Re: To Ed Henderson and Michael Ban and Jon Dixon
Ted Burton (tedbrtn@CYBERHIGHWAY.NET)
Sun, 26 Nov 1995 19:41:44 -0700
We all know what Hugh and Ed and Michael have been sparring over: ADD as a
myth or ADD as a real problem. Jon added a phrase that is very near to the
science as I understand it:
[snip]
>medications, I also believe that there is a lot of overprescription of
>psychiatric drugs (caused in large part by people not wanting to deal with
>hard problems and instead looking for easy solutions, IMO). It scares me
[snip]
>I agree with Ed's later comments that proper discipline (which I'm not sure
>includes corporal punishment) is important to keeping order, and that
>people should not be exempted from discipline just because they have
>ADD/ADHD. Actually, most of the literature I've see on ADD/ADHD states
>that consistantly-applied discipline is important to helping people with
>this disorder cope with it (as well as teaching them self-discipline
>skills). I also believe that a large part of the problems we face today in
[snip]
I am as many of you know a Prosecuting Attorney, and my wife of 24 summers
is a Licensed Professional Counselor. We are both persuaded that there is
some overprescription of drugs, which does tend to disguise from the
patient the fact that he/she shares some responsibility in reaching a
solution to her/his problems.
On the other hand, it is not "discipline" per se that needs to be supplied,
but "consistently-applied" anything. ADD sufferers benefit from structure
and rules that are consistent, and from permitting them to focus on one
thing at a time within that structure.
All of us have had life experiences of chaos [if you haven't, get down on
your knees and thank God] in which it seems that everything is happening at
once, that you are totally overwhelmed by incoming stimulae [shells,
problems, enemy soldiers, clients with emergencies, airplane crashes,
whatever] and you have a sense of loss of control of your future, even of
the next ten days or ten hours, or ten minutes. Then imagine that all of
life seemed that way to your brain. If you are fourteen years old and lack
adult maturity, you may lash out at the situation simply to create of
moment of control.
If one helps these kids focus on one thing at at time, and give them
choices that are manageable in terms of a few alternatives, they can
thrive. As they grow you have to teach them list-making and other focussing
skills. As they mature you can tell them about their brain at a time when
that will be interesting to them, rather than self-esteem threatening. I
would wager that most of them are pretty scared at first.
That is my belief on the point.
Thanks for listening.
Ted
who is netAddressed for, personal use, as: tedbrtn@cyberhighway.net
and for business use as: ciatty@cyberhighway.net
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
