Adhd - Working With Schools
Further to my previous article about bringing up my son Jack. I thought it might be useful if I split out some of the key components in my strategy to make life as good as possible for Jack and the people around him. First let me remind you about Jack. Jack is now 17 and doing OK with a steady job and a steady girlfriend. We have arrived at this point despite me being a single dad looking after three kids (Jack is the middle kid) when my ex-wife became an alcoholic. The truth is that I have enjoyed all the challenges life has thrown at me and remained optimistic throughout.
What worked for me was to read up about ADD/ADHD and then find a way of explaining it to teachers in a simple a manner as possible. I not only explained the symptoms I also discussed the medication and the strategies that work well with these kids. I even on occasion went as far as to write a few bullet points along the lines of -
Make sure Jack sits towards the front of the class
Always check (discreetly) that Jack understands what he is meant to be doing
Feel free to praise any good work as he can lack self esteem
Try and get a personal relationship with Jack so that you can discuss any problems together
Not only did I tell the class teacher I also found the time to meet the special needs coordinator and the head of year wherever Jack attended. In return for the teachers help I backed them totally when it came to discipline for Jack. Because of this he missed several days at school through exclusions and sometimes had privileges removed at home. I regularly met the teachers and they felt that I was a caring parent and i believe they went the extra mile for me and for Jack.
So, did Jack excel at school? Sorry but no happy end as Jack left school with a moderate set of results and then failed to impress at college. Truth be known, Jack is brighter than a button but the lack of concentration and self discipline counted against him. My guess is that Jack will mature late in life and find a way to utilize the very sharp brain that he has.
My website if you are interested is at www.child-illnesses.com. Pretty soon I will have a chat forum and you will be able to email me.
Enough about the background which you can read on this site or by visiting my site at http://www.child-illnesses.com If I can give you one single piece of advice to help your son or daughter at scool it is this - DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE SCHOOL OR THE TEACHERS HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT ADD/ADHD IS.
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