My Morning Ritual With My ADHD Son

I was asked to detail the program I used to help Jason, primarily the one I used in Atlanta when he was six. I’ll be happy to do that, but it is more important to ask what the reasoning behind the choices might have been.

I had the horrible experience of sitting with his teachers in elementary school, and having NO luck in extracting from them what his grades were. For ninety minutes, I asked questions from every direction, and couldn’t get a picture as clear as my Mother got with a five-second glimpse at my report card. Let’s just say it was those teachers, shall we? Because if you try to politicize my concern for Jason, you will NOT be happy with the result. Don’t go there.

So…what I eventually discovered was that he was far behind on his academics, far enough that he had begun to doubt himself and his ability, fear that devils him to this day. He also was tested with ADHD, such that in combination with his emotions he couldn’t even hold my eyes when we spoke of anything intense.

I decided to go right down that road. The intent? A parent’s job is to make themselves obsolete, to give their child the mental, emotional and physical tools that will enable them to excel in life, to produce goods and services they can exchange legally with their community to make money. To be self-supporting, at which point sex comes legitimately into the picture, followed by mating and (usually) raising a family. The ability to pass on what he has learned, develop a deep sense of self, age with dignity and die at peace.