Monday, December 6, 2010

Patience

It's tough living with a child with ADHD. Knowing that she can't help alot of the things she does has helped me have more patience with her. We now have a "get ready" chore chart to help her remember to do things like brush her teeth and use deodorant - something I never in a million years would have though at 13 year old girl would need to be reminded of. If I do ask her to do something, I now remind her or check up later with a little more patience than I did in the past. If she wants to tell me a seemingly endless story about an unimportant (to me) topic, I do my best to stop and listen for a few minutes. I can tell that being more patient with her has helped reduce the number of conflicts we have. I'm not a patient person, so it's been hard and I haven't been perfect, but I'm thankful for baby steps.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Hi!

Hi!
I'm Jill and I've been homeschooling since November 2004. My oldest was in 2nd grade and my youngest was in K. There were multiple reasons for us deciding to make the switch to homeschool. In hindsight, it was probably one decision that will change my DD's future for the better.

We have dealt with many issues over the years, all which pointed directly to ADHD, but we never put two and two together...until recently.

I've been researching ADHD and right brain learning now for months. As a former public school teacher, I thought I knew alot about ADHD and RB learning. Wrong. I've learned alot - but have not found much information that particularly relates to homeschooling ADHD teens. For that reason, I've decided to chronicle our journey in hopes that it will help someone else out there.

I titled my blog "Hidden Treasure" because people with ADHD have gifts that are not readily recognized or valued in our culture. I hope that by tapping into these gifts my daughter has and changing the way she thinks ~ about the way she thinks, I can build her confidence and prepare her to deal with problems later in life.

We have decided not to medicate. Although we struggle almost daily with everyday tasks and schoolwork, I have seen firsthand the personality changes associated with medicating children with ADHD.

If you are in a similar situation, I'd love for you to follow my blog or leave a comment. Sometimes it's nice to know you aren't alone.