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What the Kids Say 

Hiya

"Like lots of really cool people, we all have ADHD. If you’ve got it, don’t worry. You can be cool too. Hang out with us and we’ll show you how.”

What is ADHD?

Boy with thumbs up ADHD = Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

 “Hi, I’m Connor and I’m going to tell you about ADHD.

The brain is even smarter than a computer. But nobody has a perfect brain. We all have bits of our brain that work better than others.

When you have ADHD, there’s a little bit of your brain that makes it hard to sit still and behave yourself. You forget things and you have trouble doing your homework.

It’s a problem – but nobody’s perfect. Three boys in my class have asthma. Another can’t hear. And the girl next door is so spotty she looks like a pizza.”


Getting into trouble.

Photo of Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan and if you’re like me, you’re always getting into trouble. And it’s just not fair! My Mum has helped me write this list of all the things that get me into trouble at home and at school. It helps me remember what makes people cross, so I don’t get told off so much! Every week Mum gives me a star if I don’t get into trouble. If I get four stars in a week, I get to have a treat! I love treats.”

Things that get me into trouble....at home

 

 
  1 2 3 4 5
Leaving my stuff all over the floor *        
Fighting with my sister *        
Playing at meal time * *      
Interrupting people          
Not answering when I'm called *        

Things that get me into trouble.....at school
  1 2 3 4 5
Calling out in class     *    
Getting up from my desk * *      
Fighting in the playground          
Being late for school *   *    
Playing at meal time          


“Why don’t you try writing your own list?”

What you’re good at:

“I’m Luke and I have ADHD, but that doesn’t mean I’m bad at everything. I’m rubbish at maths but I’m good at loads of other things.”

What I’m good at: Football

Being in charge

Painting

Riding my bike

Having Ideas

Running about



Make a deal to improve

Nathan -

“I know I’m not perfect but I’m trying to be better. I made a deal with my Mum. She said if I got dressed in 10 minutes in the morning for 4 out of 5 school days, I could have an extra 10 minutes on my computer. I did it! Next, my Dad said he would take me to a football match if I didn’t break any of my sister’s toys for 2 weeks. I didn’t break anything.

The match was wicked. And our side won!”

“Why don’t you make a deal with your Mum and Dad!”


Think first

Nathan -

“When you have ADHD you often do things without thinking. I was always getting into trouble. But now I try to think first, and things like this don’t happen to me so much. It’s made my life much easier.”



Think before you speak

Photo of Jane“Hi, I’m Jane and I have ADHD. Sometimes I upset people because I don’t think before I speak. I don’t mean to be rude but sometimes things come out the wrong way. My Mum says I should think before I speak. And she says if I haven’t got anything nice to say, I should just keep my mouth shut! That way, people will like me much more. Look at my list. See what you should say and when you should say nothing.”

 

 

 

 


When you think…

This is boring SAY I don’t really enjoy doing this

Give me that… SAY Please may I have…

Get lost SAY I’m sorry I have to go now

Leave me alone SAY Sorry, I think I need some time on my own

You’re stupid SAY NOTHING!

You’re ugly SAY NOTHING!

You smell SAY NOTHING!


Get organised

“I’m Martin, I have ADHD and I’m not very good at getting things done. Sometimes I forget what I am meant to do. When my Dad goes shopping he makes a list of all the things he has to buy. He ticks them off as he goes along. That way he doesn’t forget a thing. I’m doing that now with my school projects and everything else. I think of everything I have to do and put it down in my organiser. Then I tick off each thing as I do it. You can see one of my lists below.”

Project : Painting a picture


Things to do:

Listen to teacher’s instructions
Cover the table with newspaper
Put paint shirt on
Get paper
Get brushes and paints
Get mixing palette
Start painting

 

Get into a routine

Jane -

 Clock“I’m much happier if I know what is going to happen. So I’ve made a list of what usually happens during the day. This is what my day looks like. Yours could be the same buts it’s probably a bit different.”

Morning

7.30 - Alarm clock rings
7.45 - Get up and get dressed
8.00 - Have breakfast and take my medication
8.15 - Clean my teeth
8.20 - Make sure my homework is in my schoolbag
8.25 - Check I’ve got everything I need for school
8.30 - Go to School
9.00 - Start lessons
10.30 - Have break
10.45 - More lessons

Afternoon

12.30 - Have lunch and take my medication
2.00 - More lessons
3.30 - Lessons end
3.35 - Check what my homework is and what I need for tomorrow
3.40 - Pack my school bag
3.45 - Meet Mum or Dad at school gate
4.00 - Go to park and skateboard
4.45 - Go home
5.15 - Have tea, take my medication and watch TV

Evening

6.00 - Do my homework
7.00 - Show Mum or Dad my homework
7.30 - Tell Mum or Dad what I need for tomorrow
7.35 - Pack my schoolbag
7.40 - Play on the computer
8.00 - Have a bath
8.15 - Get int0 my pyjamas
8.20 - Clean my teeth
8.30 - Go to bed



Making Friends

Luke -

Photo of Luke“Because of my ADHD I’m not exactly Mr. Popular. I want people to like me more and I want to have more friends. My grandpa has lots of friends and he says the way to make friends is to listen to other people and to be kind. He says I shouldn’t be rude or bossy. And I shouldn’t interrupt. He also says I should stop breaking things – especially when they do not belong to me. And I should always say please and thank you. Thanks Grandpa!”



Getting on better at school

Connor –

“Sometimes people pick on me and bully me. My Dad says the best thing to do is to ignore bullies, as they are losers! I should never hit them because I’ll be the one who gets into trouble, not them. If they keep on having a go at me, I should tell a teacher because it’s not fair!”

Can you think of five ways to make your teacher really notice how good you are? Think about it for a few moments. Write down your thoughts here. Then read below to see what I came up with.


Your teacher will really notice how good you are if:

1. You always raise your had when you want to speak in class
2. You don’t answer back and argue
3. You stay in your seat unless you are told to get up
4. You are kind to other children
5. You do as you are told


Taking time out

“Sometimes I need to calm down a bit and spend 5 minutes on my own somewhere quiet. I’ve got a special card that I give to my teacher when I feel I need to take time out. My card looks like the one below – you could make one just like it to use at school”


TIME OUT CARD
Sorry but I need a 5-minute break to calm down. I’ll be back soon.
Thanks!
Name:________________

 



• Put your name on the card and take it to school with you.
• Ask your teacher if you can take time out for 5 minutes in a quiet place when you feel you are getting angry or silly, or if your teacher thinks you should calm down a bit.
• If your teacher says that’s fine, put the card on the teacher’s desk before you take your break
• Take the card back at the end of each lesson so you can use it again.

Making your ADHD better

Nathan –

“I go to the doctor to try to  my ADHD better. I don’t just see the normal doctor that my Mum and Dad to – I also go to a special doctor that knows all about ADHD. She talks to me about how to behave better and asks me how I’m feeling.

The doctor gives me special medicine to help my ADHD. I take my medicine every day. I also need help from people I know. My Mum and Dad help me all the time. So does my teacher. Why don’t you make a list of the people who help you.”

 

 

 

 

 

”WHAT’S ADD, YOU SAY”?

 

Copyright © 1993 by Matthew Kutz

ADD is me. The child of today, a child of triumph and a child of sorrow, a child of curiosity and knowledge. ADD is me! And I am ADD!
Being in regular schools was an experience I will never forget.
Most teachers when referring to ADD had no idea what they were talking about, they got everything wrong. They think you’ll see and hear better if they sit you up front or sit you away in a corner. I am not blind, deaf, dumb, stupid nor a behaviour problem.   I am, however, attention deficit; my attention span doesn’t last on any one subject very long unless I get totally consumed by a particular subject.
 
My special education teacher in fourth grade got angry because I corrected him about fruits and vegetables. He was explaining to the class that a tomato was a vegetable like a potato; but it is not, it is a fruit.
 
Being ADD is like being in a box and unable to get out. Punching your way out, the walls only turn to stone and the space gets smaller. My world begins to shrink.
 
Being ADD means you see things other people miss. When you see a peach you see a piece of fruit. I see the colour, the texture, and the feel where it grew.
 
Being ADD I’m not qualified to say how the brain functions but I am qualified to say how much it hurt when other people make fun of you. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair when they tease you and you want to bust their jaw but you walk away to keep from lowering yourself to their standards.
 
Being ADD is like being a hunter of today looking for new ways and new challenges to broaden my way. Being ADD doesn’t mean life is over; it means it’s just beginning. Being ADD means some things are more difficult for me to understand as my mind wants to investigate beyond what seems obvious to you.
 
Being ADD, when I read a book about marine life my mind allows me to travel with the fish and imagine life beneath the sea. Or I can read a book about astronomy and dance among the stars. I can do more than one thing at a time and do both well yet I can be stumped by some simple things.
I may not immediately comprehend that 3+4=7, but I may fully realise the n+26=51 and that the missing number is 25.
 
 So when you meet me try to understand that what your are trying to teach me is totally boring if I’ve already learned it, or completely mystifies me if I haven’t and have not caught on in a reasonable length of time. Be kind, patient and understanding; I will eventually learn it then I am promptly through with it and ready for a new challenge or my exploring mind will continue to hunt for a subject more absorbing than something I’ve already learned…
I cannot begin to tell you in a few short paragraphs what ADD is or isn’t. I can only say it isn’t hopelessness, despair, or regret. It is just a different way of being and it’s just being me!”
 
Matthew Kutz is a fourteen-year-old ADD student living in California. Mr Kutz wishes to encourage the reproduction of his essay by non profit, non commercial education and advocacy groups. He retains all rights to publish this commercially himself in the future. Refer all correspondence to: M Kutz 1001 Cooper Point Road SW, Suite 140-172, Olympia, WA 98502. Or contact Janie Bowman 70373,2414.

This was originally published in the spring of 1993 edition of the Olympia Chapter, Learning Disabilities Association of Washington.

 

For Kids

 
A Child of Today

By Matthew Kutz

 

ADD is not a disability. “DIS”ability. ADD is more of a trait. ADD is the Hunter and Farmer theory. I am a Hunter.

The only way to describe ADD is like having all of your senses magnified. Every time I go past an electric wire I hear the sounds of it humming. I can go under a pool of water, and I can hear people walking. It’s like being in a really bad nightmare, except that everything feeds OK. It feels like you’re in a nightmare, but you’re safe. It’s a really weird feeling.

I can study and know my spelling words. Monday … Tuesday … Wednesday … I hit Thursday, the day before the test, “Click!” they’ve all popped out.

Teachers may put you in a corner because they think you’re misbehaving when you’re not paying attention and it’s so hard to stay focused on one thing. It’s so hard! You concentrate. You focus. You can spend the whole afternoon trying. But you just fade away.

Being attention deficit doesn’t mean you’re stupid. It doesn’t mean you’re dumb. It doesn’t mean you’re mentally deficient. You are a Hunter. You’re senses are more balanced and you can’t stay focused on one thing. I’m proud to be attention deficit because that means I’m different, I’m special and I’m unique.

ADD is a gift. It’s not a stopper. It’s not a force that’s keeping you from doing anything you don’t want to do. But it can get in the way. That’s where medicines come in hand. But you’ve got to remember, I don’t care whether you’re ADD or not., you can do anything you want.

I remember my brother was in high school and the counsellor told him he was too stupid to be a lawyer. My brother, today, would be a lawyer. Through years of me and my Mom trying to convince him he can do anything he wants to do, he’s now going to be a forensic specialist and work in crime labs.
ADD is a talent, not a setback. ADD can mean you can see things in a new light and a new way. It never means you’re held back and it never means to say stop.

You sit down and wonder what the world would be like without attention deficit people. You start reading off famous people … Thomas Edison … Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein was the greatest math genius to walk this earth, and he couldn’t even tie his own shoes, recognise his own kids. He had his name sewn into his jacket.

I am ADD. I won’t be shunned. I won’t be marked. But I will live happily. ADD is a door, a window a face, a place, anything you want to call it. But it’s something special in my heart.

ADD is special. ADD is unique. Being ADD means having a mind that can wander and day dream and set the soul free. ADD is being in a maze with doors that only you can open. ADD is unexplainable. It’s part of the frame of mind. It’s noticeable if you know what to look for. ADD is unique. ADD is different.
ADD means I am not stupid. I’m not an idiot. I am not mentally deficient. It just means it takes me a little bit longer to learn the ordinary things that everybody knows everyday.

It’s not a mental or chemical imbalance. It’s not brain dysfunction. It’s not brain death. It’s nothing, except your senses are much stronger than others. You lock onto more stuff and you think deeper.
Add means you spend every other second of your life thinking over “Why am I doing this?” “Why am I doing that?” “How is this here?” ADD means that you are constantly, always, asking. Your mind will never stop questioning.
I know the most dangerous thing for a child besides drowning in a pool or hurting themselves, is being undiagnosed ADD. I’ve heard stories about grown-ups loosing there wives and children and their marriages and their jobs over ADD. And to think it could all be under control just by one little medicine. I’ve been diagnosed as ADD. I’m 14 now and I’ve learned a few coping skills, but one thing I’ve learned is that teachers don’t understand. I mean, yeah, they’re good at history. And yeah, they’re good at math, but I’m not kidding you. Most teachers didn’t even know what ADD is. They’ve heard of it but they didn’t really understand it.
 
A child of today. A child of triumph. A child of sorrow. A child of knowledge. ADD is full of regrets and remorse and new beginnings. 
 

ADD is a beginning that never ends, nor stops, nor slows down. ADD is an uncontrollable urge to jump into everything head first! Add means that you’re different and you’re special in your own unique way.