Uncommon Kids, Uncommon Gifts: ADHD and Your Child

The joys of welcoming a child bring with it a world of unexpected elements. Parents imagine that our bundle of joy will stretch and test us in different ways, but it isn’t often what we expect about parenting that disrupts our lives. Rather, what pitches us off-balance tends to be what we think we should have known and where we feel ill-prepared, things such as ADHD.

It may seem easier to offer another mom or dad encouragement, yet feel disconnected from being able to embrace the unexpected in our parenting journey. Although the gap between our expectations and experiences has the potential to frustrate us, it can also reveal the uncommon blessing we didn’t know we needed.

Our children are unique gifts, though the adversary attempts to persuade us otherwise. It is not useful for us to blame ourselves or internalize shame about learning that our child has a diagnosis that we didn’t foresee. (CHADD)

Although research suggests that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is hereditary, ADHD doesn’t define our child’s gifts and divine potential. God defines this, and He charged us with oversight for their well-being. Whether we adopted or gave birth, our Father trusted us, as His children, to shape and influence the young ones He placed in our care.

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. – Psalm 127:3, NASB

Our responsibility, as parents, is to seek the Lord’s counsel for everything, including how to partner with the Father concerning our families. Scripture encourages us to bring our children up in keeping with the natural aptitude and ability the Almighty placed within them. Learning to recalibrate our lives considering the reality of ADHD can feel disruptive, but it can introduce an opportunity to experience fresh insight and joy as we live with the Holy Spirit.

None of what we face surprises God. He is willing to help us and teach us what we need to learn and grow in His grace.

Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it. –Proverbs 22:6, NASB

Resetting our perspective may help us to embrace our journey as a discovery process. Where we lack patience or useful tools, we can gather support from a variety of sources, including counselors and community groups.

Other parents have been where we are. We may also encounter some who need what we have already learned. Through the exchange, that is, giving and receiving, God furnishes strength and support, for us and our children to embrace camaraderie, counsel, and community that helps us along our path.

We have a God and Father who loves us beyond our capacity to comprehend. The same way He feels about us also reflects His Heart of mercy and compassion toward our child with ADHD. It can seem overwhelming and frustrating for childcare workers, educators, babysitters, or other family members who may not have the experience or the specialized education and training to respond to our sons and daughters.

Sometimes, we may internalize a child’s behavior as a poor reflection of us. Instead, we can embrace this as another encounter in which the Lord is introducing us to another facet of Himself and His fatherly care for us.

We don’t have to perseverate on what we think we did wrong. We aren’t being punished. Instead of perceiving our child’s ADHD diagnosis as negative, we can invite the Lord to show us His grace and unwrap the gift of our son or daughter.

God will guide us through what we might not understand, pointing the way to resources that will support our development as parents and as His dear children. When we ask, the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom in setting up our homes, revising our schedules, and making connections that will support us and the children we love.

Help for children with ADHD

It is a learning process to joyfully embrace circumstances that would otherwise challenge and frustrate. The ADHD diagnosis may reflect a need to engage your child creatively through your approaches to school and household activity.

You may need to offset overstimulation and provide opportunities for them to learn and express themselves. You don’t have to view this through a lens of drudgery as your child is more than a collection of symptoms and a category of behaviors.

Survey the resources on this site and schedule time with a professional counselor. You will gather the support, strategies, and personalized solutions to explore and engage the uncommon gift of your uncommon kid.