Reply to What do the teenage years look like for a DD with ADHD?

Forum Index » Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

Reply to "What do the teenage years look like for a DD with ADHD?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]OP, I have two young-adult ADHD DDs. They come from a long line of ADHDers, at least three generations on my side of the family, and probably four based on descriptions of my grandmother.

The teenage years looked different for each of of my girls because they were very different people — one extremely social and gregarious who loved throwing herself into things and learned things very quickly, but who also had spells of great anxiety, the other deeply introverted with slower processing speed. Both could be “stubborn” (I hate that phrase, it’s so negative), particularly when young.

The short story is that I loved having teenagers. We had some challenges, but we also had fun. They did all the things that teenagers do — learned to drive (took a little longer), they did activities, got into colleges, they held summer jobs. They were awesome teens — not perfect, but great.

I could tell you more if you like but I strongly advise you don’t worry about teen years yet. Focus on the now. Learn about ADHD. Learn to work with who she is, not against her. Develop a sense of humor about the ADHD— not only will you need it, it will HELP, far more than the alternative. Make sure she knows you like her. Make sure you DO like her. Notice what she does right, not merely what she does wrong. Have some fun together as you’re figuring it out. Get support for yourself if you’re struggling. And do not — absolutely do not — get too hung up on the “advice” of extended family members or friends or teachers who begin sentences with the phrase “You just need to…” If it were that simple, it wouldn’t be ADHD.

The best thing I did for my ADHD girls was to shake my own anxiety and loosen my grip a little. Only then could I be open to different ways of engaging. I have learned a lot by being their parent — and other parts of my life are better for the things I’ve learned. I hope when your DD is older, you look back and say the same. Happy to answer questions.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics