I work in a school for children in the third to fifth grades. As one of the school psychologists I spend a lot of my time evaluating those children and developing behavior plans for them. However, it is my position that very little in life and in school are without any good to them. Yes, the children we develop behavior plans for are difficult to teach and to manage in the classroom. Yes, they would learn more if they could focus better. Still I sometimes think about what we would all miss if these children were not among us.
I think about the girl, now a fifth grader, who I have known since she was in the third grade. She is still very intense, it is still very difficult for her to wait to respond, interject, or otherwise give her opinion/thoughts/ideas. I still have to remind her to wait her turn in social skills group. Still, last week I saw this girl with a large box of rocks showing them all to her fourth grade teacher. She knew the names of each rock, where she had found the ones that were natural, where she had acquired the ones that were polished. What is always the first thing noted about this young woman is her energy and enthusiasm about those things that interest her—and she is awash with interests. She loves to dress girly, play with “Webkins” on her computer, observe and take notes on frogs in the lake near her house, look at things in a microscope, and explore the natural world in other ways. Her energy and focus are both intense and grand. While medication is necessary for her to manage the classroom and social worlds at all, it, thankfully, doesn’t dampen her enthusiasms and passion.
I also find that many of the high energy children who are ADHD provide needed levity, energy, and challenge to all that come into contact with them. Their teachers, parents, and peers all have to be at the top of their game to deal with them. I remember a parent in an article in the New York Times saying that bring up typical children is like driving a car, but that raising children with ADHD is like driving a Mack truck—you need a special license and extra lessons to do so. I would add, and you have learned a useful skill and another way to maneuver around the world.
