3rd Place - KAITLYN KOU - Untitled

Kimberly’s mind was entirely elsewhere. 

Not focused on the flashing iPad screen with a number counting game. Not focused on the little boy thrashing a fit about taking off his pajamas for picture day. Not focused on the imminent threat of her growing pile of homework.

No, Kimberly, amidst the noisy chaos of a third-grade classroom, was entirely fixated on the game cabinet across from her. What should she play today? Candyland? Dinosaur puzzles? Kimberly found solace in the bright game cabinet, its flashy array of board games grounding her. Board games promised escape into a different world, a world where Kimberly’s kaleidoscope of jumbled thoughts were muted and she could focus on a single goal—whether that be outwitting other players to reach the candy boss first or lining up puzzle pieces to form a T-Rex. 

“Kimberly’s fidgeting and lack of concentration likely point to ADHD, so I recommend that she receives behavioral therapy in the home and school.” Those were the sterile, mundane words that turned Kimberly’s world upside down. When Kimberly was first diagnosed with ADHD, she was sitting in a psychiatrist's office with her parents, who exchanged anxious glances as the doctor described her condition. 

That night, her parents whispered in hushed tones as they reached out to professionals and counseling groups, seeking a way to make sense of what road lay ahead of them. Concern knitted their eyebrows as they perused hundreds of articles on parent report cards and school based counseling. 

But Kimberly didn’t remember any of that. 

All she remembered from that day was the bland, cream-colored wallpaper in the doctor’s office, and that she was going to be switched to a different classroom away from her friends. A “special education” classroom, they called it. 

To Kimberly, ADHD was bad. ADHD meant change, the teacher calling on her for daydreaming in class, lectures for forgetting homework, constant fidgeting. She was a whirlwind of emotion, a mosaic of half-formed ideas spiraling in her mind. Her parents tried implementing various techniques, such as structured routines and report cards, but nothing seemed effective. In Kimberly’s mind, the stacks of report cards and towers of routines only built walls of isolation between her and her friends. 

But today, none of that mattered. Kimberly was hyper fixated on a single goal: convince Ms. Baird to open up the game cabinet for the day. The bright colors seemed to scream at her—let us out, let us out! With a goal in mind, Kimberly sprung from her chair and made her way across the classroom. 

Absorbed in the idea of opening the game cabinet, Kimberly failed to notice the red block in her path and nearly stumbled. Her eyes trailed from the red block on the floor to the rainbow structures that always seemed to grow around Mateo. Often, Mateo was found stacking and unstacking rainbow blocks in an almost robotic dance. 

Kimberly stepped over to hand the red block Mateo dropped, gently placing it on his desk and continuing on. She began walking towards Ms. Baird’s desk once again, but only managed to take two more steps before something caught her eye. Her gaze found Isla in the corner of the room playing with a plastic tub of Legos. Seemingly mindlessly, Isla scooped a pile of Legos from her hands and let them fall through her fingers back into the bucket. Every now and then, she stopped to connect two Lego pieces, inspecting each corner and poking at every ridge. 

Turning her attention back to her goal, Kimberly finally reached Ms. Baird’s desk. Ms. Baird looked up from grading a stack of papers, pleasantly surprised by Kimberly’s infectious smile. Kimberly began, “Ms. Baird, can we open the game cabinet today? I think it would be a really fun learning experience for everyone!” 

Ms. Baird raised her eyebrows, hesitating before asking, “Kimberly, that’s great, but I’m worried that a complicated game might be overstimulating for some of your classmates. What do you have in mind?” 

Kimberly took this as a challenge, and began laying out her plan: “Well, Mateo loves colorful things, so the bright colors will draw him in and Isla loves getting hands on, so she’ll love the rainbow colors!” 

As Kimberly gushed, words spilled out of her mouth rapid fire, and Ms. Baird slowly smiled. Kimberly, without even realizing, had noticed the different signs of ADHD in her classmates. Mateo had a short attention span, and so he loved colorful rainbows that kept him distracted. Isla, who would constantly fidget, liked having her hands always touching something. 

Ms. Baird conceded, “Okay Kimberly, was there a specific game you wanted to play?” 

Kimberly, sensing she was close to victory, beamed and scurried to the game cabinet, taking out her favorite: Candyland. Kimberly knew that Candyland was the perfect fit. Its vibrant candy-themed board and gingerbread playing figures would satisfy Kimberly and both of her classmates. 

She was right.

As Ms. Baird pulled the game board and started laying out its pieces across the center desk, Mateo and Isla darted over to inspect what was going on. Kimberly passed out gingerbread playing figures to everyone, and the three began playing, immersed in a candy wonderland with no boundaries. 

Kimberly realized something. 

ADHD wasn’t a curse, it was just a way of seeing the world differently. Yes, a very jumbled and perhaps chaotic way, but through her multifaceted lens of a thousand interests, Kimberly absorbed more of the world around her and learned to be deeply receptive to others' needs. 

To others, including Kimberly’s own parents and friends, the lens through which she viewed the world was warped and cracked: others found warps in the way she fidgeted, the way she hyper fixated, and the way she zoned out and daydreamed. But Kimberly found that the fractals of color in her kaleidoscope let in light, and allowed her to see more of the positivity in the world. 

And right now, that made all the difference.

Sources:

[1]NHS. (2021, December 24). Symptoms - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/ 

[2] Professionals Who Diagnose and Treat ADHD. (n.d.). CHADD. https://chadd.org/about-adhd/professionals-who-diagnose-and-treat-adhd 

[3] What Parents Can Do to Help Children Living with ADHD. (2020). NAMI California. https://namica.org/blog/what-parents-can-do-to-help-children-living-with-adhd