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With this post I am stepping on 'hallowed" ground.
As a teacher myself, I know how we guard our profession. We teachers actually do know about learning and educating. We do know what we are doing and aiming to achieve. We want our class children to succeed. We are adventurous and work extremely hard.
I salute our teachers and am so grateful for the work they do in our children's lives.
Whenever I look at the teachers at our school, I am amazed at how very hard they work. It is an exhausting job with high demands. It is the kind of work that can consume and keep one up until all hours. I love teaching but more than that I absolutley want to burst when I see and experience children learning. That eurika or bingo moment is just priceless. I have learnt so much about teaching kids who are ADHD be simply having kids who are ADHD.
I see them... I get them... I understand.
Each year I visit the particular teacher of our darling ADHD son.
I do this to flag up some of our concerns and to discuss medication. He has to take his medication at school and so we need the teachers help.If I were to write a letter to my child's teacher about my ADHD child and all that I long for him or her to understand about my child being ADHD , I think it would say something like this.......
Dear Teacher
Today is the first day of the year you will spend with my son.
He is our very precious gift.
We love him more than we could ever express. We long for him to succeed at school this year.
He is ADHD.
I tell you this because I want you to help him and support him as he navigates all he has to learn this year.
We rely on you.
You are a vital part of the team who work with him.
We desperately need your help with feeding back vital information to us. If we change his meds- we need your feedback. If he is not concentrating or is shouting out a lot, we need your feedback.
If he is sad for any long period of time- please tell us!
Your role is vital.
If you do not fully understand ADHD then please ask , read and find out.
There are good talks about ADHD.
There are great web sites and information that can help you be a better teacher to our son and others just like him.
When he forgets stuff , please remeber that he will do this again.
When he shouts out, please be patient and remind him.
Give him space to calm down if he gets upset.
When he gets frustrated and things do not work - reasure him.
Know that he is trying his very best.
If you think he is disengaged from life, please let us know.
He might struggle with friends - please be warned.
ADHD kids can irritate.
Try new things- know that he will get bored with the mundane.
He will get in trouble. Please think about the kind of discipline you metre out on ADHD children. They need routine and they need order but please do not punish them for something that their brain's can simply not do or that their brains just do.
When he writes a test, please remind him of some of those things you think he has remembered - like get some scrap paper.
Write your name.
You can do it!!! ADHD children need to hear this all the time.
Know that he is not alone in your class and there are others, just like him.
Do not take anything personally but realise that ADHD is real, it exists it is in your classroom.
You can not shout or punish it away. Your knowledge of ADHD and your teaching skills around ADHD will make a difference in his life and in ours and in countless other children's lives.
We rely on you and we value you.
Please be in touch.
You are the one person who can feed back vital information.
You help us know if he is florishing or floundering; if he is engaged or disengaged ; if his meds are working; if he is learning. Please do not wait until the term is nearly up.
We anticipate some issues and are here to help. We are not over protective , over - active or naive.
Know that we are exhausted.
Know that we struggle, like you do , to think of new ways to engage and make the mundane seem fun.
Know that some days our child is exhausted.
His senses are overloaded and he is over stimulated.
Try and understand that on some days he just can not do anymore and so we have to leave sport and leave homework and do something that restores and rests- both his body and his mind.
Know that we are going to experiement with many new things and try and fail and try again.
Being a parent of an ADHD child id both exhilirating and petrifying.
Please do you best and know that we are 100 percent behind you.
We will be praying for you all the time.
And finally, ADHD is not a belief system or as a result of bad parenting. Please try and understand the things I tell you. Please read ! Please learn.
Thank you for the great effort and care you give our child.
We are eternally grateful.
One day he might say - remember Mrs ?
She really cared about me mom!!
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