Kids These Days

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One of the kids in my house is a classic super bright, extremely ADHD kid. While we've had some issues along the way, she has a team of adults, including family, teachers and psych professionals who understand what she is dealing with and want to help her, rather than punishing her. I look at this and I'm so glad she has it, and at the same time, I can't help but feel envious.

When I was a kid, if you were smart enough to get by, anything else you did was just acting out. No one talked about helping with your focus issues, they just chastised you for not paying attention. If you got good grades, you could get away with a lot, but also no one would acknowledge the ways that you were struggling. I was lucky. I did have some help from my mother in very informal ways, I had a few excellent teachers who helped where they could, and I figured out a lot of coping strategies on my own. 

Still, I have to wonder what it would have been like not to have to figure it all out for myself. It's not perfect, and things are still complicated. But wow, things really have gotten better.

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