This is what Dr. Andy went through as a little kid. We’re here to help you with yours!
We want you to understand what it’s like for them!
When Andy was a kid and got diagnosed with ADHD, he thought this was normal. As a kid, he thought it was just every day life to get in trouble all the time. He didn’t know what freedom from that was.
Obviously his parents had different thoughts because they took him to get this diagnosis. They tried seemingly everything from meds to counseling.
What does this look like in children?
For Andy, his parents said when he was really young, he wouldn’t sit still.
They said he wouldn’t sit still at the dinner table. No matter what, he’d want to run off and do something. So after a while, Andy’s dad became frustrated and, in the nicest way, had had enough
Finally, Andy’s dad tied him to the kitchen chair. He just wanted him to sit there to have a family meal.
This is silly to think about, but also consider how frustrating this was for Andy’s parents. They just wanted to have a simple family dinner. They wanted to spend time with their family.
This shouldn’t be this hard.
Another big but might be seemingly small issue Andy faced was volume control.
We’re glad to tell you Dr. Andy has volume control now. He can sit still. He can process thoughts carefully and slowly.
But as a kid, he remembers driving with his friend and his dad and the dad turns around and said,
“Would you SHUT UP?!”
When you’re young, that’s a harsh thing to hear from someone! Especially someone that isn’t your own relative!
Obviously, this man had a lot going on and was super stressed out. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.. Little Andy could not control his volume.
His sensory system was so shifted he couldn’t perceive properly.
This was the first moment he remembered thinking “man, there’s something different going on here.” And he was only in the sixth grade. He had never heard this man yell at anyone else like that.
Andy’s parents didn’t even realize this problem. They didn’t know that was a big deal. They didn’t realize these things needed to addressed.
The last problem Andy struggled with was not being able to sit and have a normal conversation with someone if there were other people around.
His brain was too revved up! His mind was moving too fast to slow down and just sit and talk to someone if there were other people as distractions. He couldn’t focus on just the one person.
As an example of this, Andy started dating one of the most popular girls in school. She genuinely loved him for who he was, but she wouldn’t tell anyone that she was dating him. They would never hang out in public where people could see them together. She knew he was a good person, but because he was so loud and couldn’t handle being around big groups of people, he never got invited anywhere.
This was tough for Andy!
If his parents would’ve known this, their hearts would’ve broken for him.
That SUCKED.
These are the kind of reasons it’s so important to calm kids brains down. If this would’ve happened for Andy it would’ve avoided so many struggles.
As a parent, this is the kind of behaviors that are concerning. These are the kinds of behaviors we see everyday at our office.
Our heart goes out to them and we are so excited to hold your hand through this process to experience the freedom of having a “connected kid.
