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My two children have special needs, in that they both have ADHD, my daughter has sensory/tactile and motor issues (she's 4), and my six year old son has Asbergers, though not as severe as some cases. He is very obssessive-compulsive, poor impulse control (throwing, hitting), falls apart screaming if something gets in the way of his obssessions. They both take 3 medications, which I hated to do, but they were not functional . Normal styles of discipline do not work with my children, or with other children with special needs. We have to have a specialist come in for behavioral therepy to our home. Now I must find a full time job, and feel I won't be here enough for them. They're in  a good school, but they don't like long days. I get so concerned about them and it is hard not to feel guilty.

Collette says ...

My two children have special needs, in that they both have ADHD, my daughter has sensory/tactile and motor issues (she's 4), and my six year old son has Asbergers, though not as severe as some cases. He is very obssessive-compulsive, poor impulse control (throwing, hitting), falls apart screaming if something gets in the way of his obssessions. They both take 3 medications, which I hated to do, but they were not functional . Normal styles of discipline do not work with my children, or with other children with special needs. We have to have a specialist come in for behavioral therepy to our home. Now I must find a full time job, and feel I won't be here enough for them. They're in  a good school, but they don't like long days. I get so concerned about them and it is hard not to feel guilty.

Collette, you are the perfect candidate for direct sales, or network marketing.  It would give you flexibility in you work hours.  There is also the possibily of starting your own business from home.  There are several of us here that work from home   Just let us know and we'll do what we can to help.

I would also suggest the book "The Cash Machine" by Loral Langemeier.

 I'm also ADHD. Dealing with it is not easy from time to time, but there are lots of ways to do it without medicine. I learnt to control mine through discipline, hard work, and "motivation" from my martial arts instructor. My family was very supportive of me, thus they did what they could to help me learn to deal with and control my ADHD. 

One thing that I've been taught is that many children are improperly diagnosed with ADHD. It has been the focus of many, many studies here in America as well as in the UK. Work with the kids to try to help them work with it instead of just giving them medicine. I found that when I was on medicine, it was horrible. I felt sick all the time, which made me feel like I couldn't be a kid. 

One of the many things that the schools did for me was put me into martial arts class every day. I was able to run and work out my energy in the morning, then I could pay attention to about half of my classes, as long as they were interesting enough. If I felt the need to move about, I was allowed to. They don't let you do that here in American schools, but they did in my British boarding school. 

Besides a lot of structured activity, I started meditating at the age of 6. It was simple stuff like trying to control my breath. My sensei made it a game for my six-year-old brain. "Count your breaths and try to breathe in for four counts and out for four counts". I still do that when I feel the need to just fly about. 

These are probably the best things that my sensei did for me. I recommend that you try to find some sort of activity that they can enjoy and do, such as dance, martial arts, swimming, etc. Structure and fun is important for developing the skills needed for them later in life.