Parent Story 01

I am a parent of a wonderful 8 year old boy with ADHD in Nova Scotia. My son was officially diagnosed when he was 6. We were fortunate enough to already have a wonderful, knowledgeable pediatrician as a result of another condition. This made getting assessed easy for us. Our pediatrician took time to address other medical issues first, like the obstructed sleep apnea, first before officially giving the ADHD diagnosis.

One of the things that bothers me most is the lack of knowledge or outdated knowledge people who work in education and beyond have of this neuro-disorder. Many don't know how the medication works, or believe that medication alone should "do the trick" and then they shouldn't need to give reminders or visuals to stay on task or to help with behavior. It is not a choice to impulsively blurt answers, forget to detail the work,  or catch every direction given in a long span of time.

There are so many strategies that can be used to help keep student with ADHD on track without them feeling like they're "no good"! I wish there wasn't resistance to try something different from some educators. My son has come so extremely far since he has been diagnosed, with our persistence, his hard work and having an amazing teacher last year he has started to feel successful. I wish it would be easier to go year to year without staring from scratch again, having to explain to a new teacher how your child works.