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adhd
January 2009 
Report Card Day
Posted on Dec 12th, 2008
by 
Laura
Laura
My son is in his first year of high school.
Yesterday was report card day.
I arrived home to find a morose teen slouched on the couch.
We had plenty of forewarning that this wasn't going to be a stellar review of academic achievement, but actually reading through the remarks and seeing the failing marks brought both of us to a new low point.
Maxx is designated within the public school system as a gifted/learning disabled student. I was also one of those, although not identified as LD - just seen by the system as an underachieving gifted student.
During the past several years I've tried to understand how the school system can acommodate students who are challenged by attention deficit, and am still struggling with finding a clear pathway through the maze.
All his teachers know he's ADHD, and yet they continue to write, "needs to focus more" and "is easily distracted" on his report card.
Sigh....even I find myself repeating those dreaded phrases, in frustration and exhausted by trying to corral my son's irrepressible, but rarely directed energy.
He did get an A in drama :)
Hmmmm......wonder if I can find him an agent?
So - we cried, we both yelled out our frustration, we made commitments to one another about what's next, and then we made dinner together, laughed together as we played a game cleaning up the kitchen.
Today I'll contact the teachers of the classes he's failing, and try to navigate the system, figuring out new ways of supporting my amazing son in becoming more self-responsible, more confident of his abilities, and in finding his own path within this wonderful, yet often challenging journey of education.
Access: Public
My heart goes out to you both Ariela… I am dyslexic and so is my son who is now 30 years old. We had some tough years when he was in school. Asked me how old he had to be to quit when he was in grade three. He made it three weeks past his sixteenth birthday in March. However, he went back on his own terms 4 months later and made it through grade 12 minus one exam for one course - which he takes great pride now in telling everyone that he has been successful without graduating. He is an awesome musician and finishing carpenter working on high-end homes. He is very intelligent and follows his heart to wonderful places.