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As parents, it is important to be "informed consumers" so we can help the schools make appropriate decisions about education. It's important to find the treatment tools that work and that we find new ones when the old ones don't work as well, and help the schools do the same.
As a closing thought, recall the analogy of gymnastics. As a society, we make children go to school. Yet as members of our society, if we make these fragile learners go to school every day, then we as parents and child advocates must help to insure that going to school is a useful and productive activity for these fragile children.
Ellen Gellerstedt then addressed us.
Let's put some things in perspective i.e. get the big picture. We may have all these thoughts and this information flying around in our heads, but it is important to realize every child, every parent, and every family is unique. You don't need 100 strategies or interventions in action at once. We have to know that what the child needs in 1st grade may have nothing to do with their needs in the 5th grade. You don't have to know it all. There's a lot of expertise in our community - - Use them!
A physician can do a number of things: diagnosis, medication, help monitor progress over time, monitor what's going on with new treatments. "All that's hyper is NOT hyperactivity." Some causes of symptoms similar to those of ADD include Anxiety, Depression, Learning Disabilities, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Tourette's Syndrome, Oppositional and Defiant Behavior, Thyroid Condition, Manic-Depressive Illness, Lead Poisoning, Processing Problems, Seizures, Family Disruptions and a Chaotic Environment.
When should we think about medication? Medication doesn't cure ADD but it can, temporarily, alleviate some of the symptoms that are causing children so much trouble.
The long term goals of ALL treatments are: Confidence, Self Awareness, and Independence. We need to have them learn the skills they need so they can make their mark in the world.
Learn and understand what medication can do as well as what it cannot do. Medications used for ADD CAN'T cure ADD, CAN'T motivate someone, CAN'T give them skills, CAN'T make them either smarter or dumber, and CAN'T eliminate oppositional or defiant behavior. Medication CAN be extremely important, but it can't be the only treatment. Dosage and schedule must be individualized. Talk to your doctor often. Physicians can also help with networking or getting a team to work together.
In summary, there is no generic ADD. The hallmark of Multi-Modal Intervention is to enhance the strengths and teach the skills that are deficient. ADD is a biologic entity; the characteristics of it may be life-long. Many of the traits are blessings while some are true disabilities. The needs for the child and family change over time, and members of the team may change over time. The goals of treatment are to maximize the development of the child's cognitive, social and academic abilities and to maximize the growth of the family and the unit. There are no magic cures, but the situation is far from hopeless.
Roger Yeager, PhD - Psychologist, M. Ellen Gellerstedt, MD - Pediatrician, and Dan DeMarle, MS - Educator are with the Behavior Pediatrics Program at the Rochester General Hospital.
This article appeared in the Winter '94 GRADDA Newsletter. The Greater Rochester Attention Deficit Disorder Association. PO Box 23565, Rochester, New York 14692-3565. e-mail us at
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Thanks to Dick Smith of GRADDA and the authors for permission to reproduce this article.
next: 50 Tips on the Classroom Management of ADD
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