March 3, 1999
FAMILY MATTERS:
Fad, excuse don't cover attention deficit
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I hear the term "ADD" a lot, but I'd like to know what it is. It seems to me like it's just another fad excuse for letting kids misbehave.
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Folks who understand the most about ADD--Attention Deficit Disorder--are those who deal with it day-in and day-out.
___Some of those workers are professionals--doctors, counselors, teachers. Some are parents, spouses, children, co-workers and friends. That's because ADD and its companion, ADHD --Attention DeficitHyperactivity Disorder--impact not only those who have the condition but those close to them.
MARY STEDHAM
Family Therapist
Abilene
___The word that separates the two forms of ADD, "hyperactivity," tells you something important. For many years, both parents and teachers have used the term "hyper" to describe children who have difficulty sitting still or paying attention for very long. It is easier, then, to spot those people who have ADHD simply because you can see more of its effects.
___Children and adults who have ADD can go undiagnosed because their problems are less visible. In fact, one woman I worked with whose life was changed dramatically when she was evaluated and found to have a severe case of ADD said the book "You Mean I'm Not Crazy, Lazy or Stupid" did more for her low self-esteem than anything she ever experienced.
___She, like so many who have difficulty focusing and staying on task, had been judged by her teachers and others around her all her life with the statement, "She is so smart, but she just doesn't apply herself." She knew she had tried but had begun to believe the statements that she must be lazy, stupid or, worse yet, crazy. She, like others with ADD and ADHD, had above-average intelligence and felt frustrated that she could not seem to access that ability.
___Given the characteristics that are typical for ADD, she was as normal as could be. Those include high creativity level, impulsivity, difficulty organizing, difficulty focusing at times and hyper-focus at others, difficulty staying on task to completion, a tendency to start several things at the same time, an ongoing battle with self-esteem and often an ongoing battle with moodiness, temper and/or depression. For more about this condition, read Edward Hollowell's "Driven to Distraction."
___No, we're not dealing with a fad or an excuse here. We are, instead, dealing with some of the most dynamic people history has known.
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