Dear Parents
Over the past 3 decades, attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has emerged from the relative obscurity of psychologists' research laboratories to become the "disease of the day" of North America's school kids. Along with this popularity has been a totally complete acceptance of the validity of this "disorder" by scientists, physicians, psychologists, educators, parents, and others.
Upon closer critical examination, there is much to be alarmed about concerning ADD/ADHD as a real medical diagnosis. There are no definitive objective set of criteria to determine who has ADD/ADHD and who does not. Rather, instead, there are a loose set of behaviors (hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity) that combine in different ways to give credibility to the "disorder."
These behaviors are highly opinion based. A child may be hyperactive while seated at a desk doing a boring math assignment, but not necessarily while preforming in a school play. These behaviors are also very general in nature and give no indications as to root cause. A child can be hyperactive because he's bored, depressed, anxious, allergic to milk, creative, upset, stressed out or any number of other causes.
The tests used to 'diagnoise' are not based on how the child is in the real work. This makes these tests and diagnoses soley based on the testers opinion and not any kind of actual fact. If you bore the child to death while testing them, you will get the result you are seeking.
The drugs used for this supposed disorder are also problematic. Ritalin use is up 500% over the past several years, yet it does not cure the problem, it only masks symptoms, and there are several disadvantages: kids don't like taking it, children use it as an "excuse" for their behavior ("I hit Fred because I forgot to take my pill."), and there are some indications it may be related to later substance abuse of drugs like cocaine in later life. While it is true that psychoactive medications properly prescribed and monitored by a physician can be an important tool to help some kids experience successes with teachers, parents, and peers, it still must be viewed as a last resort intervention and used with great caution.
Behavior modification programs used for kids labeled ADD/ADHD work, but they don't help kids become better learners. In fact, they may interfere with the development of a child's intrinsic love of learning (kids behave simply to get more rewards), they may frustrate some kids (when they don't get expected rewards), and they can also impair creativity and stifle cooperation.
Over the past few decades, our families have broken up, respect for authority has eroded, mass media has created a "short-attention-span culture," and stress levels have skyrocketed. When our children start to act out under the effects, it's convenient to create a scientific-sounding term to label them with, an effective drug to stifle their "symptoms."
Mainly, the ADD/ADHD label is a tragic decoy that takes the focus off of where it's needed most: the real life of each unique child. Instead of seeing each child for who he or she is (strengths, limitations, interests, temperaments, learning styles etc.) and addressing his or her specific needs, the child is reduced to an "ADD child," where the potential to see the best in him or her is severely eroded (since ADD/ADHD puts all the emphasis on the deficits, not the strengths), and where the number of potential solutions to help them is highly limited to a few child-controlling interventions. It gives the 'system' an excuse not to do their jobs.
Here are some suggestions to help your child cope with the situation and take control of it themselves.
Upon closer critical examination, there is much to be alarmed about concerning ADD/ADHD as a real medical diagnosis. There are no definitive objective set of criteria to determine who has ADD/ADHD and who does not. Rather, instead, there are a loose set of behaviors (hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity) that combine in different ways to give credibility to the "disorder."
These behaviors are highly opinion based. A child may be hyperactive while seated at a desk doing a boring math assignment, but not necessarily while preforming in a school play. These behaviors are also very general in nature and give no indications as to root cause. A child can be hyperactive because he's bored, depressed, anxious, allergic to milk, creative, upset, stressed out or any number of other causes.
The tests used to 'diagnoise' are not based on how the child is in the real work. This makes these tests and diagnoses soley based on the testers opinion and not any kind of actual fact. If you bore the child to death while testing them, you will get the result you are seeking.
The drugs used for this supposed disorder are also problematic. Ritalin use is up 500% over the past several years, yet it does not cure the problem, it only masks symptoms, and there are several disadvantages: kids don't like taking it, children use it as an "excuse" for their behavior ("I hit Fred because I forgot to take my pill."), and there are some indications it may be related to later substance abuse of drugs like cocaine in later life. While it is true that psychoactive medications properly prescribed and monitored by a physician can be an important tool to help some kids experience successes with teachers, parents, and peers, it still must be viewed as a last resort intervention and used with great caution.
Behavior modification programs used for kids labeled ADD/ADHD work, but they don't help kids become better learners. In fact, they may interfere with the development of a child's intrinsic love of learning (kids behave simply to get more rewards), they may frustrate some kids (when they don't get expected rewards), and they can also impair creativity and stifle cooperation.
Over the past few decades, our families have broken up, respect for authority has eroded, mass media has created a "short-attention-span culture," and stress levels have skyrocketed. When our children start to act out under the effects, it's convenient to create a scientific-sounding term to label them with, an effective drug to stifle their "symptoms."
Mainly, the ADD/ADHD label is a tragic decoy that takes the focus off of where it's needed most: the real life of each unique child. Instead of seeing each child for who he or she is (strengths, limitations, interests, temperaments, learning styles etc.) and addressing his or her specific needs, the child is reduced to an "ADD child," where the potential to see the best in him or her is severely eroded (since ADD/ADHD puts all the emphasis on the deficits, not the strengths), and where the number of potential solutions to help them is highly limited to a few child-controlling interventions. It gives the 'system' an excuse not to do their jobs.
Here are some suggestions to help your child cope with the situation and take control of it themselves.
- Provide a balanced breakfast each and every day.
- Cut the JUNK from his or her diet
- Limit television and video games
- Teach your child positive self talk.
- Learn your child's interests.
- Play physical games with your child.
- Enroll your child in a martial arts program.
- Use background music to focus and calm.
- Use color to highlight information.
- Teach your child to visualize.
- Remove allergens from their environment.
- Increase your child's self-esteem.
- Find out when your child's most alert.
- Provide a variety of stimulating learning activities.
- Teach your child physical-relaxation techniques.
- Provide positive role models.
- Channel creative energy into the arts.
- Provide hands-on activities
- Spend positive times together.
- Provide appropriate spaces for learning.
- Teach your child focusing techniques or mediations.
- Provide immediate feedback.
- Teach problem-solving skills.
- Offer your child real-life tasks to do.
- Help your child develop social skills.
- Use effective communication skills.
- Hold a positive image of your child.
Yours in building strong kids,
Master Art Mason
Founder: The Peaceful Warriors' Martial Arts Institute
