This past Friday night, I was standing outside on the shores of the Mystic River in Mystic, CT. It was an incredibly humid night, but the fresh air was very important. You see, I had just spent about 5 1/2 hours wearing a wool tuxedo (still wearing it at this point in fact) in 90 degree heat. It was NOT fun.
While standing outside, a fellow groomsmen joined me, and we started talking about work. We had been introduced to one another, earlier in the week, as professionals in the same field… Both professionals supporting and striving to make a difference for people who have ADHD.
The long and short of this story is a remarkable difference in childhood that truly means nothing today in adulthood.
He was a self-reported “underachiever” who struggled to complete many tasks, and he had a hard time with a lot of different activities.
I was an “over-achiever” who completed tasks with ease, and without much stress, disappointment, or frustration (which really raises an entirely different set of challenges).
Yet, despite these differences, we stood as two men both with the same dream and mission. We had different stories and challenges along the way, but yet we were both in the same position and of the same mind. There we stood with success in our paths, and the common understanding that ADHD in our world has a bad name.
One cannot help but draw conclusions from this little story - but we took liberty with it as we discussed ADHD and the impact this label has upon children, adults, and families all over the world.
We both saw that ADHD has the potential of crushing dreams and holding people back, whenin reality, a individual with ADHD is just as likely to be a success as the next person.
Just look at the two goof-balls who are the unlikely heroes of this story. One is a former student who got in lots of trouble. The other is a former student who had it pretty easy as a child.
Yet there both stood - on equal ground - supporting the same cause.
ADHD or not - don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. Or at the very least, find ways to say “thank you,” and go about your business.
I don’t know about you, but I personally find nonsupporting comments as a challenge to prove people wrong.
Will you give your child that opportunity? Will you help them shine in the face of criticism and a world of non-believers?
This past Friday night, I was standing outside on the shores of the Mystic River in Mystic, CT. It was an incredibly humid night, but the fresh air was very important. You see, I had just spent about 5 1/2 hours wearing a wool tuxedo (still wearing it at this point in fact) in 90 degree heat. It was NOT fun.
While standing outside, a fellow groomsmen joined me, and we started talking about work. We had been introduced to one another, earlier in the week, as professionals in the same field… Both professionals supporting and striving to make a difference for people who have ADHD.
The long and short of this story is a remarkable difference in childhood that truly means nothing today in adulthood.
He was a self-reported “underachiever” who struggled to complete many tasks, and he had a hard time with a lot of different activities.
I was an “over-achiever” who completed tasks with ease, and without much stress, disappointment, or frustration (which really raises an entirely different set of challenges).
Yet, despite these differences, we stood as two men both with the same dream and mission. We had different stories and challenges along the way, but yet we were both in the same position and of the same mind. There we stood with success in our paths, and the common understanding that ADHD in our world has a bad name.
One cannot help but draw conclusions from this little story - but we took liberty with it as we discussed ADHD and the impact this label has upon children, adults, and families all over the world.
We both saw that ADHD has the potential of crushing dreams and holding people back, whenin reality, a individual with ADHD is just as likely to be a success as the next person.
Just look at the two goof-balls who are the unlikely heroes of this story. One is a former student who got in lots of trouble. The other is a former student who had it pretty easy as a child.
Yet there both stood - on equal ground - supporting the same cause.
ADHD or not - don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. Or at the very least, find ways to say “thank you,” and go about your business.
I don’t know about you, but I personally find nonsupporting comments as a challenge to prove people wrong.
Will you give your child that opportunity? Will you help them shine in the face of criticism and a world of non-believers?