt out things that didn’t make sense. I remember very distinctly taking him to the doctor when he was 2-1/2 years old for a check-up. He was bored sitting in the room, waiting for the doctor. So, he decided to sing to himself.
Then, he started to scream out words at the top of his lungs. He got so loud that the nurses kept coming into the room to see what was going on. I guess they thought I was beating him or something. After I assured them that he was just bored, they left.
About that time, my son got another great idea. He decided that it was the perfect opportunity to start slamming his head into the mirror that was on the wall next to the exam table. I tried everything to get him to stop, short of just taking him off the table.
Looking back now, I know that taking him off the table would have been the logical thing to do. But, we all know that new mothers don’t think logically.
While I was in the process of trying to explain to him that he couldn’t do that, the doctor and nurse came running into the room AGAIN! I guess they thought, again, that I was doing something horrible to him.
The nurse asked me, “What in the world is all that noise? Is he ok?” I explained to her, again, that he was bored and was slamming his head against the mirror. It was then that I was told something that would shape the rest of his life.
“Ma’am, I think your son may have ADHD.” I was thinking, how could a 2 year old have ADHD and why would someone even suggest that at this young age?
The doctor explained to me that although you cannot test a child of that age for ADHD, they will sometimes show early signs of it. He asked me if things like this had been going on at home. I explained to him that it was pretty normal for my toddler to bang his head and blurt out things loudly. These weren’t the only symptoms, but you get the picture.
I was told that I should have him tested right before he started kindergarten. So, 3 years rolled by, and that’s what I did. We had him tested for 6 months straight. After thorough exams, they determined that my son had not only severe ADHD, but something called mood disorder. To this day, I’m not sure what that means.
Fortunately, they also determined that he was testing in the gifted category. This was great news to me! Little did I know how hard it would be to deal with a gifted child with ADHD and mood disorder.
We eventually got him on medication. Once we found the right one, he improved drastically. Before that, he would sit in kindergarten and blindly punch his fists into the air and blurt out things like, “Blah, blah” or “Poopy, Poopy”.
His teacher thought he had Tourette’s syndrome. It seemed that way, but I was reassured that it was just the ADHD. He had already been tested for Tourette’s syndrome and was negative. To this day, if he doesn’t take his medicine, he will blurt silly little phrases out and say things out of context. But, when he does take it, he’s a pretty good child.
Check out the comments and share yours by clicking HERE.
My 7 year old is a very active child. From the time he was 2, we knew he was gifted. We also knew that he was abnormally hyper. He would blurt out things that didn’t make sense. I remember very distinctly taking him to the doctor when he was 2-1/2 years old for a check-up. He was bored sitting in the room, waiting for the doctor. So, he decided to sing to himself.
Then, he started to scream out words at the top of his lungs. He got so loud that the nurses kept coming into the room to see what was going on. I guess they thought I was beating him or something. After I assured them that he was just bored, they left.
About that time, my son got another great idea. He decided that it was the perfect opportunity to start slamming his head into the mirror that was on the wall next to the exam table. I tried everything to get him to stop, short of just taking him off the table.
Looking back now, I know that taking him off the table would have been the logical thing to do. But, we all know that new mothers don’t think logically.
While I was in the process of trying to explain to him that he couldn’t do that, the doctor and nurse came running into the room AGAIN! I guess they thought, again, that I was doing something horrible to him.
The nurse asked me, “What in the world is all that noise? Is he ok?” I explained to her, again, that he was bored and was slamming his head against the mirror. It was then that I was told something that would shape the rest of his life.
“Ma’am, I think your son may have ADHD.” I was thinking, how could a 2 year old have ADHD and why would someone even suggest that at this young age?
The doctor explained to me that although you cannot test a child of that age for ADHD, they will sometimes show early signs of it. He asked me if things like this had been going on at home. I explained to him that it was pretty normal for my toddler to bang his head and blurt out things loudly. These weren’t the only symptoms, but you get the picture.
I was told that I should have him tested right before he started kindergarten. So, 3 years rolled by, and that’s what I did. We had him tested for 6 months straight. After thorough exams, they determined that my son had not only severe ADHD, but something called mood disorder. To this day, I’m not sure what that means.
Fortunately, they also determined that he was testing in the gifted category. This was great news to me! Little did I know how hard it would be to deal with a gifted child with ADHD and mood disorder.
We eventually got him on medication. Once we found the right one, he improved drastically. Before that, he would sit in kindergarten and blindly punch his fists into the air and blurt out things like, “Blah, blah” or “Poopy, Poopy”.
His teacher thought he had Tourette’s syndrome. It seemed that way, but I was reassured that it was just the ADHD. He had already been tested for Tourette’s syndrome and was negative. To this day, if he doesn’t take his medicine, he will blurt silly little phrases out and say things out of context. But, when he does take it, he’s a pretty good child.
Check out the comments and share yours by clicking HERE.
posted by Melissa Swanson at 9:41 AM
Melissa is a student, a working mom, and the mother of 4 boys (ages 4, 7, 8, and 10). She is costantly fueled by the tenacity of her boys and their ability to make her laugh! What they say is true, "Laughter is the best medicine!"
2 Comments:
Ah... Definitely looks familiar. I might have been one of those moms who *thought* of it being ADHD because I recognize it, but I would *never* say that to a stranger. How come the hyperactive ones have to be smart too? It's hard enough to keep up. ;)
I was told that it was actually pretty common for a gifted child to have ADHD and visa versa. It does make it hard to keep up. It's really hard trying to get the school to understand how to teach him.
Post a Comment
<< Home