ESL teacher with Adult ADD (and parent of an ADD child): resources; experiences; concerns; and thoughts.

A little over a week ago my son had an accident with a fishing pole.  True to his creative nature, he was playing with a pole, in the back yard.  He was pretending to have a fish on and had the pole bent away from him.  The pole slipped and came back and slapped him directly in the eyeball. 

I will spare you the gruesome details.  However I have to say his eye is alright, just shards of pole in the skin of the eyeball…It was his dominant eye so he couldn’t keep the ‘good’ eye open very well.  The first few days this made him ‘blind’.  He needed help getting around.

This post is about what we discovered about an ADD person losing his sight (temporarily) in an ADD home (cluttered) and what happens. 

In the midst of the pain and ER visits and anguish, we found something to make us laugh and keep us occupied (composing this post). 

• We discovered that attention to detail is definitely a problem.

I was amazed to find out my son could not navigate the house by himself.  We have lived in the house for at least 4 years.  You would think he knew where the doorways, refridgerator, bathroom where.  He walked into the first two trying to get to the last.  He had to be led everywhere.  He never once put his hands out to protect/feel his way around.

• We discovered that there should be a new saying; instead of ‘the blind leading the blind’ it should be ‘the ADD leading the ADD’ . 

His Daddy was leading him through the house and walked him into the kitchen door frame.  The frame has never moved so it didn’t just jump out into my son’s way.  The inattention to detail is what got them.

• We discovered that very detailed directions needed to be given for simple acts like sitting down.

When walked up to a chair doesn’t everyone turn 1/2 way around and sit down?  Not my child.  That concept was diffecult.  When told to turn around he would turn 1/4 turn of just past 1/2 way and miss the chair.  When directed with hands – well ‘nightmare’ is the only word.

• We discovered how trecherous a cluttered house can be.

Someone, after cleaning off the kitchen table after dinner, forgot to put the  kitchen garbage can back and left it in the walkway to the bathroom and bedrooms.  Crash! 

The clutter on the coffee table was knocked off regularly. 

Shoes left all over where hazardous.  Not to mention all the other pitfals a very ADD family leave everywhere.  He could not sleep in his bed the first couple of nights because there was no walking blind into his room.

We praise God that his ‘blindness’ was temporary and that his eye has recovered to 20/25 vision.  But can’t help but wonder if the carbon fiber shards left in his eye will sparkle under a disco ball or glow in black light?  There could be a character from Heroes someplace in this story……