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ADHD Parenting Blog
A blog about parenting a lovable, exhausting child with ADHD.
Kay is the author of one (so far!) children's picture book, and finds other writing opportunities to legitimize the time she wastes communing with her laptop and drinking coffee (Sumatran, with creme) at Stomping Grounds several mornings each week. Her husband, Don, a landscape architect, may not always understand about her inability to cope with this very nice life, but supports her, without question, anyway. Kay has recurring dreams that it's the last day of vacation, and she hasn’t played in the ocean yet. She always misses the flight home. She loves reading (see a list of recent favorites on her website), eating Breyer's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, sleeping in, and Club Night (drinking wine and eating gourmet food with three other couples). She's thankful for her extended family, good friends, and reliable babysitters. Kay’s life may look picture-perfect, but one of her biggest blessings - being Natalie’s mom - is also her biggest challenge! Kay blogs about living in knee-deep clutter, the full-time job of managing Nat's special services, Nat's intense neediness (“MOM-EEEEEEEEE!”) and (oh, I nearly forgot) mothering her other child, and how she copes - or doesn't - with this picture-perfect life. Recent Blog Posts
Our kids are different -- and that's okay. Here's a must-read book that celebrates their uniqueness. Ditto what ADDitude magazine editor Wayne Kalyn said about Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid! I, too, love the newly-released, revised edition of Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid written by Gina Gallagher and Patricia Konjoian, sisters who are also both moms to children with special needs. The book is an incredibly funny yet compassionate and sincere look at raising imperfect children, based on the authors'...Continue Reading »
As parents, we must be honest about our children's struggles with attention deficit and hyperactivity, but it's equally important for others, especially insurance companies and government-funded health care programs, to understand the many sides of ADHD. “How’s Natalie?” “How much time do you have?” When your child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and/or other mental health conditions, like my daughter Natalie does, “How's she doin'?” can be a hard question to answer. When I’m hoping to book a babysitter, I might give an answer with a positive spin: "She loves the new aquatic center! She'll swim for hours while I...Continue Reading »
Tired of punishing your child for acting out on impulses they can't curb? Enter "Remote Control Impulse Control," a game that aims to use fun and entertainment to teach children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) the consequences of their behavior. If there was an ADD/ADHD-themed calendar in which June represented the ADD/ADHD trait of impulsivity my daughter, Natalie, could star as Miss June. Oh, the no-impulse-control stories I could tell, from last month alone. Take, for example, the day Nat felt a very sudden need for artistic expression, and, in mere seconds, created an abstract representation of her inner-turmoil. In other words, she...Continue Reading »
...mine or any others would like to heap on me. Do you ever compare yourself to other parents, with or without children with special needs, and, in your own estimation, come up lacking? Do others sometimes hint that you could be doing more to help your child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD)? I’ve learned the hard way that if I try to take on too much I tend to become overwhelmed. ...Continue Reading »
White means surrender. Next time, I won't! I'm kicking myself for surrendering to my ADHD daughter's desire for a cute (but white!) Aeropostale T-shirt! A typical day in the life of me, the mother of a 9-year-old girl with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: ...Continue Reading »
I've been wondering whether my daughter has auditory processing disorder (APD, in addition to ADHD and learning disabilities. Upon reading The Sound of Hope, I've found these answers. In a recent post, I discussed how hearing about The Sound of Hope, a new book about auditory processing disorder (APD), caused me to wonder if my own daughter, Natalie, also has APD. I shared my plan to talk with Nat’s psychologist about whether or not she should be evaluated for APD. Several people have asked since then, “What did...Continue Reading »
My ADHD daughter, Natalie, does everything with gusto. My daughter, Natalie, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), does everything with gusto. Need I say more? I think not. A picture's worth a thousand words. Look to the right to see what I mean. The ADHD Comedy Hour is a new ongoing feature on ADDitudemag.com. If you want to share your humorous parenting story, please submit a 200-word idea to webmaster@additudemag.com to...Continue Reading »
As moms, do we sometimes think we’re the only ones who can help our kids with special needs, when others could share the burden? Do we worry about their challenges just often enough, or needlessly? My 13-year-old son, Aaron, surprised me with some wise advice recently, which I’ve thought of often in the days since. “Mom,” he said, “you’re worrying about something you don’t need to worry about. Let Dad handle it.” I didn’t listen to Aaron about that day’s problem -- but I did hear him. Just before he'd arrived home from school that day,...Continue Reading »
Take the pain out of diagnosing childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) with this humorous diagnostic tool. (Parents, please don't try this at home!) As you may know, the folks at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) are hard at work updating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM). They’ll release the new version, DSM-V, in 2013. Proposed changes in diagnostic criteria are, according to the APA’s DSM-V website, the culmination of 10 years of revision activities. As we speak (write, read) work...Continue Reading »
Do you allow your children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) to ride in the passenger seat of the car? One of my daughter Natalie’s main goals in life is to grow big enough to be allowed to sit in the front seat of the car. At age 9, she's a petite, little thing, and my mama-law requires that she reach 5 feet tall and 100 pounds before risking the chance of facing down an airbag. I’m a stickler for enforcing this rule --...Continue Reading » « All Blogs |
     
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Kay Marner is the chronically overwhelmed mother of two: her neurotypical, very bright, biological son Aaron; and her one-of-a-kind daughter Natalie, adopted from Russia, who has ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, and developmental delays.