It was a pleasure reading this. It brought to life for me a dynamic in learning and growing up I have participated in but never really understood - this square pegging that society requires from the cylinders, triangles, ellipses we all are. I managed to get stuffed in but I was so busy coping I never groked the ones that "washed out". I probably thought they were the losers in the game of dog eat dog and paid little attention. Meanwhile, that was the Einstein and Curie pool. Like you say, your path with your son is not necessarily a prescription. There is a one up magic there that worked the way it went down. But I see now a way of coping well, thriving actually, I would have scoffed at in my youth. Thanks for bringing it to light.
I definitely felt some tears well up a few times listening/reading along to this. Super vulnerable, beautiful, and inspiring. Thanks for the ladder, Jonathan.
Well JB you made me cry in my cereal :) I have 3 adopted kids with ADHD and the parenting road can be so hard. Thanks for sharing your radical acceptance of what’s best for the individual child. A well told story, as always!
I struggled with ADHD too. I still have it now in my adulthood, but I've been told I don't need to take anything for it, because it's mild. My schooling wasn't what it should have been. But I discovered myself late in life.
This reading helped me plan for my future children. I want to give them a better situation than what I had, especially when it comes to learning.
I tried to comment in my browser but my attempt to merge my Substack account with the new email has been a total mess — probably my fault for making a typo in the initial attempt — and Substack seems not to think I exist anymore except in the app.
I’m not sure it’ll even take this comment.
Anyway, yay robot club! and a bunch of other thoughts I’m not gonna thumb-type out again. 🫠 Love you!
I literally cannot stop crying. Thank you for sharing this story. My son is turning 4 next week. He has a photographic memory. Was doing math when he was 2. Reads at a second grade level. My husband is definitely neurodivergent (undiagnosed and uninterested in being diagnosed) and clearly so is Lazer. We are trying to figure out what to do to support him in his brilliance and public school doesn’t feel like the right road. Thank you for your strength, your honesty, and your wisdom. You my peeps. Love you!
My non-academic, anecdotal opinion is that your child is the expert on themselves. You can trust them to tell you what they need or, at the very least, what they are missing. Psychoeducational testing and standardized tests are essential if you ever need to ask for help. I was able to find a psychologist who took our insurance. It wasn’t easy, but they are out there.
It was a pleasure reading this. It brought to life for me a dynamic in learning and growing up I have participated in but never really understood - this square pegging that society requires from the cylinders, triangles, ellipses we all are. I managed to get stuffed in but I was so busy coping I never groked the ones that "washed out". I probably thought they were the losers in the game of dog eat dog and paid little attention. Meanwhile, that was the Einstein and Curie pool. Like you say, your path with your son is not necessarily a prescription. There is a one up magic there that worked the way it went down. But I see now a way of coping well, thriving actually, I would have scoffed at in my youth. Thanks for bringing it to light.
It's good for all of us to hear from other people who didn't fit in. Sometimes it's hard to see that there's an alternative. Thanks for your insight.
I definitely felt some tears well up a few times listening/reading along to this. Super vulnerable, beautiful, and inspiring. Thanks for the ladder, Jonathan.
Well JB you made me cry in my cereal :) I have 3 adopted kids with ADHD and the parenting road can be so hard. Thanks for sharing your radical acceptance of what’s best for the individual child. A well told story, as always!
Thank you Ben. Much love to your children!
I struggled with ADHD too. I still have it now in my adulthood, but I've been told I don't need to take anything for it, because it's mild. My schooling wasn't what it should have been. But I discovered myself late in life.
This reading helped me plan for my future children. I want to give them a better situation than what I had, especially when it comes to learning.
Thanks for the ladder, JB ^_^
You’re a smart guy, Jonathan.
You saying that means so much to me!
Wow. Just wow. Thank you for this, and thank you for being a great dad. The world need more of them.
Thanks for reading, Bill.
I tried to comment in my browser but my attempt to merge my Substack account with the new email has been a total mess — probably my fault for making a typo in the initial attempt — and Substack seems not to think I exist anymore except in the app.
I’m not sure it’ll even take this comment.
Anyway, yay robot club! and a bunch of other thoughts I’m not gonna thumb-type out again. 🫠 Love you!
I literally cannot stop crying. Thank you for sharing this story. My son is turning 4 next week. He has a photographic memory. Was doing math when he was 2. Reads at a second grade level. My husband is definitely neurodivergent (undiagnosed and uninterested in being diagnosed) and clearly so is Lazer. We are trying to figure out what to do to support him in his brilliance and public school doesn’t feel like the right road. Thank you for your strength, your honesty, and your wisdom. You my peeps. Love you!
My non-academic, anecdotal opinion is that your child is the expert on themselves. You can trust them to tell you what they need or, at the very least, what they are missing. Psychoeducational testing and standardized tests are essential if you ever need to ask for help. I was able to find a psychologist who took our insurance. It wasn’t easy, but they are out there.