Dad2Dad with Jordan Levin: The Early Years
Fall 2021 • Mom2Mom
In our very first Dad2Dad, Meet Jordan Levin, owner of Crossfit Bloomfield. Here, he shares his story of growing up deaf and ADHD.
By Jordan Levin
Have you ever heard the expression, flying by the seat of your pants? That was me. I was a very hyperactive kid growing up. I was always on the move. If Curious George could be a human, he would be named Curious Jordan. To throw some extra spice into the mix, I was also deaf. I didn’t have any understandable speech in my early years. It wasn’t until 3rd or 4th grade when anyone could begin to understand me.
Think about this, when a baby is born, they hear every single sound the second they enter the world. That means every single conversation, cooing, animal noise, house sounds, etc. My first 2.5 years were radio silence. My audible speech arrived fashionably late to the party.
This made for a very difficult time in kindergarten and elementary school.
Dedication and Consistency
At the end of each day during elementary school, my mother, armed with her notebook would talk with the teachers when she picked me up from school. We would then go home and both of my parents would go through the entire day of class again and again.
Along with my parents, I had the help of tutors sitting beside, me going over everything orally as well as on paper. This had to be repeated multiple times before I was able to retain the material.
Can you imagine how difficult that was for a young Jordan or any kid? Do you think I really wanted to do this? I just wanted to be outside with my friends. However, I had parents who lovingly threw me in with the wolves. For the sake of my profound hearing loss they knew I had to learn to adapt, and thankfully that came easily for me.
Years later, at the age of 17, I was diagnosed with ADHD. This was such an eye opener for me. The first time I took medication was the first time I actually took a sincere interest in reading. To test the waters, I opened a book. Page one turned into page two which turned into page thirty two and so on. I was so hyper focused on this particular book that I didn't even notice that there was commotion going on in the background. Before this, getting me to sit and willingly read anything was virtually impossible.
I felt so smart. I was finally able to comprehend and retain what I had just read. I said to my parents, “If we knew about this earlier, I’d be in Harvard by now!” We all knew at that moment that my strengths would get stronger but, most importantly, my areas for improvement might actually or COULD actually turn out to be my strengths moving forward.
Instilling Good Habits
I have come to believe that everything happens for a reason and that every speed bump is just another opportunity to create a positive impact. It is only appropriate that being someone who happens to be profoundly deaf and who has ADHD, I am also the owner of CrossFit Bloomfield. Movement has been a key building block in my self esteem, my proprioception, and instilling a sense of gratitude. In my current profession we have a couple of key catch phrases: “Be comfortable with the uncomfortable,” and “Be prepared for the unknown.”
Each day is far from unknown. Every child is like a snowflake in the sense that the way in which they learn and retain information is just as unique as each individual. Because of that, instilling habits of positive movement can be a grounding and positive reinforcement.
I knew I was capable and able to play sports and move successfully in whatever capacity I set my mind to. I understood that if a hockey player got put into the penalty box, the team still had to work and strategize with whomever it had left. I realized that my body was my own team. NOTHING about me was penalized. In fact, this was the perfect opportunity to sharpen all my other senses and acknowledge everything that I could do vs. worry about what I couldn’t. In order to be prepared for the unknown, you have to be able to tap into your other resources or in my experience, my other senses.
The very notion of positive movement that I needed to help keep me grounded as a child, is the same habit I am instilling to both children and adults as my career. Knowing that movement whether it be sports, yoga, dance, martial arts, swimming, or even the mindful act of breath control through meditation can bring a sense of joy and stability to any child.
Instilling positive habits is like giving a child a home base to land. Land with gratitude. Land with mindfulness. Land with purpose.
