To Raise A Child

My son Adrian was born on July 6, 2007, seven years ahead of schedule and was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or ADD at three years old. I thought normalcy would be a challenge since I've hard that children with ADD would have a hard time focusing on learning aside from the burst of tantrums and hyper-acivity. I was only a bit surprised though, when the administrator of the special education school he attended last 2010 included him in the group education so that he'll get used to other kids around him. She said that my son is a very smart boy but he needed interaction with other children for so that his teacher will get to work on his social skills. My Adrian is the youngest child in our residential compound, the second youngest is my cousin who is already eleven years-old. Unfortunately, we also have no nearby parks where children can play and interact with one another, so school is the only place where he sees children around his age. Ian finished his school term with a certificate of recognition and a medal for Most Improved in Spelling.

                                                       

Two months of summer vacation passed and he was accepted at a nearby  private school called Smart Kids Montessori School. We've decided to enroll him there since we didn't have enough money to continue his studies and therapy at the special education. It was the same year that my Dad had to be confined three times. I was really worried because it's a mainstream school for normal kids and that my son might be bullied if the other kids found him too different. Although he passed an entrance exam for preparatory level, which is a level higher than kindergarten, I told the teachers I would be enrolling him for Kindergarten, since he hasn't experienced being taught with real school subjects like English and Math. I also thought that it would be difficult for him to learn but I was wrong. The day he took his entrance exam, the school principal also interviewed him alone. After a few minutes, the principal told me that Adrian is very good in reading and in writing and that we would be monitoring my son's behavior in school.
Months passed and the results for the first grading was posted. He had an 92.00 grade point average and ranked #4 for the honor roll competitors. His test scores range from 96%-100% among his five subjects. This second grading results which where released last January 8, 2013, my Adrian went from rank #4 to rank #2 with an average of 94.166 and test scores of three 100% (Science, Filipino and Computer subjects) and two 99% (Math and English).

Adrian is a smart little boy on his own. The ADD almost did not show during the time that he was in a normal school. People around him acknowledge his academic intelligence and he also made friends with the other kids in his class.
The fact is, I never treated my son as someone different from other kids. I disciplined him the same way everybody else disciplines their own children. People will label him differently but as a parent it is my job to make sure that he is my priority and that I teach him to prioritize also. I've never given my son any medication aside from his everyday vitamins. The teachers and administrator in that special school also did not recommend any drugs for him. No medication is needed for children who are lacking in attention but only their parents' love, understanding and guidance are definitely mandatory.  What they turn out to be when they grow up will show the future what kind of upbringing our sons and daughters had so love and cherish them always.