Ten Things My Son Wants You to Know About his ADHD:

1. “You are stupid, lazy, crazy, clumsy, careless, etc.”

First, I want you to know that I am none of these things, not really. People with ADHD are more often than not, very intelligent. Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were very famous for their scientific theories and inventions, yet they had symptoms of ADHD and autism.

2. “You just don't think.”

I do think. In fact, I think a lot. My thoughts are like airplanes circling an airport, just going and going and unable to land. You know how sometimes you can't turn off your mind to fall asleep at night? I have that problem every night. In some ways its more of an ability than a disability because it means I have lots of ideas and that I am a creative problem solver.

3. “Lincoln, you need to be more responsible.”

I am responsible, but I may need help and I may struggle with finding school papers, books, and things that I need to organize my day. I will always have to learn strategies to help me focus and concentrate. I actually have to work very hard to be responsible.

4. “You are not normal.You are different.”

That depends on what is considered normal. What is normal for you, may not be normal for me. We all have things that we struggle with on a day to day basis. I am as normal as anyone who struggles with a problem or difficulty. Mine just happens to be ADHD. I can accomplish the same things anyone without ADHD can, but I may have to work harder.

5. “Stop that! You are annoying me.”

I don't deliberately try to annoy you. None of things I do – fidgeting, tapping my pencils, pulling apart or playing with erasers, tapping etc., are done deliberately to annoy you. Sometimes I don't really know I'm doing it at all. Sometimes I may do things that are strange, like tap you on the shoulder. Overall, I just want to be your friend and I want you to like me.

6. “Earth to Lincoln”

Sometimes I may not hear you because I'm thinking about other things or I have something on my mind. I also may not look you directly in the eye. It doesn't mean that I don't hear you; I'm just preoccupied at the moment. It takes me awhile to switch directions and move on to something else.

7. “Sit down!”

Movement is how I learn. In school, you are expected to sit and listen. But this goes against my very nature. I like to be outdoors exploring and seeking adventure. I can classify different insects, snakes, and spiders. These things do not scare me. In fact I'm curious about them and curious about the world around me. I may get up to sharpen my pencil a lot because I can get up and move around the room.

8. “You are bad.”

I may get in trouble a lot at school for things that I do and say, but that does not mean that I am bad. I don't do things to be defiant. As a person with ADHD, I can be very impulsive, sometimes 1 or 2 years behind someone my own age who does not have ADHD. God knows I'm not bad, and loves me the same way he loves everyone else. I am a kind person and a loyal friend who often gravitates to others who have some of the same issues.

9. “You are a liar.”

I'm not a liar. I like to tell stories and sometimes I exaggerate or embellish them to make them more exiting. To me, I'm telling the truth. Sometimes, you may want to ask me, “Did that really happen?” Once I start talking about something that I'm excited about, I usually can't stop. Even if you interrupt me or walk away from me I will just continue talking until I'm finished. There may be times you may not want to listen to one of my stories and get bored or disinterested. I cannot always tell if you're annoyed. Please let me know that you would like me to stop.

10. “You don't even try”

I try very hard every day. I have to try very hard to concentrate, to do my schoolwork, and to be organized. I have to try very hard to keep track of everything. Sometimes I try so hard that I mess up even worse. Trying is a part my life every single day.

Your Home The Hazardous Waste Dump.

Hazardous Waste Dump.

It just might be your home.

One hell of a title! In most homes, it is absolutely true. We live in a hazardous waste dump and most don’t even know it. This has been going on for years and years; we bring home products from the store that we use every day - for cleaning our homes or doing laundry and we have no idea that we are slowly poisoning ourselves and our families.

Why are we poisoning ourselves? Why would we take the risk? So we use these products to keep our homes free from viruses, bacteria, and anything else that can make us sick, but yet over time, these products can be the very cause of our illnesses. But how can this be? How are the very elements that are supposed to keep us heathy, at the same time, be harmful to our health? You may not like the answer to this question but the truth must be revealed.

We live in a country that is in the midst of chemical warfare and most don’t even know anything about it the products we use each and every day like cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, shampoo, air fresheners, hand soaps, and the list goes on.

One example of a toxic substance used frequently is bleach, a laundry room staple. For decades, customers have mistakenly equated chorine bleach with the words like “clean” and “safe,” but the reality is far from it. The bottle of chlorine bleach in your laundry room, may contain something far more sinister than a simple germ killer. (Leadership in Action, December 2013). We all know that bleach contains chlorine, right? In WW1, the Germans released chorine gas on their enemies- marking the first full-scale deployment of deadly chemical weapons (Leadership in action December 2013). A lovely little thought isn't it? So as we walk down the cleaning supply isle in our local supermarket, and as we take a big deep breath, we inhale all of the chemicals that are in those cleaning products. That chemical smell is known as outgassing. Do you honestly think that those chemicals are going to stay in those nice airtight containers? Nope. They are leaking out of those bottles at a surprising rate and going into your lungs and vital organs. Just think about that the next time you walk through that isle of cleaning products!

Medical studies have revealed that chlorine bleach specifically aggravates the membranes in the lower respiratory system, causing shortness of breath and wheezing. And studies also show that a person with asthma who cleans in there home with chlorine bleach once a day will have a 5% increase in asthma attacks in a year (Leadership in Action, December 2013). So are you willing to wash your asthmatic or allergic child's clothing in bleach after learning this important tidbit? I would bet not.

Ok...this part is particularly important. Even though all these products are contained in glass or plastics, we bring them home and the same outgassing is happening in our homes. No matter where your cleaning products are stored, outgassing is happening every second, and each and every day we breath in these chemicals. Little by little, these chemicals gradually build up in our systems. Anyone that cleans in there home twice a day will quadruple this figure- they will experience 28% more asthma attacks. These are just adult statistics. Think of your children who are in the house also; they are breathing the same air. If your child is asthmatic or allergic, they are in trouble (Leadership in Action, December 2013).

Chorine Bleach is only just the tip of the iceberg; it is used in a lot of other products. Just go and read the labels of your favorite products and google those chemicals, but be prepared, your findings may shock you. There is an infinite amount of information on Hazardous wastes in your home, which I will post in a later blog. I don’t want to overwhelm you and I want you to think about this for a while.

So If you have any questions I would love to hear from you please email me at tdgogolin@gmail.com.

Live long, healthy and prosper.

Tad Gogolin

Just a Tad Healthier