Am I in the Twilight zone?

[Linda]

And I'm not even blonde

[misty]

Heres an interesting article on Teens with ADHD:

If you know anyone who would benefit from reading

add adhd advances online journal

Please forward this to them.

Understanding The ADHD Affected Teenager

by Tobias Higgens


Teenagers usually represent a challenge not only for the child
in transition, but also for his parents. The ones affected by
ADHD are much more difficult to handle, because of the increased
difficulty they have regarding peer-pressure, the risk of failure
in certain areas, a bad opinion on themselves.

The things that are not allowed seem more and more tempting, such
as alcohol, sex or drugs, and they are regardless of the consequences.
A constant need to break the familiar rules takes over them,
which drives to confusion from both them and their parents.

The last ones have at first a feeling of relaxation,
generated by the ending of early school years ,but new
times bring new problems. Even if, until then, the
child constantly got professional help and
evaluation, the new period demands accurate re-examination.

Communication gains more importance now, because, at this
point, rules are more easily understood and followed, or at
least, they should be .The child should get from his parents the
explanation for certain rules he cannot or will not understand.

Charts posted in a familiar place, as the kitchen, containing
certain principles or rules concerning domestic life, school and
social aspects. It should also contain domestic tasks assessed
to the child.

The violation of rules (which will most certainly take
place), should be handled by the parent with calm and
self-control; punishment becomes necessary, but even in the case
of teen-agers, a break might be useful .ADHD brings often
impulsive and rebellious behavior .But they only need a little
space.

The frequent going-outs are frequent for teen-agers, and, at one
point, they will be needing a car. The parent should listen to
the demanding child, motivate their choice or establish
conditions. Compromise, communication and availability are
crucial for the relationship.

Teenagers and Their "Need" For a Car
About the age of 15,most teenagers start talking about their
need for a car. It is encountered more often in boys, but the
girls also desire to drive. But statistics are enough to
generate terror.

Six years ago, 18 percent of people that died in car accidents were
teenagers. 16 is considered the most dangerous driving age. And,
of course, the more exposed to this tragic events are young people
with ADHD (about 4 times more).

There are also these young people that mostly excess speed. Although
many states allow driving-license at the age of16,maximum
caution is required.

In order to prevent the repetition of such tragedies, some
countries adopted GDL, the graduation of a driving system, to get
the license. This systems follows gradually different degrees of
difficulty for new drivers and was developed by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American
Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

It is divided into three points: learner, intermediate and
full licensed stages for drivers. The drivers have to
prove themselves responsible in traffic at every level,
before achieving the next one; as a precaution,
beginners should constantly be accompanied in the car by an
adult that has a license, giving them also the possibility
to practice and improve their driving.

By constant driving, the teenager's skills will be improved.
In the end, the satisfaction of the ADHD young driver
will be much greater than the effort.

[lostmyshoe]

Thanks so much for the marvelous article Misty. I am a little nervous about Becca driving and was so glad to get that information. Glad to hear Shannon is being so helpful. I feel like I've been in the twilight zone since Becca was around 10. The ups and downs have been pretty extreme at times but gradually she has really calmed down. I don't know if Becca will ever do anything voluntarily but one can only hope. Her B-day is coming up soon too. What date is Shannon's. Becca's is the 22nd. She'll be 13 too and going into 8th Grade. I can't believe it, already. If she all of a sudden starts doing nice things for no reason, I'll know for sure something is up, LOL. The nastiness does seem to be reversing though, so Mom's with moody teens there is hope.

[misty]

Shannon's is the 19th, Losty. I kept her in Kindergarten 2 years so she's just going into 7th now. She just took invitations to school today for a small swim/pizza party on the 20th with a few friends. I hope the weather turns out that day.

[John]

misty said:

I hope the weather turns out that day.

Dawn, I can guarantee you that the weather Will turn out and I'll even throw in a MoneY Back Guarantee at No Extra Charge !