Attention deficit, with or without hyperactivity disorder has long been diagnosed in children. It is now also described in adults who have not outgrown the disorder from their childhood, although this is not a common outcome. The disorder raises much community controversy because dangerous drugs of addiction are then used to treat such a disorder.
It seems to me that some children/adults need help with medications under strict supervision of course. Sadly I see many children/adults labelled ADHD/ADD without a full look at the myriad other issues and potential diagnoses that are more likely. Imagine sitting in class trying to listen tot he teacher and there is a huge pain in your tummy. Hard to concentrate and pay attention- of course. Imagine if that pain is emotional- you are depressed, anxious, feel terrible because your parents are fighting, or they are ill or dying. Equally hard to concentrate. Imagine that you cannot hear/see properly or your brain cannot process information even though you are intelligent. What about the child who feels self conscious, bullied and un-liked?
So there are many reasons for poor concentration, distractibility, poor attention and impulsivity.For many people there are more than one factor in their lives causing these symptoms. Sometimes these issues mask an underlying ADHD as well.
So if the diagnosis is confirmed, ADHD, ADD, I do not think medications are the first approach to management. We are used to the simple medical approach, here is an illness so we can match up the cure. There is no cure. There is a management strategy that maximises potential and minimises harm and suffering ( for everyone, child, parent, teacher, school and community). Simple support strategies are important. If your attention span is five minutes then dont do something for hours unless you have a break and change your focus every 5 minutes. Reward achievements, dont berate failure. Set goals, order and boundaries in place and distractions reduced to keep the mind focussed. Don't work in a room full of noisy people. Do games that aim towards extending concentration. Computer games are great for this. Look for the positives. Kids with ADHD are usually great at activity, like sports. So you can steer them into areas where they do well, feel good about themselves and enjoy rather than feel oppressed.
Learning is through fun, FUN, FUN.
Look at the levels of information in the environment. Bombarding a child/ adult with ADHD with lots of emotion, noise, activities, the television on, talking is bound to overwhelm them. This is fine at a party, outside playing or kids playing together but not when you need to concentrate on chores and homework, schoolwork and assignments.
Understand that everyone has a limit to their concentration and attention span. Some have more and some have less. This is something we are born with, slowly develops with maturation. A baby has a split second attention span. The mismatch of adult attention span and children's span is confusing and wearying for adults.
Bad behaviour is not a symptom of ADHD or ADD. Bad behaviour is merely learned. It has a whole new approach needed. Medications do not stop bad behaviour.
I hope this starts some alternative thinking about the issue of ADHD/ADD treatment.
It seems to me that some children/adults need help with medications under strict supervision of course. Sadly I see many children/adults labelled ADHD/ADD without a full look at the myriad other issues and potential diagnoses that are more likely. Imagine sitting in class trying to listen tot he teacher and there is a huge pain in your tummy. Hard to concentrate and pay attention- of course. Imagine if that pain is emotional- you are depressed, anxious, feel terrible because your parents are fighting, or they are ill or dying. Equally hard to concentrate. Imagine that you cannot hear/see properly or your brain cannot process information even though you are intelligent. What about the child who feels self conscious, bullied and un-liked?
So there are many reasons for poor concentration, distractibility, poor attention and impulsivity.For many people there are more than one factor in their lives causing these symptoms. Sometimes these issues mask an underlying ADHD as well.
So if the diagnosis is confirmed, ADHD, ADD, I do not think medications are the first approach to management. We are used to the simple medical approach, here is an illness so we can match up the cure. There is no cure. There is a management strategy that maximises potential and minimises harm and suffering ( for everyone, child, parent, teacher, school and community). Simple support strategies are important. If your attention span is five minutes then dont do something for hours unless you have a break and change your focus every 5 minutes. Reward achievements, dont berate failure. Set goals, order and boundaries in place and distractions reduced to keep the mind focussed. Don't work in a room full of noisy people. Do games that aim towards extending concentration. Computer games are great for this. Look for the positives. Kids with ADHD are usually great at activity, like sports. So you can steer them into areas where they do well, feel good about themselves and enjoy rather than feel oppressed.
Learning is through fun, FUN, FUN.
Look at the levels of information in the environment. Bombarding a child/ adult with ADHD with lots of emotion, noise, activities, the television on, talking is bound to overwhelm them. This is fine at a party, outside playing or kids playing together but not when you need to concentrate on chores and homework, schoolwork and assignments.
Understand that everyone has a limit to their concentration and attention span. Some have more and some have less. This is something we are born with, slowly develops with maturation. A baby has a split second attention span. The mismatch of adult attention span and children's span is confusing and wearying for adults.
Bad behaviour is not a symptom of ADHD or ADD. Bad behaviour is merely learned. It has a whole new approach needed. Medications do not stop bad behaviour.
I hope this starts some alternative thinking about the issue of ADHD/ADD treatment.
Hello Joyce, I recently discovered your post... I would like to comment on your post regarding ADD/HD. Whilst I do agree that there are mood/attitudinal/character disorders within the populous, I strongly feel that a major contributing factor to inattention and general lack of concentration is food 'intolerance' among both adolescents and adults. Sure, world events, severe personal trauma and the like can place undue mental/emotional stress on an individual regardless of age however, an individuals ability to 'deal' with such events can be marred due to their dietary habits.
ReplyDeleteWe as a large family have experimented heavily over the last 8 years with food types, food intake, food variances and 'trigger' foods. I am not a dietician nor a medical practitioner, I am an engineer but I 'do' have life experiences and direct results from food experimentation within our family members and children. I second your motion to seek 'alternative solutions' and perhaps people may try to learn that there are other contributing factors relating to inattention and behavioural issues. Moreover, I challenge your readers to try learning about food additives and natural and artificial chemicals found within foods.
Our Personal Journey through Research;
Firstly, we are not advocates for any company, diet or alternative thinking, rather we are just interested in sharing our expereinces.
For example, we have discovered that the natural foods (we are not a junk food family - we were following a 'Paleo Diet'), we had previously offered our children has contained high levels of salicylates, amines and glutamates that have proven (via elimination) to cause adverse reactions in our children (and myself), from anger to headaches, emotional overload, skin rashes, inattention, defiance and poor digestion.
Most people are now aware that processed foods contain artificial colours, flavours and additives. Some of these (for an example, see here: http://fedup.com.au/ ) when eaten disproportionately can cause severe reactions in the human body. For this reason, processed foods in our family are excluded almost entirely and yes, this may seem extreme however the rewards for doing such are inumerous especially among our children.
With our family, through exclusion and elimination of certain naturally occuring high level chemicals found within fruit and veg, meats, oils, herbs and spices, we have experienced improved attention levels, behaviour and general demeanour. Another example; We can now get our 6 year old dressed in the mornings in school uniform without a total melt-down which, in the past, was inevitable every day. This has been a great relief.
Sincerely,
An interested party. (Anon)