What Some call ADHD, I Call the Joy- Bringer

I love the idea of redefining the labels the world gives our children. I am on a quest not just to change the way we see our unique differences, but how to embrace them and to celebrate our gifts and strengths that we each bring to the world.

ADHD is a term overly used for every person that moves too quickly or appears inattentive in a learning setting. As a teacher of Special Education, I left my career out of frustration due to the negative impact I saw in children who were made to feel “not normal,” (a quote my 6th grade student gave me when describing himself to me).

I want the world to see there is another way to think about children diagnosed and undiagnosed with ADHD; I call them Spontaneous Learners, and there is a good-reason-why. Inattentiveness in learning usually the first sign parents and teachers may wonder if there may be a need for interventions and a specific label. Some traits of inattentiveness may include; missing details, short attention span, poor listening skills, lack of follow through, disorganized, apathy toward tasks, losing track of important items, forgetfulness, easily distracted, and daydreaming. All this may be true, yet we sometimes forget to mention the positive traits of our Spontaneous Learners such as, deeply focused, joy bringers, creative, inventive, caring and curious. Am I right?

When I am told a child has been diagnosed with ADHD, I start first with learning more about them. What are the gifts that they have? What are their talents and strengths? How do they approach new situations like school work or taking tests? What are their interests and natural motivators? What is their learning story? Are they feeling bored in the classroom or restless? Needless to say, these are the questions we should be asking because every child deserves more than a label that defines them with one acronym. If we just think they have ADHD, then there is the temptation to miss the person with their unique gifts and new way of learning, which I like to call, “Out of the Box Learning.” Sadly I have worked with many children diagnosed with the ADHD label and have seen the negative impact it has had on their confidence and learning experiences.

In my work as a certified SPED teacher with a Masters Degree in Special Education and now a homeschool success coach, I have experienced now in my coaching practice the breakthroughs families are having when they discover their child’s learning strengths, unique learning styles and natural gifts through our online strengths based learning assessment and hands on strategic coaching. I have witnessed that when a child learns what their natural strengths are, they become more secure to approach whole hearted learning again and the parents learn too, to see their child with new eyes and curiously, often, for the very first time.

Warmly, Dawn Jackson