How son’s daring behaviors turned into a book about his ADHD
My son’s actions have always been impulsive — and at times, daring. He’s cut his own hair without my permission. He’s grabbed shredded cheese off the salad bar in the grocery store and eaten it right there. He’s even tied a rope between a shelf in the garage and the back of his battery-powered ride-on, then drove out of the garage just to see what would happen. Needless to say, he had a lot of cleaning up to do.
In all of these instances, my son was old enough to know better. Yet, he still chose to take these and many other risks. At the time, I didn’t know that his risk-taking would one day be linked to his ADHD.
I was working on an ADHD study at Johns Hopkins University when my son was diagnosed. I discussed the diagnosis with a colleague — a psychiatrist specializing in helping children with ADHD. I hoped he could suggest resources for boys with ADHD. To my surprise, those resources were tricky to find.
Almost immediately, I saw the need for a book that helped parents and their boys with ADHD. My son was more than willing to work with me. Funny — I used to tease him about one day writing a book about his daring stunts.
So, I started to work on the book. I interviewed my son to learn more about his experiences with ADHD. His description of his ADHD brain being like “an overstuffed garbage can with a lid that doesn’t stay on and has garbage piling over it” was a powerful one that sticks with me to this day. My discussions with him were life-changing. They were helping me to become more understanding and a better parent. And for me, that was the ultimate goal.
Andrew’s Awesome Adventures With His ADHD Brain: Helping Children and Parents to Understand Inattentive-type ADHD was published in February 2022. It’s a two-part story where my son, Andrew, talks about life with ADHD, and I share my insights as a neuroscientist and mom.
I never set out for the book to receive the awards and reviews that it has, although the positive responses have been both nice and encouraging. But more satisfying for me was watching how the book changed my son. Andrew now openly discusses his ADHD with his friends and peers. He’s not ashamed of his learning difference, and he’s more confident than ever in his abilities.
I once asked Andrew if he was embarrassed about sharing his story with the world. To my relief, he told me no. He said he’s proud to share his story and to help kids like him. And that’s exactly what I wanted us to do.
