Queen of the Distracted

Imagine life in a house with 6 kids - now imagine if 5 of those kids and their father have ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) - that is our house! Welcome to an inside view of my life and our home dominated by ADHD... THERE IS NEVER A DULL MOMENT!

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls!"

Those were our oldest daughter Rachel's first words, from the time she was a toddler she would belt them out proudly standing on the arm of the couch. At the time we had no idea what ADHD was or that it would play such a central roll in our lives.

Since then we have learned a lot, not the least of which is how many individuals and families suffer in silence. We have experienced first hand how misunderstood and misrepresented a disorder can be.

As a family we decided to take action - to risk embarrassment and labeling to get this important message out to the world. Come join our family, share in our lives, and see ADD/ADHD as we see it...
A gift with a heavy price tag.

WELCOME to life in the ADD/ADHD House!

Monday, January 4, 2010

What's ADHD stand for?

Jaren just asked me what ADHD stands for? Hmmm... How do I answer that question? The first thing that came to mind was not Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The first thing that came to mind was CHAOS! Maybe it is because I always feel like I am swimming up stream trying to get all my ducks in a row and headed the SAME direction - something that is a constant battle and rarely happens. Maybe it is because I am still reeling from the holidays and I feel like my house has been turned upside down and shaken so hard that everything fell out. Maybe it is that today I am trying to keep three home schooled kids on track and working on school (ON being the operative term here) while their three older siblings are still on vacation and are gleefully following the random dictates of their mind - despite my continued efforts to redirect them to CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!

More philosophically I think of their creativity, artistic drive, compassion, dramatics (both appreciated and sometimes not), their musicality and so much more driven by impulsivity and the moment of wonder when they are carried away by their incredible minds. I think of their struggles to reign in that amazing brain; to find balance and some measure of control. That simple question...what does that stand for is never very simple. A constant struggle carrying great blessings. Or as my ADHD husband, Mark says, "A gift with a heavy price tag" - that is what ADHD is to me and my family.

9 comments:

Bean said...

Well you probably don't want to hear from me... but I have to say that I am SOOOOO glad that you finally took the plunge and started this. You have so much of value to share and some really funny stories about our children... none of me of course! :) Please post more stuff... you have so much to say that I KNOW will be beneficial to many.
Your Hubbie!

Matt Sconce said...

Wow! I cannot wait to see what you write next! I love the CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN Part. Your family is amazing and wonderful and crazy and fantastic and this blog is SUCH a good idea. I pray for patience for you in this epic ADHD journey!

Spike N Tuna Jones said...

Hey freind... glad to see you join the blogging community! I'll be passing this on to many and posting you on my blog! Small world.. getting smaller. :)

Lisa Aro said...

It was your blog that inspired me Tina! I am excited for the potential but nervous TOOOOOOO! thanks to all for the kindness and support...I need it!

Shane said...

I am soooooo looking forward to this. I was super excited when Mark first mentioned it to me, and you guys have both made so many comments about ADHD to me that I would go to you before going to a doctor for advice! Can't wait to learn from this blog!

Unknown said...

Awesome words of comfort! I'm in the same boat. The only thing worse than having to lif=ve in a family of people who all suffer from ADHD is if you have to be in the head of a person with ADHD. I have it too. I know first hand what you are dealing with. My whole family has ADHD. You'd think having it myself would make it easier to understand someone else with it but it doesn't work like that.
God loves us anyway. It is nice to see that others are dealing with the same problem. I'm not alone. This sounds like your blog is going to be fun and informitive.

Hyperactive Studios said...

Hey Lisa,

This blog is truly going to be an inspiration for me and provide me with much strength, wisdom and guidance... Although what you go through on a daily basis is not even a glimmer into my life, we just found out that Jeremy has been diagnosed with ADD. It explains alot of his behavior. So thank you for posting this blog for those less experienced of dealing with it! :) Jen

Pooja said...

Attention deficit disorder is most of the time found in children. The causes of ADD are unknown but mostly its because of chemical imbalances in some of the neurotransmitters of the brain. The major signs of ADD include inattentiveness, lack of organizational skills, hyperactive, low self esteem etc. For more details refer Attention deficit disorder

Lisa Aro said...

Thank you for the GREAT link...

I hope you enjoy reading about our experiences, good and bad, with ADHD.