The developmental delay mentioned is but one piece of the ADHD puzzle. It is not present in all children labeled ADHD. Dopamine receptor problems have been identified as well as genetic links. The truth is, absolutely no one knows what causes ADHD. Even knowing the cause may not affect an outcome. Do we just push a different pill at this?
As a former elementary school principal, I am quite aware that attention difficulties are just the tip of the iceberg. ADHD children can't filter out distractions, finish tasks on-time, use their memory optimally, etc. A pill doesn't teach these skills.
My wife and I opted to use cognitive training for our son, Alex. We used Play Attention (www.playattention.com) and ADHD Nanny (www.adhdnanny.com). We've been very successful with these approaches. We also changed our parenting skills with great success.
It's just important to know that medicine teaches nothing. Parents and teachers must actively participate to help change a child's life.
As parents we need to remember that there's more to do than just medicating over the summer. I'm aware that 1 - 4 months of academic achievement are lost over the summer by the average student. It was far worse than that for our son, Alex. Thus, we began the next year with a big deficit. Not anymore.
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The developmental delay mentioned is but one piece of the ADHD puzzle. It is not present in all children labeled ADHD. Dopamine receptor problems have been identified as well as genetic links. The truth is, absolutely no one knows what causes ADHD. Even knowing the cause may not affect an outcome. Do we just push a different pill at this?
As a former elementary school principal, I am quite aware that attention difficulties are just the tip of the iceberg. ADHD children can't filter out distractions, finish tasks on-time, use their memory optimally, etc. A pill doesn't teach these skills.
My wife and I opted to use cognitive training for our son, Alex. We used Play Attention (www.playattention.com) and ADHD Nanny (www.adhdnanny.com). We've been very successful with these approaches. We also changed our parenting skills with great success.
It's just important to know that medicine teaches nothing. Parents and teachers must actively participate to help change a child's life.
As parents we need to remember that there's more to do than just medicating over the summer. I'm aware that 1 - 4 months of academic achievement are lost over the summer by the average student. It was far worse than that for our son, Alex. Thus, we began the next year with a big deficit. Not anymore.
October 7, 2009 - 8:29amThis Comment
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