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When my son was in the second grade, his second grade teacher
suggested, I have him evaluated for Attention Deficit Disorder.
I was going through a divorce at the time, and our home was
a organizational disaster area. His structure was off, and
children go haywire with lack of, or poor structure.

I think we would have something to gain by
changing our environment, as opposed to changing our children.

Educators , child psychologists, and parents alike often blame the
child, instead of looking at what might be going on in their lives.

What happens when we blame the child, is the possibility they
will internalize this thought, and act on the idea.
I'm not in any way suggesting we ignore teachers and
child psychologists advice,or not pay close attention to our
children's behavior.

However, you have to be careful when considering putting
your child on potentially harmful medication.
We also have to watch being to over zealous in our attempt
to help these children. With so many children on drugs (ADHD medication)
that have a street drug value, there is certainly cause for alarm.

The teacher who suggested I do an evaluation on my son
would not let up. When I refused to have him evaluated,
(he is now a well adjusted adult) she insisted I answer
a list of criteria for ADHD. What was scary was that he
did fit some of the criteria on the list.
The questions on the evaluation, however, were very general.

For example, " Is your child easily distracted or bored?"
How do you answer that? Why are we so quick to prescribe
medication? I think it is laziness on all of our parts.

Why do we make it our children's problem, then define
them as having something wrong with them, simply because
they are more high strung than other kids?
Besides, many of these children would benefit, from a
highly structured environment, with daily routines.

If not, there are many alternatives that have proved
to have positive results. One of these alternatives
is biofeedback.

Until recently, there have been no real studies
on biofeedback for ADHD. Although, the January 2006
edition of "Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North
America", had an excellent article, "Elelectroencephalographic
Biofeedback (Neurotherapy) as a treatment for Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder: Rationale and Empirical foundation",
by Vincent Monasta.

Response to control group studies were comparable to response to
medications with about 75% responding positively.
Approximately 50 to 80% of responders were able to stop
taking or slow down considerably on their medication.

Alternatives to medicines are out there, and should
be considered, although, like children taking medication,
these alternatives should be part of a comprehensive treatment
program that includes parental counseling to improve
social functioning at home, educational plans with schools,
and social skills training.

If your child has to take medication, it should be just
a small part of a comprehensive treatment program.
We need to focus on the whole picture, when it comes
to treating and diagnosing ADHD. Our children and this
generation depends on it.

Learn more about this author, Ann Clemmons.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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