Trying to understand my 7 year old.

Any adults on here who have ADHD... can you explain how your mind works. I asked my son what does he feel when he is upset, he said "I just get upset and I can't stop". I want to know how he feels, what he thinks, what he feels so I can help.

[Mpeoples11192]

Hi Mom!

I don't have ADHD, but my 12 year old son does. We lived in California when he was diagnosed and I have nothing but praise for the doctors and clinicians that work together to diagnose and treat my son at age 6. The way that they explained it to me was that Attention Deficit, is actually a misnomer. People with ADHD are hyper sensitive to external stimuli. You know how we as adults can tune out a lot of the world in order to focus on certain things, kids in particular have the ability to hear EVERYTHING, from a fly buzzing to the sound of water flowing from the faucet in addition to whatever it is that you are saying to him. He cannot tune it out. In a classroom, he has the entire classes actions coming at him in addition to whatever the teacher says...it literally drives him crazy. His anger is more about overstimulation and his inability to cope with it rather than actual anger. My way of coping with the anger is to give him headphones and play calming music. I hope that this helps...Good luck and God Bless!

[Momof4blessings in reply to Mpeoples11192]

Yes! So well said. 😊

[Hidden in reply to Mpeoples11192]

Thank you

[Mpeoples11192 in reply to Hidden]

You are most welcome...keep the faith

[Momof4blessings]

My daughter has told me, after she has totally lost it, and then come back to reality, that sometimes she just feels "crazy inside." And I see her expression, confused and regretful of her actions, and it reminds me that she didn't choose this. She can't help how her brain reacts to all the stimuli around her. It gives me compassion for her in her tough times.

When she was in preschool, and failing constantly, she drew a picture of herself one day. It was a smiling face, very large, with a small body, much like any other 4 year old drawing....and then she took every color in her box and scribbled intensely all over the head and smiling face. It was a Webb of colors and craziness. We didn't have a diagnosis for her at this time. I came up and asked her what she was drawing. She said "that's me, mom." I sat and stared at it. I watched her continue to add more scribbles and more colors. On only the head. That drawing stands out in my memory, and gives me a peek into her little mind.

[Hidden in reply to Momof4blessings]

Thank you