OCD

Years ago, one of my sons complained that he lost points on his math grade not because he provided wrong answers, but because he regularly failed weekly binder checks. His teacher was trying to help her students develop organizational skills by requiring tidy binders, with all assignments, notes and tests kept neatly in date order. But my son was the kid whose backpack, locker, and bedroom were more akin to a trash heap than a well-ordered binder. Sure, his teacher was right to instruct her students on the importance of organization, but she didn’t consider that students with ADHD – and even some who do not have ADHD – struggle mightily with executive function skills like organization. Just asking her students to be neat would not help those whose brains are wired differently. And ADHD brains are wired differently.

When one of my sons was very young and just starting school, he struggled … a lot. As a playful and friendly elementary school boy with ADHD and dyslexia, he couldn’t get the knack of sitting at a desk and reading quietly. Even harder than the constant classroom reprimand and redirection was the image he had of his brothers, who all seemed successful where he struggled. One night, he asked me tearily if perhaps he was adopted. He couldn’t possibly be related to the smart, disciplined boys he admired so reverently.