My son was diagnosed with ADD with discalcula and dyslexia last year. New Zealand is nowhere near as sophisticated as U.S.
I am not sure what information to put down here. The bottomline is failure at school, increasing frustration on his part and reluctance to be different. He takes ritlin reluctantly. It does help, but it is his background mood, and his fear of risking another failure that scares me for him.
I’d like to hear about success stories and turnarounds with kids who seem similar. I’m new at this and have much to learn.
We have a good relationship with him. He is very close to his Father. He is also adopted and has that to deal with. He is also in a good counselling program which is focusing on making choices.
How can we focus on his strengths and build from them? We would send him to programs in the states if they checked out for us.
Re: HE WILL SURVIVE
he will succeed with positive praise, reinforcement and love! It is a challenge to raise a child with ADHD but a rewarding one. They always believe they are right, they always want answers, they always want to please their parents, peers and teachers, and they always do not understand that this is a common disability that can addressed to help them succeed!
I’m sure with the positive relationship he has with you and his father that he is better near you than far away. Could he be helped to be successful in school? Will his school make any allowances for his learning differences?
At age 16, he is almost done with secondary school. Is he required to attend school? Even here where you feel things are more sophisticated, it’s true that there are more than a few families who “homeschool” their children when they have learning differences as their children, like your son, become very unhappy in school.