Do me a favor, please. I know you’re frustrated if your spouse or child or mother-in-law has one of those “labels” like ADHD or Dyslexia, or maybe a physical disability. It’s difficult, trying, exasperating. I know. I’ve been there. In fact, I am there.
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION from the Florida Jewish News, p. 16 [edited with title change]
The first line of treatment for ADD/ADHD is usually behavioral for children and adults. Although there are no shyness pills, one can go to Toasmasters. Although there are no anger pills, one can learn anger management. Just as the parents of an ADHD child need to learn how to handle him or her, the child himself needs to learn strategies for getting the most out of this challenging gift. Here are some ideas:
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION from The Florida Jewish News, p. 13 [edited with title change]
If we take a position that some aspects of ADD/ADHD are desirable, then the question of whether or not to use medication becomes a question of whether, or when, to blot out those beneficial aspects.
ADD is a difference in "wiring" of the brain from those of non-ADD people which is frequently distinguished by
lack of ability to concentrate or focus on tasks
lack of ability to set a pattern which can be followed in the future (such as deciding where to always place keys so you don't lose them and then repeating that sequence of steps)
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION from Natural Awakenings, pp. 16-17 [edited with change of title from ADD: A Holistic Approach]
I'm not against pharmaceuticals. Not 100% anyway. My mother was a diabetic and I'm convinced the insulin she took daily prolonged her life. But when you're looking at human behavior, a holistic perspective demands that you exhaust less invasive remedies before turning to Medication. Such is surely the case with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a problem for which there exists NO definitive diagnostic tool.
