Welcome to the September
ADHD ezine.
How can you help your ADHD
child become successful? can it be outgrown? What has worked for other
parents are all ideas we help you explore in this month's issue.
**Class
Dismissed by Rick Pierce, The HyperactiveTeacher**However, different children respond to those words differently. Most students learn fairly quickly that when the teacher dismisses them that they need to check their homework, put the right books in their backpack, make sure they have the materials they need, straighten up the desk and possibly put up their chairand then leave. But the ADD child responds to Class dismissed by bolting out the door leaving homework, books, materials, jacket, backpack, etc. behind.
The reason for this behavior is not to avoid homework, it is not to make us mad, it not deliberate. ADD people struggle with thinking and acting at the same time. They just do. They just do the one response that comes to their mind and usually the one that brings the most immediate pleasure. This also explains why when you tell your little angel to hang up her jacket, get out her homework, get a snack from the refridgerator, and settle down to do homework, she will get a snack and not do the rest. You will probably find her in front of the TV enjoying her treat.
What can we do to help our child be successful?
One important principle for training successful habits
for ADD children is:
When I need to do something, and since I don't think and act at the same time; the best thing for me to do is sit down and write out the steps ahead of time. Then I have follow the list. By following the list, I get it done and if I am distracted, I know where to go to find out what to do next. Before I finish, I check the list to make sure I did all of the steps.
The same process can be followed when helping your child be successful. By sitting down ahead of time, prompting them to write out the necessary steps, and impressing on them to follow the list; you reduce the multi-step activity to one action.
As an example, when the teacher says Class dismissed, your child will open up their binder to find the list posted on the inside cover.
1. Do you have your homework written down into your calendar?
2. Do you have the books you need for that homework?
3. Do you have the homework paper?
4. Do you have the supplies that you need for the homework?...
If they follow the list, they succeed.
Listed below are the steps of Plan, Do and Review.
Plan
1. Determine the necessary steps in order.
2. Determin the necessary items.
3. Determine a reasonable time per task
Do
1. Follow plan consistently
2. Monitor each step
3. Celebrate completion
Review
1. Check for completeness
2. Check for accuracy/quality
3. Evaluate and revise plan
By separating the thinking from the doing, especially for routine tasks, you can help your ADD child succeed in life.
Rick Pierce, The Hyperactive Teacher, is the author of
How to Help an ADD Child Succeed in Life and speaks nationally to parents,
teachers and others emphasizing the hope of success for fellow ADDers.
You may visit his website at
http://www.hyperactiveteacher.com
or
send any comments to hyper@ns.net. Please take the time check out his book,
It's great! It is only available through his site and is by donation only
if you can afford it. It is completely
online and you can print it all out and settle down for a read at your
leisure (Whats that!)
We are very grateful to Kathryn, whom we met through a webring. She has spent some considerable time resourcing websites that may be of benefit to you. Following is part of an article she sent us from NIHM:
As they grow up, with appropriate help
from parents and clinicians, children with ADHD become better able to suppress
their hyperactivity and to channel it into more socially acceptable behaviors,
like physical exercise or
fidgeting. And although we know that half of all children with ADHD
will still show signs of the problem into adulthood, we also know that
the medications and therapy that help children also work for adults.
All people with ADHD have natural talents
and abilities that they can draw on to create fine lives and careers for
themselves. In fact, many people unrecognized, advantages. People with
ADHD tend to be outgoing and ready for
action. Because of their drive for excitement and stimulation, many
become successful in business, sports, construction, and public speaking.
Because of their ability to think about many things at once, many have
won acclaim as artists and inventors. Many choose work that gives them
freedom to move around and release excess energy. But some find ways to
be effective in quieter, more sedentary careers. Sally, a computer
programmer, found that she thinks best when she wears headphones to reduce
distracting noises. Like Henry, some people strive to increase their organizational
skills. Others who own their own
business find it useful to hire support staff to provide day-to-day
management.
Driven
to distraction by Dr. Edward Hallowell and Dr. John Ratey"
"After learning I had ADD, at age 45, I read all I could get my hands
on. This book is more
enjoyable, more informative, more true to life...less demeaning than anything
else I have read. Dr.
Hallowell uses lifes encounters as a method to help explain every facet
of ADD that he describes.
ADD is depicted as an adventure rather than one of lifes meladies we must
endure.
An easy read, well worth it for all family members." said one ADHD person
in the reviews and there are heaps of others!
Kathryn added these below to her list of "must reads"....
 Out
of the Fog
Treatment options and coping strategies |
 Answers
to distraction |
 Overload:
ADD and Addiction |
We have linked them directly to Amazon.com so you can read the reviews
and decide if they would be of benefit for you.
Just click on the book cover as it is the link.
We will have more of Kathryn's ideas in future ezines but if you want to visit her home page click here
The
Transcendental Meditation® program, a
natural, effortless procedure practiced for 10
to 20 minutes twice daily, provides a practical alternative
for those not interested in drug
dependency or the harmful side effects associated with such
treatment.
The TM® program, which can be learned by those 10 years of
age and older, develops a
natural state of restful-alertness, helping individuals to stay
calm and focused in activity, and
significantly increases cognitive and affective development
as seen by improved academic
performance and increased self-actualization including higher
values of self-esteem,
self-confidence and self-control.
The research studies conducted on the effects of the Transcendental
Meditation technique
at more than 160 independent universities and research institutions
in 27 countries shows
that the Transcendental Meditation program strengthens many
of the areas that are of
concern to those diagnosed with ADHD.
Of particular interest to those familiar with the symptoms of
ADHD are the studies on the
Transcendental Meditation program which show:
· Improvement of Academic Performance
Increased Intelligence in Secondary and College Students, Improved
Academic Grades in
Undergraduate and Graduate Students, Improved Memory
If you want to read more about TM and ADHD this article has been taken (with permission) from the TM site and you can read more there Here is the link.
So that's us for another month! We hope you like the new header and
endnote, giving you quick access to other parts of the ADHD site. We have
been getting great feedback from the newer members of our ADHD community
and we thank you. If you have been with us for a while and and have a topic
you would like us to cover, drop us a quick email and we will include it
in a furure ezine. Enjoy the new forum, enjoy your day, and we'll catch
up again in October.
Kind regards Tricia and Mike Legg
PS. Following last month's article on lead poisoning,
we have a FREE ebook available to you as a subscriber to the ezine. In
the ebook, we have researched heavy metals lead,tin,mercury, copper and
arsenic, and ways you can detox.Email us with subject as "Heavy Metal"
and we will email it to you. Let us know if you want it in a format other
that Microsoft Word.
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