We were lucky: when our child was first diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), we found ourselves surrounded by friends, family, teachers, coaches and doctors who were either familiar with ADHD symptoms or open to learning about them along with us. If there was a fearful holdout, someone saying wrong-headed things, it was me.
?Isn?t extra-active, extra-talky and extra-impulsive behaviour part of being a kid"? I?d insist.
Or, ?Who wants to pay attention all of the time anyway"?
It didn?t take long for me to learn how naive I was to downplay the realities of this developmental disability. Now that I know a bit better, I?d like to share a few things us parents?and our kids?really hope you can avoid saying.
1. ?He just needs to try harder.?

Or ??listen better.? Or ??concentrate more.? Or ??knuckle down.? Trying to will away ADHD is like trying to will your brown eyes green. I see firsthand every day how much effort my son has to put into simple things like pulling away from a tantalizing pile of Lego to perform a dull chore like putting on socks and pants. And yet, with the help of his strategies, he persists. As a teacher once told us: kids with ADHD can feel like they need to work ten times as hard as other kids?or harder?just to try and keep up.
2. ?That kid just needs some good old-fashioned parenting.?

Or along the same lines: “Give that kid a weekend in my house and I?ll whip him into shape.” Sigh. ...