Adhd Children Quotes

The children who need love the most will always ask for it in the most unloving ways

The degree to which the psychiatric community is complicit with abusive parents in drugging non-compliant children is a war crime across the generations, and there will be a Nuremberg at some point in the future

we estimate that more than 50 percent of all children with an ADHD diagnosis actually have a sleep disorder, yet a small fraction know of their sleep condition and its ramifications. A major public health awareness campaign by governments—perhaps without influence from pharmaceutical lobbying groups—is needed on this issue.

This is not a contest with your child. The winner is not the one with more points. The winner is the one whose child still loves them when they graduate from high school.

Now, as I’ve suggested before, what is adaptive for children living in chaotic, violent, trauma-permeated environments becomes maladaptive in other environments-especially school. The hypervigilance of the Alert state is mistaken for ADHD; the resistance and defiance of Alarm and Fear get labeled as oppositional defiant disorder; flight behavior gets them suspended from school; fight behavior gets them charged with assault. The pervasive misunderstanding of trauma-related behavior has a profound effect on our educational, mental health, and juvenile justice systems.

The future of my child is unknown but I have loved him, supported him, and taught him right from wrong. I will continue to do so...

Love every child without condition, listen with an open heart, get to know who they are, what they love, and follow more often than you lead.

Seeing them today… was this still that renowned Qing Jing Peak which produced countless youths full of pretentious literary airs? This whole place was a trusteeship for ADHD children.

808. Do not punish forgetfulness. ADHD children cannot hold rules, routines, and tasks in their minds. They forget everyday rules and tasks, even though they have been doing them for months or years. Every day is a new day in their minds, and they do not know what to do unless you tell them.

Someone told me that their child was diagnosed with ADHD. They wanted to know how I handle the day to day. It's hard on me but it's harder on them. I cry sometimes which means they probably do to. I worry that the world will never give them the chance they deserve but I am. I get frustrated when they are treated badly but they feel worse. I keep trying, I keep learning, and I keep telling their story. Just love your child and don't give up. They need you to be the person that understands.

Given their automatic tuning out, ADD children forever find themselves being told to “pay attention”—a demand that completely misunderstands both the nature of the child and the nature of attention. The obvious monetary connotation of “pay” is that attention is something the child owes the adult, that the child’s attention belongs to the adult by right. The phrase takes for granted that being attentive is always a consciously chosen act, subject to one’s will. Both of these assumptions are faulty.

When his parents announced the newest rules to Jamal, he defiantly announced back to them that, as a matter of principle, he would not be "manipulated or forced into complying with a Fascist parenting style.

We often explain ADHD to children using a very simple analogy that certainly resonates with adults, too: A person with ADHD has the power of a Ferrari engine but with bicycle-strength brakes. It’s the mismatch of engine power to braking capability that causes the problems. Strengthening one’s brakes is the name of the game.

The longer I have been on the raw food path, the more I tend to come full circle and return to where my original ideas and inspiration of wanting to eat raw food come from - and that’s natural hygiene and its principles.

Diagnoses —such as ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, an autism spectrum disorder, reactive attachment disorder, the newly coined disruptive mood regulation disorder, or any other disorder—can be helpful in some ways. They “validate” that there’s something different about your kid, for example. But they can also be counterproductive in that they can cause caregivers to focus more on a child’s challenging behaviors rather than on the lagging skills and unsolved problems giving rise to those behaviors. Also, diagnoses suggest that the problem resides within the child and that it’s the child who needs to be fixed. The reality is that it takes two to tango. Let there be no doubt, there’s something different about your child. But you are part of the mix as well. How you understand and respond to the hand you’ve been dealt is essential to helping your child.

For me, all those systematic Bureaucracies of traditional schools jaded me. For me, I still couldn’t understand why we have to have a factory style education for children living in the 21st century. Why hold them in place, asking them to read and repeat and giving them a number of tasks to finish? I still have no idea how exams and objective assessments could measure human behavior or intelligence. Is it some kind of barcoding human aptitude? Is it ethical anyway?

Recognize, however, that some people with ADHD compensated for their ADHD in childhood but fall apart after they have too much on their plate as adults. Typically, this happens with the introduction of children into your lives. Raising kids takes an inordinate amount of organizational skill, which is not generally an ADHD strong point.

In short, I feel many times like the mom of three children instead of two. I have to keep his schedule as well as my own and the kids.

Fire children are often told to "settle down", "be still", or - even worse - diagnosed with ADD when they may simply have a very energetic disposition from being a Fire element.

the kids who can’t adapt to school’s tedium are diagnosed with ADHD and are put on powerful psychoactive drugs, which have the immediate effect of reducing their spontaneity so they can attend to the teacher and complete the senseless busywork. Nobody knows the long-term effects of these drugs on the human brain, but research with animals suggests that one effect may be to interfere with the normal development of the brain connections that lead children generally to become more controlled, less impulsive, with age and maturity.13 Perhaps that helps to explain why today we see more and more cases of ADHD extending into adulthood. As with lots of psychoactive drugs, the drugs used to treat ADHD may be creating long-term dependency.

People who live with ADHD are at high risk of addiction, especially adolescents, because of their poorly functioning frontal lobes. Years ago, when the illness was less well understood, doctors and parents were reluctant to give these vulnerable children addictive drugs such as Ritalin and amphetamine. It sounded reasonable: don’t give addictive substances to people at risk for addiction. But rigorous testing showed unambiguously that adolescents who were treated with stimulant drugs were less likely to develop addictions. In fact, those who started the drug at the youngest age and took the highest doses were the least likely to develop problems with illicit drugs. Here’s why: if you strengthen the dopamine control circuit, it’s a lot easier to make wise decisions. On the other hand, if effective treatment is withheld, the weakness of the control circuit is not corrected. The desire circuit acts unopposed, increasing the likelihood of high-risk, pleasure-seeking behavior.

Alternatively, the person may be reacting normally to an intolerable situation, but misguided professionals incorrectly focus on changing the individual rather than modifying the person’s situation or environment.

It is not unusual for children with ADHD, especially those who are not hyperactive and are very bright, to do quite well in elementary school, where they spend a significant portion of each school day in one classroom with a single teacher who can provide considerable structure and stability for each student in that stable group. The teacher gets to know each student and can support her in her academic work and in resolving difficulties in social relationships.

Children with ADHD can do so many things wrong that parents could confront them on their transgressions throughout much of the day. But is this the kind of relationship you want with your child? Parents of children with ADHD must develop a sense of priorities.

ADHD meds are amphetamines. They’re highly addictive and host a bevy of side effects that can lead to psychosis. We're giving these to young children without truly researching the full long-term impact this has on the human brain, much less an underdeveloped one.

Caffeine has a calming effect on the ADHD brain. The theory is that the brain of people who suffer from the disorder has an overabundance of dopamine transporters, or re-uptake inhibitors. They carry away dopamine too fast, creating a shortage of it. In turn, that affects serotonin and norepinephrine. The combined effect is a reduced ability to focus, especially on tasks that the person doesn’t enjoy, a lesser ability to control impulsivity, and it even messes with the awareness of time. Caffeine stimulates dopamine production in the brain, temporarily filling up the gap created by the rapid

attention deficit disorder in his own son. “I had worked in an ADHD clinic during my residency, and had strong feelings that this was overdiagnosed,” he said. “That it was a ‘savior’ diagnosis for too many kids whose parents wanted a medical reason to drug their children, or to explain their kids’ bad behavior.

Tip: When your child comes home from school, realize that it may be no different than someone coming home from a hard day at work. No matter how anxious you are to hear about how her test went or know how much homework she has, she may have no interest in rehashing her day—especially if it was stressful or talking about it would create more stress. Offer a snack, perhaps some space, or some light conversation about your own day. Do what you can to help your child refuel.

It’s worth noting that changing behavior through ABA is often more than enough. But sometimes you want to go deeper, to help a child—or anyone else—understand cognitively and emotionally where they are and who they are in social situations, recognize their options, and decide for themselves what they want to do. Once they learn how to decide for themselves what they want to do, rather than put on reflexive behaviors they’ve been conditioned to show, real growth ensues. ABA is surface; social learning is deep. ABA is more or less robotic; social learning helps you understand social situations and respond according to your own desires and values. ABA is more mechanical; social learning is more supple and human. By coaching children in how to understand social situations and how to develop different ways of handling them, you can teach them not only how to do it but also enjoy doing so that the interaction is not just a matter of going through the motions.

For example, increasing numbers of schoolchildren take stimulants such as Ritalin. In 2011, 3.5 million American children were taking medications for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). In the UK the number rose from 92,000 in 1997 to 786,000 in 2012.38 The original aim had been to treat attention disorders, but today completely healthy kids take such medications to improve their performance and live up to the growing expectations of teachers and parents.39 Many object to this development and argue that the problem lies with the education system rather than with the children.

A longitudinal study of over a hundred hyperactive children and a matched comparison group followed into young adulthood showed that those whose ADHD persisted into adulthood continued to have significantly more difficulties with low frustration tolerance, impatience, irritability, hot temper, and emotional excitability than the comparison group. Another study demonstrated that deficient self-regulation of these negative feelings is found in a subgroup of adults with ADHD, and also that this type of emotional dysregulation tends to occur with greater frequency among siblings of those affected adults.

To this woman, a “comfortable” life is one that includes a predictable routine and quiet, intimate, shared time with her husband. I suspect that this is at least in part because routine makes taking care of three boys much easier. Her husband’s energy level is disruptive and foreign. Yet this is inherently part of him; the energy, humor, and wit that have gotten him out of tough spots in the past are the key to his professional success and are likely a reason why his wife was initially attracted to him (before she needed the routine to help make her and the children’s lives easier). Neither spousal style is wrong in this situation; her routine helps her succeed as a mother, and his energy helps him succeed at work. It is the intersection of their styles at this particular time in their lives that creates the problems.

Though not true in all cases, people with ADHD often have trouble planning ahead. Planning means organizing a number of different options into a workable game plan and anticipating what will happen in various scenarios. Executive function differences in the ADHD brain often don’t accommodate these common skills. One upside of not being natural planners is that people with ADHD can be really good at going with the flow, making things work in real time. It’s not unusual for a person with ADHD to be attracted to a partner who is a good planner. In courtship, her ability to organize and plan helps to make things happen, and his easygoing nature provides liveliness and spontaneity. They both benefit and thrive. After kids, though, the ADHD partner’s inability to plan becomes a real negative as the organizational demands imposed by taking care of children require that both pitch in to keep life from becoming overwhelming.

Judgment is a challenging concept, full of contradictions. • We use judgment to guide us in our lives every day. We categorize our experiences into good, bad, and neutral, and that leads us to certain behaviors and decisions. In many ways, it makes life easier. • As Dr. Mark Bertin explains in his book, The ADHD Family Solution, judgment “leads us to wrestle with what is not in our control.” For example, it’s understandable that parents of children with challenges feel disappointed when they can’t control their children’s behaviors. If a hyperactive 10-year-old is bouncing off the walls or jumping on the furniture, frustrated parents may come to the judgment that this kid is disrespectful and won’t listen to them; or worse, that he’ll never live up to his potential. “Standing in judgment” does not serve our children—or us. Attaching a stigma to a behavior makes them feel like a failure, interfering with our ability to help them learn to improve that behavior.

Predominantly inattentive type Perhaps the majority of girls with AD/HD fall into the primarily inattentive type, and are most likely to go undiagnosed. Generally, these girls are more compliant than disruptive and get by rather passively in the academic arena. They may be hypoactive or lethargic. In the extreme, they may even seem narcoleptic. Because they do not appear to stray from cultural norms, they will rarely come to the attention of their teacher. Early report cards of an inattentive type girl may read, "She is such a sweet little girl. She must try harder to speak up in class." She is often a shy daydreamer who avoids drawing attention to herself. Fearful of expressing herself in class, she is concerned that she will be ridiculed or wrong. She often feels awkward, and may nervously twirl the ends of her hair. Her preferred seating position is in the rear of the classroom. She may appear to be listening to the teacher, even when she has drifted off and her thoughts are far away. These girls avoid challenges, are easily discouraged, and tend to give up quickly. Their lack of confidence in themselves is reflected in their failure excuses, such as, "I can't," "It's too hard," or "I used to know it, but I can't remember it now." The inattentive girl is likely to be disorganized, forgetful, and often anxious about her school work. Teachers may be frustrated because she does not finish class work on time. She may mistakenly be judged as less bright than she really is. These girls are reluctant to volunteer for a project orjoin a group of peers at recess. They worry that other children will humiliate them if they make a mistake, which they are sure they will. Indeed, one of their greatest fears is being called on in class; they may stare down at their book to avoid eye contact with the teacher, hoping that the teacher will forget they exist for the moment. Because interactions with the teacher are often anxiety-ridden, these girls may have trouble expressing themselves, even when they know the answer. Sometimes, it is concluded that they have problems with central auditory processing or expressive language skills. More likely, their anxiety interferes with their concentration, temporarily reducing their capacity to both speak and listen. Generally, these girls don't experience this problem around family or close friends, where they are more relaxed. Inattentive type girls with a high IQ and no learning disabilities will be diagnosed with AD/HD very late, if ever. These bright girls have the ability and the resources to compensate for their cognitive challenges, but it's a mixed blessing. Their psychological distress is internalized, making it less obvious, but no less damaging. Some of these girls will go unnoticed until college or beyond, and many are never diagnosed they are left to live with chronic stress that may develop into anxiety and depression as their exhausting, hidden efforts to succeed take their toll. Issues

ADHD Prescriptions: Diagnosis rates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have skyrocketed 500 percent since 1991, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. An estimated 7 million schoolchildren are being treated with stimulants for ADHD, including ten percent of all ten-year-old American boys, according to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. A 1998 study by researchers Adrian Angold and E. Jane Costello found that the majority of children and adolescents who receive stimulants for ADHD do not fully meet the criteria for ADHD. The efforts of neurologist Dr. Fred Baughman, ADHD diagnosis critic, led to admissions from the FDA, DEA, Novartis (manufacturers of Ritalin), and top ADHD researchers around the country that “no objective validation of the diagnosis of ADHD exists.” A Maryland Department of Education study found that white, suburban elementary school children are using medication for ADHD at more than twice the rate of African American students.

After gathering evidence on this for decades, Alan concluded that “none of what I originally believed turned out to be true,” and a “clear majority” of the kids who were later diagnosed “were not born to be ADHD. They developed these problems in reaction to their circumstances.” There was one crucial question, Alan said, that held the key to whether parents overcame these problems—one that seemed to me to tell us a lot about Sami’s work: Is there somebody giving you support? The families they studied sometimes got help from people around them. It usually wasn’t from a professional—they just found a supportive partner, or a group of friends. When their social support went up in this way, they found “the children are less likely to have problems at the next stage.” Why would this be? Alan wrote: “Parents experiencing less stress can be more responsive to their infants; then infants can become more secure.” This effect was so large that “the strongest predictor of positive change was an increase in social support available to the parents during the intervening years.” Social support is, I reflected, the main thing Sami provides to families whose children struggle with attention.

Under Dr. Fauci’s leadership, the allergic, autoimmune, and chronic illnesses which Congress specifically charged NIAID to investigate and prevent, have mushroomed to afflict 54 percent of children, up from 12.8 percent when he took over NIAID in 1984.59 Dr. Fauci has offered no explanation as to why allergic diseases like asthma, eczema, food allergies, allergic rhinitis, and anaphylaxis suddenly exploded beginning in 1989, five years after he came to power. On its website, NIAID boasts that autoimmune disease is one of the agency’s top priorities. Some 80 autoimmune diseases, including juvenile diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, Graves’ disease, and Crohn’s disease, which were practically unknown prior to 1984, suddenly became epidemic under his watch.60,61,62 Autism, which many scientists now consider an autoimmune disease,63,64,65 exploded from between 2/10,000 and 4/10,000 Americans66 when Tony Fauci joined NIAID, to one in thirty-four today. Neurological diseases like ADD/ADHD, speech and sleep disorders, narcolepsy, facial tics, and Tourette’s syndrome have become commonplace in American children.67 The human, health, and economic costs of chronic disease dwarf the costs of all infectious diseases in the United States. By this decade’s end, obesity, diabetes, and pre-diabetes are on track to debilitate 85 percent of America’s citizens.68 America is among the ten most over-weight countries on Earth. The health impacts of these epidemics—which fall mainly on the young—eclipse even the most exaggerated health impacts of COVID-19.

A 2006 report described a study where children with ADHD were taught meditation (a form known as Transcendental Meditation). The scientists found that through the practice of sitting with their eyes closed and focusing on a particular word for 10 minutes twice a day, the children experienced about a 50 percent reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; and many of them reported that they consistently felt calmer.

Among the researchers’ findings is evidence that many children with SPD differ from children with ADHD in their responses to unexpected sensations, such as light touches, loud noises, flickering lights, strong smells, and being tilted backward in a chair. Children with ADHD tend to alert to these novel sensations and then, like most people, habituate—i.e., become easily accustomed—to them. Life goes on. Some children with SPD, however, may not alert to these everyday sensations. Life does not affect them much. Other children with SPD may be continually on alert and may not become accustomed to the sensations at all. Life affects them too much.

Outside the research laboratory, parents and teachers may notice other differences between SPD and ADHD. For instance, many children with SPD prefer the “same-old, same-old” in a familiar and predictable environment, while children with ADHD prefer novelty and diversion. Many children with SPD have poor motor coordination, while children with ADHD often shine in sports. Many children with SPD have adequate impulse control, unless bothered by sensations, while children with ADHD often have poor impulse control. Another difference is that medicine may help the child with ADHD, but medicine will not solve the problem of SPD. Therapy focusing on sensory integration and a sensory diet of purposeful activities help the child with SPD.

It has helped me to see more clearly how, as politically incorrect as it may sound, our understanding of “normal” behavior for children has become feminized. We tend to judge boys using standards of behavior applicable to the average girl, not the average boy.

Like many 2e children, he's endured more than his share of suffering because of academic underachievement, peer rejection, bullying, and even judgment by adults who thought he was too smart to be autistic and too autistic to be smart.

Adults don’t have the same growth momentum that children do to help enable and amplify progress. In adults, change comes from hard work, not getting a year older. This means that an ADHD spouse seems more prone to get “stuck” than a child does, and do things over and over again, which is just the opposite of what you would expect:

The prescribing of stimulants to ADHD youth began to take off in the 1980s, and today, thirty years later, studies have failed to show that this treatment helps children grow up and thrive. In a 2012 op-ed published in the New York Times, Alan Sroufe, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, told of this bottom-line finding: “To date, no study has found any long-term benefit of attention-deficit medication on academic performance, peer relationships, or behavior problems, the very things we want to improve…. The drugs can also have serious side effects, including stunting growth.

Imagine this: summer leaves are blanketing the park under a cloudless sky and a gentle breeze is lifting along the shouts and laughter of children. Some children are running around tirelessly while others are just hanging around talking or engaged in some activity that only other children fully understand. Amidst this typical scenario, one can almost always find a parent chasing a child who is seemingly full of boundless energy, as he races around, going up and down the slide over and over, climbing the monkey bars, and clowning around with almost everyone despite the repeated warnings and reminders from the exhausted parent. But the child appears to not even hear the warnings and reminders, or chooses to ignore them. Eventually, the poor parent cannot keep up anymore, as she has run around until she has gotten so tired, that she feels like smacking her head against a tree or brick wall.

On June 7, 2010, Ms. Ruenrurng began serving a twenty-five-year prison sentence for bringing into Thailand from Laos one and a half pills of methamphetamine, worth about five dollars. Combined, the pills contained, at most, 35 mg of the drug, which is a low to moderate dose. To put this in perspective, this amount of methamphetamine is less than the maximum daily approved dose (60 mg) given to children in the United States as part of their treatment for ADHD.

The Australian Department of Defence asked his research group to measure the effects of deployment to combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan on mental and biological functioning, including brain-wave patterns. In the initial phase McFarlane and his colleagues measured the qEEG in 179 combat troops four months prior to and four months after each successive deployment to the Middle East. They found that the total number of months in combat over a three-year period was associated with progressive decreases in alpha power at the back of the brain. This area, which monitors the state of the body and regulates such elementary processes as sleep and hunger, ordinarily has the highest level of alpha waves of any region in the brain, particularly when people close their eyes. As we have seen, alpha is associated with relaxation. The decrease in alpha power in these soldiers reflects a state of persistent agitation. At the same time the brain waves at the front of the brain, which normally have high levels of beta, show a progressive slowing with each deployment. The soldiers gradually develop frontal-lobe activity that resembles that of children with ADHD, which interferes with their executive functioning and capacity for focused attention. The

The focus for the rest of my life: ALL children with ADHD are diagnosed by age 7.

(Executive function is our ability to determine which goal-directed actions to carry out and when, and is a skill set lacking in many kids with ADD/ADHD.) “The more time that children spent in less-structured activities, the better their self-directed executive functioning. The opposite was true of structured activities, which predicted poorer self-directed executive functioning

Neurodivergent Checklist Time Blindness: Many neurodivergent people have trouble properly perceiving time as it passes. It either goes by too quickly or slowly. The perception of time depends on the level of stimulation the neurodivergent person is dealing with. It also can vary depending on what you’re focused on. If you’ve ever found yourself unable to account for time, you may be neurodivergent. Executive Dysfunction: This is what you experience when you want to accomplish a task, but despite how hard you try, you cannot see it through. Executive dysfunction happens for various reasons, depending on the type of neurodivergence in question. Still, the point is that this is a common occurrence in neurodivergent people. Task Multiplication: What is task multiplication? It happens when you set off to accomplish one thing but have to do a million other things, even though that wasn’t your original plan. For instance, you may want to sit down to finish some writing, only to notice water on the floor. You get up to grab a mop, and on the way, you notice the laundry you were supposed to drop off at the dry cleaners. Stooping to pick up the bag, you find yourself at eye level with your journal and remember you were supposed to make an entry the previous day, so you’re going to do that now. On and on it goes. Inconsistent Sleep Habits: This depends on what sort of neurodivergence you’re dealing with and if you’ve got comorbid disorders. Most importantly, neurodivergent people sleep more or less than “regular” people. You may also notice that your sleep habits fluctuate a lot. Sometimes you may sleep for eight hours at a stretch for a week, only to suddenly start running on just three hours of sleep. Emotional Dysregulation: With many neurodivergent people, it’s hard to keep emotions in check. Emotional dysregulation occurs in extreme emotions, sudden mood swings, or inappropriate emotional reactions (either not responding to the degree they should or overreacting). Hyperfixation: This also plays out differently depending on the brand of neurodivergence in question. Often, neurodivergent people get very involved in topics or hobbies to the point of what others may think of as obsession. Picking Up on Subtleties but Missing the Obvious: Neurodivergent people may struggle with picking up on things neurotypical people can see easily. At the same time, they are incredibly adept at noticing the subtle things everyone else misses. Sensory Sensitivities: If you’re neurodivergent, you may be unable to ignore your clothes tag scratching your back, have trouble hearing certain sounds, and can’t quite deal with certain textures of clothing, food, and so on. Rejection Sensitivity: Neurodivergent people are often more sensitive to rejection than others due to neurological differences and life experiences. For instance, children with ADHD get much more negative feedback than their peers without ADHD. Neurodivergent people are often rejected to the point where they notice rejection even when it’s not there.

Rule #1: Don’t Compare Your Children

Indeed, a study looking into families with multiple children where one or more had ODD or ADHD found that non-ODD/ADHD siblings felt unprotected by their parents and became resentful of the degree of control their ADHD/ODD sibling had on the family. These children can also become passive since they do not want to be a bother to their parents as they understand the time and attention their sibling requires.

These conditions commonly coexist with ADHD: Obstructive sleep apnea: This sleep disorder, characterized by snoring and pauses in breathing during sleep, is more common among adults, but it does occur in children, especially children with ADHD. Restless leg syndrome: This condition causes an intense, often irresistible urge to move your legs, particularly when sitting or lying down. Unlike ADHD-related hyperactivity, it happens mostly at night and often gets worse with age. Periodic limb movement syndrome: You know how your leg kicks or your arm flops all of a sudden when you’re falling asleep? It has a name. At least, it does when it keeps happening every twenty to forty seconds and long enough to interfere with sleep.[*3] Sleepwalking and night terrors: These sleep disorders occur when the lines between awake and asleep are blurred. They are often first observed in childhood by parents. Insomnia: You’ve probably heard of this one. Insomnia occurs whenever you want to sleep but can’t sleep, due to difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep, and it is also one of the criteria for delayed sleep phase syndrome. Delayed sleep phase syndrome: This syndrome occurs when your body’s internal clock, or its circadian rhythm, is delayed by two or more hours. For example, you might naturally want to sleep from three a.m. to noon. Excessive daytime sleepiness: This condition is exactly what it sounds like. If you’re falling asleep in the middle of a movie at your friend’s house or missing a shift because you can’t stay awake, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad friend or a lazy employee. It could be a sign that something is wrong.

People with primarily inattentive type ADHD may: •Have trouble following directions •Have difficulty staying on task •Have trouble concentrating •Be disorganized •Lose things •Be forgetful

People with primarily hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD may: •Like to stand rather than sit •Fidget and squirm •Talk a lot •Speak fast •Be very curious •Interrupt •Blurt out answers •Have trouble controlling themselves

People with combined type ADHD may: •Like to stand rather than sit •Fidget and squirm •Talk a lot •Speak fast •Be very curious •Interrupt •Blurt out answers •Have trouble controlling themselves •Have trouble following directions •Have difficulty staying on task •Have trouble concentrating •Be disorganized •Lose things •Be forgetful

harsh, or inconsistent with their child’s treatment may increase their risk of developing ADHD. Studies have shown that parenting stress can increase the risk of being diagnosed with ADHD. Higher stress levels in childhood can lead to hyperactivity and attention problems, common symptoms among children with ADHD. Bad parenting behavior could also cause childhood emotional trauma, playing a role in the long-term development of ADHD symptoms (Koppert, 2020).

Difficulty Following Through Children with ADHD may not get things done in an organized manner. They may complete a task but forget to submit it when it comes. For example, they may finish their homework but forget to hand it in. They do not necessarily do the wrong thing on purpose.

Several studies have shown that children with ADHD have a higher tendency to be raised in homes with less financial security. They are more likely not to get enough nurturing and emotional support, and their parents are emotionally unavailable. In addition, children with ADHD may be more likely to live in neighborhoods with toxic pollution levels, cigarette smoking, heavy traffic, and other potential sources of environmental toxins. In addition to environmental factors, certain lifestyle choices during

Task Avoidance: Some tasks, such as homework, reading the newspaper or a book, or doing a puzzle, don’t often interest you. You may be able to complete tasks requiring persistence and patience when adults give you specific directions and encouragement; however, you might need a great deal of structure to begin these types of assignments. Risk-Taking: You are impulsive and have difficulty waiting for things to develop. You may be tempted to take risks that other children wouldn’t because you don’t see any rewards. In some cases, this can mean that you don’t fully understand the risks involved and can quickly become hurt due to your actions.

Children do not develop what is called the “theory of mind” until ages three to five. Theory of mind is said to be present when someone is able to understand that other people have conscious thoughts and behaviors independent of them. Theory of mind is necessary for empathy and most social interactions—it’s how you understand someone else’s perspective and thinking process. Children who struggle to develop theory of mind are often diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum or having schizophrenia, ADHD, or some other problem. See B. Korkmaz, “Theory of Mind and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Childhood,” Pediatric Research

Children with ADHD may talk excessively in a classroom.

Combined Type The difference between the inattentive and the hyperactive/impulsive type of ADHD in children is poorly understood. A child with a combination of the two may be particularly distracting and challenging to manage. This is the most common type, with symptoms that combine the other two. People with combined-type ADHD may have inattentive symptoms early in the day but become hyperactive and impulsive as the day continues and may be restless sleepers at night. Also, people with combined-type ADHD may be fidgety during the day but become very calm at night when relaxed and ready to go to bed.

Difficulty Maintaining Focus on Tasks and Conversations Children with ADHD may have difficulty focusing in the classroom or with peers due to their disorganization and tendency to fidget. They may get distracted by extraneous sights and sounds, such as their thoughts. For

Difficulty Engaging in Certain Leisure Activities Children with ADHD have difficulty participating in activities that do not interest them. They may feel restless or bored when asked to join in quiet hobbies, such as drawing or reading. They may have trouble concentrating on an activity for too long. This can lead to children becoming impulsive and seeking ways to “release” their energy,

Intruding on or Interrupting Others Children with ADHD may intrude on others by talking excessively, moving things around, and touching others without permission. This can include pushing or grabbing other children that are playing or drawing. They may touch objects they feel they should have or be overly aggressive toward others.

Frequent Breaches of Social Rules Children with ADHD may frequently break the rules at school or in other situations that require them to follow specific guidelines. They may get sent to the principal’s office for their behavior repeatedly or be sent home from school for not following the dress code daily. They may often feel misunderstood by the people around them and “forced” to do things they do not want.

Many children with ADHD cannot sit still when they are not engaged in an activity. If they are required to be seated during class, they may move their chair around or pace while waiting for instruction. They may also find ways to fidget and decrease concentration throughout any activity to such an extent that it is difficult for others to participate with them. Children with ADHD focus on things that interest them but typically do not have strong attention spans or desire for learning across subjects.

Children with ADHD often suffer from a negative self-image. Children with this condition are often doubted or minimized by their teachers, parents, and peers. This can lead children to believe that they cannot succeed or be as good as other children, leading to a lack of motivation and interest.

To make matters worse, they may also face the burden of negative feedback from their teachers and families, who have yet to understand this disorder fully. In turn, children with ADHD must learn to deal with being told that they are lazy or stubborn simply because they cannot focus on something that is not initially interesting. This can also lead them to self-doubt; lacking self-esteem can be detrimental in the long run. As they might progress throughout their adult lives, there is a higher possibility that they may also develop anxiety disorders and depression.

CHILDREN WITH ADHD OUTGROW THIS CONDITION A common misconception is that children grow out of this disorder. Parents and many physicians previously believed that once children with ADHD reached adolescence and then adulthood, their ADHD would resolve. However, recent research indicates that certain aspects of the disorder can persist into adulthood for up to 85% of these children.

Living with ADHD is especially difficult for children facing social and emotional challenges. Society can often make them feel like they’re a part of the “loser” class of students, making it harder to keep up with their peers. They may have difficulty with relationships, making friends, dealing with stress, and getting along with others. A child with ADHD might be more likely to get teased or bullied.

The “poor parent” myth is that children with ADHD have parents who do not adequately discipline or create an orderly and consistent household, thus creating behavioral and hyperactivity problems in their children. ADHD does have biological roots, which are not caused by poor parenting but by genetics, neurotransmitters, and other factors. The myth that parents are not doing their job has led some parents to overcompensate and enact harsh punishments. In addition, children may not be allowed any privileges, such as participating in play or school activities.

Many children with ADHD are more self-conscious or have higher-than-average anxiety surrounding certain situations or circumstances, such as taking tests or being placed in situations where they are required to be quiet and pay attention.

The “dumb kid myth” is the belief that a child with ADHD has an IQ lower than other children and will never be able to think or learn well. The reality is that no scientific research has ever shown that the IQ of children with ADHD is lower than other children, including those without any learning disability or disorder. Children who have ADHD have the same intellectual potential as any other child. They

Children with ADHD have much more potential for academic success than many parents give them credit for. These children are usually very capable of achieving the same educational goals as their peers once their education, organization, and study skills have been adequately developed. ADHD does not affect a child’s performance in school; a lack of information or instruction hinders a child’s learning ability.

CHILDREN WITH ADHD CAN NEVER FOCUS OR PAY ATTENTION Children with ADHD have difficulty paying attention in class because they cannot maintain a sustained focus without becoming bored or distracted. Often, these children can focus on things that interest them, but they struggle with mundane topics, like learning to spell “cat” or the name of a fruit. They often have trouble listening to instructions and jump to another topic or stop paying attention mid-way through instructions.

increased awareness of ADHD among teachers and school personnel have increased reporting of children with ADHD and, consequently, more accommodations. This has led to more teachers being willing to receive training and work with these students. It has also helped teachers understand how to cater their teaching styles to these children’s needs. Additionally, the number of individuals diagnosed with ADHD has increased due to the increased availability of diagnostic tools and resources for children and adults. There has also been a growing awareness of the disorder itself, which has led to people taking a more proactive approach to dealing with it.

Results have now been seen not only in elementary-school children, but in preschoolers, college students, the middle-aged, and the elderly. Healthy volunteers have benefited, as have people with disorders including Down syndrome, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, alcohol abuse, Parkinson’s disease, chemotherapy-treated cancer, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mild cognitive impairment (a common forerunner of Alzheimer’s disease). Gains have been seen to persist for up to eight months after the completion of training.

If a child or adolescent has AD/HD, he experiences some executive function weaknesses.

Women should know the truth. They can take it; they are adults, not children. If a mother opts for formula rather than breastfeeding, there is good evidence that her baby will score lower on IQ tests and will have a higher risk of many illnesses including some cancers, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea and ear infections. She should know that her own risk of breast, ovarian and uterine cancer will be higher, as well as her daughter’s risk of breast cancer. The mother increases her own risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and becoming overweight by “choosing” formula feeding. There is accumulating evidence that the risk of mental illness (alcoholism, ADHD, schizophrenia) is increased by not breastfeeding. A recent study suggested that even behaviour problems in adolescents are more likely if the child was formula fed. The longer the child is breastfed, the lower the risk both for the child and the mother.

What does it mean for something to be natural? When we say that something is “natural”, what we often actually mean is that it is widely accepted or practiced, whereas something that is “unnatural” is foreign or strange to us.

Development of brain growth, timing, and coordination in childhood are critical to proper function throughout life. If there is developmental delay in brain function in childhood, such as ADHD, autism, Tourette’s Syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, tics, dyslexia, learning or processing disorders, or even more subtle symptoms, it is best to aggressively rehabilitate function before adulthood. Unfortunately, the current model of health care tells parents to wait for the child to grow out of it. However, many children do not grow out of it and miss key windows of time for ideal brain development. Unrelated to developmental delays, early symptoms of brain degeneration such as poor mental endurance, poor memory, and inability to learn new things are also serious issues when timing matters. The longer a person waits to manage their brain degeneration or developmental delay the less potential they have to make a difference. Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS

While researching for his talk, Conners had noticed that North Carolina, his adopted home state, owned the dubious distinction of having the nation's highest rate of kids diagnosed with ADHD.

(see figure 1) or the macro-steps of the day’s plans (see figure 4). The level of detail depends on the context and the child’s needs for communication support. To help encourage literacy and develop sight words at

A number of studies link symptoms of inattention with inadequate amounts of sleep.5 Lack of sleep significantly correlates with severity of symptoms in children with ADHD.6 Sleep loss and attention disorders have been shown to impact similar brain pathways.7

law says a child’s IEP must be drafted without any influence of financial limitations.

I have four children under the age of eight! Two of them I seriously suspect have ADHD or Asperger's or some bloody thing. And one of them is waking up twice in the night for a feed. What does he expect? That I sit around daydreaming about jumping his bones? Please. All I want to do is sleep.

fortitude,

A Maryland Department of Education study found that white, suburban elementary school children are using medication for ADHD at more than twice the rate of African American students.

appreciating the progress made by your child or student.

Mirror neurons fire for something as simple as drinking water and as complex as yelling in anger. When you watch someone else get angry, stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol start to flow. You may not always manage stress the way you hope to, but the very fact that you are working on it will benefit your children.

The raw data from CDC’s 1999 Verstraeten study showed that children who took thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccines in their first thirty days suffered an astonishing 1,135 percent higher rate of autism than children who did not.30 Verstraeten also documented a grim inventory of other neurological injuries including ADD/ADHD, speech and language delays, tics, and sleep disorders in children exposed to thimerosal. Verstraeten reported that these shocking signals prompted him to review, for the first time, the published medical literature, where he confirmed the alarming toxicity of mercury (thimerosal) to cause these injuries was biologically plausible.

What is most important to understand about children with ADHD is not simply that they move about too much, it is that they react or behave too much. They are much more likely to respond to the things around them in any situation than are children without ADHD of the same age. Their behavior occurs too quickly, too forcefully, and too easily in situations where other children would be more inhibited.

Parenting kids with ADHD is HARD, and we (parents) make it more complicated when our homes don’t support our children’s needs.

My goal is to help your child understand that ADHD isn’t a “defect” at all, and with the right tools, ADHD can be an asset. In this book, I use what is called a “strength-based approach.” That means I like to focus on each child’s individual strengths, from which they can build self-confidence. In other words, I’m emphasizing what your child can do right rather than wrong.

There is something in the front of our brains called the frontal cortex. This is the area where the brain gets organized and motivated and manages emotions. It’s also called our executive functioning area. Is there a boss in your family? Well, the executive functioning area is the boss of your brain! But people with ADHD have a delay in the prefrontal cortex or executive functions.2 Your mental boss is smart; it just moves at its own pace!

when you have ADHD, your brain may process things slower, but your thoughts can actually be faster—this

It’s not that we’re not focusing; it’s that we are focusing on everything at once!