Definitely way behind on thus thread. Nothing much to say on my end, except I am fed up to HERE (imagine my hand at my forehead) with my son. He just DOESN’T LISTEN. I truly think he has adhd. So much so that I have set up an evaluation with his pediatrician. I know it will go nowhere, though, because he is not having problems in school. However, this year is like no other. He’s remote three days a week. During remote learning he is usually online for maybe half an hour, then sets off to finish his work on his own until the next class starts. Because he is so smart he finishes quickly, so he ends up having plenty of downtime. The absolute ideal situation for a child with ADHD not being required to sit and be concentrating for long periods of time. His in person days are the same because it has to remain consistent with the remote learning schedule. So in school he gets plenty of time to relax, chat with his friends, etc.

But at home...I mean it’s constant. Forgetting, losing things, distracted constantly unless I’m on top of him directing him, forgetting things we’ve said a million times. I can look directly at him and speak making eye contact and he can’t tell me what I just said. It’s not an attitude problem (though he has plenty of that too). It’s like he just functions differently from other kids. His brain is different.

Like when he doesn’t listen, which expresses itself as me telling him not to do something, him saying ok, and then doing it again a few minutes later...I know he’s not doing it to be a jerk. He literally forgot that fast.

So, I’m starting at the pediatrician, but because I’m not considering medication until/if it starts affecting him at school, I’m really just looking for a family therapist who specializes in adhd who can help us with his behaviors at home. I found a lot of good ideas on the internet but I myself am overwhelmed at the prospect of implementing them.

So the first thing I am going to do is set up a routine/schedule chart. I’m going to figure out what morning, afternoon, and evening routine should look like. I am going to give him a couple of essential chores that need to be done every day, such as putting his clothes in the laundry bin and picking up his toys from the floor. I think this will be a good start. Ease into it. I will also implement a reward system of some sort. I think a $10 apple gift card will be good, because I never let him buy games or add ons but he can if he has a gift card.

I’m going to try.