My hat is off to all you ADDers who were wise enough to partner up with someone whose brain complimented yours rather than mirrored it -- who went for the consistent, organized, punctual type instead of the exciting, uninhibited, dreamer type. Well, what's done is done -- with nearing 20 years of erratic, unpredictable, but never boring history together! We of course complicated the picture by adding one (and probably two) ADD kids to the mix.:eyebrow:

Now, who is suppose to organize this bunch and keep everyone on track? Me of course! I know that's pretty much always been a mother's job, but how are you suppose to do that when it takes everything you have just to keep yourself on track?:confused:

Amazingly enough the kids are the least of it even though I'm homeschooling. I'm getting ready to return home and this is what I'm going to be facing. We're remodeling (see down to bare floor) in our family room and laundry (wiring, plumbing, painting, tiling, knocking out a partial wall, etc.); we're applying for a grant to help with husband's education; we're trying to figure out insurance and how to pay multiple recent medical bills; and my dyslexic "I can't type" husband just informed me that on top of his full time work he sighed up for 5 on line classes this term (guess who gets to type them?!?):eek: . These things are on top of the chaos we normally create in just trying to find and pay the bills on time, keep track of our keys and wallets, and leave a path open through the house.

I know to someone else this might not seem like a lot -- but to me it feels overwhelming, because most of it will be done at the last minute without enough time, preparation or patience to do it in anything but a "Hail Mary!" way. Did I mention that when I'm stressed my AD/HD brain hits the off button and I'm doing well to remember my name?:faint:

Okay, I'm done whining for the moment -- but no promises for the future!:p

Scattered

Bless you Scattered.Best wishes to you always.

Thanks Brandilyn,

I'm feeling a lot better -- just kind of needed to vent I guess. I'm a little chagrined about complaining.:o Red tape and paperwork are major stressors for me. I've decided I'll just do the best I can and let it go at that. Things have a way of working out. I just have to handle one challenge at a time and not expect myself to know everything or handle everything perfectly. I don't have to look far to see people who have real problems to deal with (IE: Katrina's victims) and remind myself how blessed I am that my family is safe and healthy and enjoying all the ordinary things we take for granted each day.

Scattered

Venting is good!

But if I were you, I'd let hubby type his own durned papers. Maybe proof them if he behaved very well! ;)

-Ryan

Venting is good!

But if I were you, I'd let hubby type his own durned papers. Maybe proof them if he behaved very well! ;)

-RyanI wish that was an option -- but he really can't type. He's not faking it. His typing teacher said she'd never seen anyone try has hard as he did, but he couldn't ever get it. His dyslexia is just too severe -- it takes him about an hour to type an incomprehensible paragraph. But insisting he behave well sounds good to me!:)

Scattered

I wish that was an option -- but he really can't type. He's not faking it. His typing teacher said she'd never seen anyone try has hard as he did, but he couldn't ever get it. His dyslexia is just too severe -- it takes him about an hour to type an incomprehensible paragraph. But insisting he behave well sounds good to me!:)
Have you looked at voice recognition software -- like Dragon NaturallySpeaking?

Scattered, we should whine together sometime.
My husband and I both have ADD and two of my sons are diagnosed also. The other two I am not sure about. My husband is the only one not on meds.
I'm pretty dyslexic and he is a bit OCD...and I know I would have a major burnout if I ever tried homeschooling. So my hat goes off to you! :D

I looked at the coffee maker this morning like it was a foreign object....kind of ADD for someone who drinks three cups a day!

Whine away, girl. I'm listening!

~gourmet~

I have dyslexia also and it does take me forever to type butttttt practice does make better well at least ledgable....the voice reconition things sounds good but I could never afford it...and Gary types slower than I do butttt he does sppell the words correctly (except the ones he asked me how to smell uhhhhh spell).

I would limit the number of classes I typed for or do a "chore exchange" like him getting kids off to bed in exchange.for typing assignmet ....I also type some of the longer more educational stuff up in word to at least I know which words are mis-spelled!!!

Believe it or not dyslexiacs acually made it through school before computers/spell checkers we hired high school kids with good spelling and needing some extra cash......oh yea and could type.....

One day ohh one hour at a time!!!!

I was Diagnosed with ADHD August this year and i was put on Strattera, which sadly wasn't suitable..It made me quite ill!

But up until August, i had the stresses and strains of raising Children, without medication and it's not easy!
3 of my 5 children are Diagnosed with ADHD and Conducts Disorder!
My youngest is 5 years old and i'm trying to get him diagnosed with ADHD too... as I know, He has it, but Child psychiatrist, keeps saying he is just a very active healthy child.. yeh right.. she said that, after seeing him once in her office for 10 minutes!!!

I have an only daughter, who, shows signs of ADD(without Hyperactivity), but now with the inset of puberty, i can see her as ADHD.

The household is Noisy most of the time... 4 Boys is noisy enough without the extra ADHD & Conducts Disorder bit.

I'm a single parent, with no outside support.. No One to babysit (No one will), so i don't go out to socialize!
I have No respite from the day to day stresses and strains of trying to deal with these Special Children... All with Low self esteems and All with Learning Difficulties!
I a single Mother who suffers with Chronic Depression and has un-medicated diagnosed ADHD ; I'm the only person, my kids trust and rely on.. for their food..Clothes...Love... help... etc etc... and i'm truely tired!..exausted!!

Day in, day out, the same routine.. Children wake up.. they fight.. 16 year old, is a bully!
The children never seem to get things done, without me having to get stressed first.

I hate waking up of a Morning..
Knowing that the first difficulty is my 10 year old son.. he puts me through loads of Grief... copied by my Hyper child son of 5 years ... Day dreaming Daughter, who has 'a go' at anyone that comes anywhere near her or her bedroom door!.. My 16 year old son, that bullies everyone in the house, including Me!
And then there's the 14 year old son, who is so low, that he has Depression, on top of his ADHD and Conducts Disorder ; He is a lovely lad, but drives me Bonkers!

My husband a Non-ADDer walked out on Us all 3+ years ago, as he couldn't handle it all!!!
Only the youngest child is his, but he's had no contact with him, for over 3 years! (His choosing)
We are now Divorced and he has re-married a woman with less children, but one has ADHD lol

So what is going to make my life better?
Sell the kids on ebay? No!!!

But the Doctor giving me a Medication that suits me, to help me deal with my own problems and those of the childrens...Will be just what i need!
As i said at the begining of this post, i was on Strattera, but it made me very ill...
Strattera, doesn't have that effect on everyone ; We may all have AD/HD, but we are all individuals and some med's work for some ADDers and other Med's work for others.
My Children take Concerta and it works great on them..
I'm hoping, that now i've been weaned off Strattera, that the Psychiatrist will try me on Concerta.

Karen:)

Scattered, we should whine together sometime.
My husband and I both have ADD and two of my sons are diagnosed also. The other two I am not sure about. Four children -- oh my -- that's complicated even when there isn't any ADD involved! We do need to whine together -- how do you juggle 4? :faint: My husband is the only one not on meds. I'm pretty dyslexic and he is a bit OCD...and I know I would have a major burnout if I ever tried homeschooling. So my hat goes off to you! :DI did have major burnout -- that's how I got on meds in the first place!;) So far this year with medication, things have been going a lot better -- I need to at least get my daughter (who is also dyslexic) up to speed before putting her in a regular classroom -- since I pretty much screwed up her first grade year.

I looked at the coffee maker this morning like it was a foreign object....kind of ADD for someone who drinks three cups a day!
I have those kinds of mornings -- especially before I get my meds on board.

Whine away, girl. I'm listening!

~gourmet~Thanks gourmet! You made me smile this morning:D . A little empathy goes a long way! You know I actually wrote the Hallowell Center once and they responded right away. I asked for advice in dealing with a whole house full of ADDers -- they wrote back "EEK!" No kidding! They also gave me resources to contact Dr. Hallowell personally if I had specific questions or one of their coaches. They also said they were considering a book on that very topic and might contact me for stories -- I'll bet you have a few you could contribute! Most of the stuff you read gives advice on how a non-ADDer and and ADDer can make it -- not on how to manage when you have no one with those organizational, time keeping, finish the job skills in your family.

You take care! Hope you got the coffee figured out or made a run on Starbucks!

Scattered

I was Diagnosed with ADHD August this year and i was put on Strattera, which sadly wasn't suitable..It made me quite ill!

But up until August, i had the stresses and strains of raising Children, without medication and it's not easy!
3 of my 5 children are Diagnosed with ADHD and Conducts Disorder!
My youngest is 5 years old and i'm trying to get him diagnosed with ADHD too... as I know, He has it, but Child psychiatrist, keeps saying he is just a very active healthy child.. yeh right.. she said that, after seeing him once in her office for 10 minutes!!!No it's not easy at all -- you really have your hands full. It also sounds extremely frustrating with the child psychiatrist -- as if you wouldn't know what AD/HD looked like after living with 3 kids who have it and dealing with it yourself.
I have an only daughter, who, shows signs of ADD(without Hyperactivity), but now with the inset of puberty, i can see her as ADHD.

The household is Noisy most of the time... 4 Boys is noisy enough without the extra ADHD & Conducts Disorder bit.

I'm a single parent, with no outside support.. No One to babysit (No one will), so i don't go out to socialize!
I have No respite from the day to day stresses and strains of trying to deal with these Special Children... All with Low self esteems and All with Learning Difficulties!
I a single Mother who suffers with Chronic Depression and has un-medicated diagnosed ADHD ; I'm the only person, my kids trust and rely on.. for their food..Clothes...Love... help... etc etc... and i'm truely tired!..exausted!!Wow, my heart goes out to you. Like you said 4 boys are noisy enough without ADD and CD, plus a dreamy daughter to boot. When we moved we couldn't find a baby sitter for 2 years, so I had my two constantly, but at least their dad was there to spot me sometimes -- I hope you give yourself full credit for what you're doing all by yourself with 5 kids. Of course you're tired and exhausted -- you really need and deserve support! Your kids are lucky that you are so commited to their well being.
My Children take Concerta and it works great on them..
I'm hoping, that now i've been weaned off Strattera, that the Psychiatrist will try me on Concerta.

Karen:)I take Concerta and it's helped me a lot. Since it works for your kids, in seems like theres a good chance it'll help you as well. Small wonder you've had to deal with depression -- you've got a load that would crush most people. I don't have much in the way of answers (obviously still looking for those myself), but anytime you need a place to vent or just a bit of empathy or encouragement -- I'm here!

Scattered:)

Have you looked at voice recognition software -- like Dragon NaturallySpeaking?We've discussed it but never taken action on it. It's a really good idea actually. Since he is taking soooooo many classes this term, I think I'll bring up the subject again. Might really reduce the stress in our family and be worth the bucks!

Thanks!
Scattered

I have dyslexia also and it does take me forever to type butttttt practice does make better well at least ledgable....the voice reconition things sounds good but I could never afford it...and Gary types slower than I do butttt he does sppell the words correctly (except the ones he asked me how to smell uhhhhh spell). Money's been our issue too with buying a voice recognition program, but if it keeps us from tearing our family apart with stress maybe we should shop around some.

I would limit the number of classes I typed for or do a "chore exchange" like him getting kids off to bed in exchange.for typing assignmet ....I also type some of the longer more educational stuff up in word to at least I know which words are mis-spelled!!!The chore exchange is a good idea. He already signed up for the classes while I was gone, but I'm going to set limits on how much time and sleep I'm willing to spend on his homework. My functioning even on meds gets pretty abysmal (sp) when I'm too tired or stressed. I may also ask him to write them down long hand. He likes to dictate to me, but being ADD myself, I miss words and even phrases. Since he's ADD he looses his train of thought if I ask him to repeat something, so it can cause a lot of stress. Believe it or not dyslexiacs acually made it through school before computers/spell checkers we hired high school kids with good spelling and needing some extra cash......oh yea and could type.....Welllllll, kind of! You can't imagine how many classes he dropped or failed before we got a computer.

One day ohh one hour at a time!!!!Yep, that's definately the way it's got to be! Thanks for the feedback!

Scattered