ADHD doesn’t have to be
a negative thing for children, a psychologist says.
Being fidgety and easily distracted are two of the most recognized symptoms of attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder in children, often leading to poor performance in school. Nearly 6.4 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD. To learn more about how to successfully manage ADHD, the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board sought out Oksana Hagerty, an educational and developmental psychologist who is a learning specialist at Beacon College in Leesburg, the first accredited higher education institution to award bachelor’s degrees primarily to students with learning disabilities, ADHD and other learning differences. For the complete transcript, go to OrlandoSentinel.com/Opinion.
Q: People most commonly think of ADHD as children bouncing off the walls, a blur of motion, who can’t sit still. Is that all there is to it?
A: This is a very common misconception. to same regulate ADHD kids who attention. is the are inability bouncing The off the walls can sit still in front of their computers for hours playing video games. What is broken is not the ability to focus attention, but, rather, the ability to focus it on something that is not immediately interesting, important, needed, etc. Lack of focus is just as common as hyperfocus in the kids with ADHD.
Q: Do any youngsters ever “grow out of ” the disorder as they mature?
A: Let me put it this way: Children can “learn” out of ADHD. Early interventions and appropriate educational strategies can help decrease the level of discomfort that ADHD causes. In other words, children can learn to live with ADHD, and also be productive, successful and even capitalize on it (“hyperactivity,” for example, means “energy” — not bad in a 24-7 society, right?).
Q: Why are ADHD rates so much higher in the United States than anywhere else?
A: There are many reasons. The primary one is that in many countries — especially developing countries — learning and attention issues are considered “luxury-level” disabilities. I have heard several times observations along the lines of, “Attention? Are you serious? We have a hard time taking care of the kids who are deaf, blind, or have limited mobility and really cannot afford adding ADHD to that laundry list of issues.”
Q: Overmedicating children in America diagnosed with ADHD long has been a concern. A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that prescription rates for ADHD increased by 700 percent among women ages 25–29, and by 560 percent among women ages 30-34 between 2003 and 2015. What does this suggest to you?
A: is required, ADHD, However, and if this properly medications is where diagnosed, I are see — the by does danger far — require not in overmedication. the medications. only thing that We tend this medication to want a silver does bullet: not work, If one let’s pill get does another not work, one. Very let’s get often, two. by If the time kids reach us at Beacon College, they tell us that they have tried everything, reached the maximum allowable dose, and nothing worked. Why? Because ADHD medications do not teach appropriate behavior — they only decrease hyperactivity. Medications may help maintain focus longer, but they do not teach skills. There will be less aggression, that is true, but does it mean that your kid will immediately start doing right things? That is why any medication will only “work” if it is combined with timely interventions and appropriate educational strategies.