4 ms·

Any advice for parents of kids who seem to exhibit some of these traits? My oldest son is in 3rd grade and is probably not exactly neurotypical. He really excel

Any advice for parents of kids who seem to exhibit some of these traits? My oldest son is in 3rd grade and is probably not exactly neurotypical. He really excels at some things (reading) and really struggles with others (handwriting, behavior/following directions.) I've heard horror stories from folks who feel like they were diagnosed and treated too early as well as too late. For folks here with those experiences - anything you wish your parents would have considered that they didn't? Questions they should have asked? Overall he seems pretty happy in life and has some friends and things he likes to do, so I'm not feeling like it's really urgent to get him help, but also don't want it to escalate to the point where it's harder for him to get help later or starts self medicating as a teen.

Philadelphia 7y ago
I wasn't diagnosed until my 30's, and I wish I had been when I was young. So many things that were impossible for me as a kid are manageable now, and I missed out on a lot.
adhd_pm 7y ago
- Be supportive and help him realize his strengths over time. - Keep an eye out for falling behind in schoolwork - Talk to his teachers about it My mom really pushed for me to get extra support and I was diagnosed with a Learning Disability (auditory processing sucked, spatial cognition was low too) back in the 1980's, but when I was in my early 30's something"snapped" and I went in and got diagnosed as having ADHD which explained a lot to me. I always felt that my parents supported me and have told me they "always thought I would turn out great" despite my school issues (Basically like the guy who wrote the original post - I wouldn't finish anything). They just did what they could to help me along, extra support from techers, tutors (although they didn't help much), hobbies, etc. I think the hardest hing for my parents and teachers was seeing that I loved computers, but couldn't do anything with computers without math, which I detested. Product Managers weren't very well known positions back then :) In the end, I have had a 12+ year career as a PM, and my ADHD is a pain everyday. But, I was able to do it because I always felt like my parents believed in me, even when they know I can't do my laundry.

Philadelphia 7y ago

I wasn't diagnosed until my 30's, and I wish I had been when I was young. So many things that were impossible for me as a kid are manageable now, and I missed out on a lot.

adhd_pm 7y ago

- Be supportive and help him realize his strengths over time. - Keep an eye out for falling behind in schoolwork - Talk to his teachers about it My mom really pushed for me to get extra support and I was diagnosed with a Learning Disability (auditory processing sucked, spatial cognition was low too) back in the 1980's, but when I was in my early 30's something"snapped" and I went in and got diagnosed as having ADHD which explained a lot to me. I always felt that my parents supported me and have told me they "always thought I would turn out great" despite my school issues (Basically like the guy who wrote the original post - I wouldn't finish anything). They just did what they could to help me along, extra support from techers, tutors (although they didn't help much), hobbies, etc. I think the hardest hing for my parents and teachers was seeing that I loved computers, but couldn't do anything with computers without math, which I detested. Product Managers weren't very well known positions back then :) In the end, I have had a 12+ year career as a PM, and my ADHD is a pain everyday. But, I was able to do it because I always felt like my parents believed in me, even when they know I can't do my laundry.