Celebrate your ADHD Child

ADHD and Nature

The Chicago Tribune just did a story on ADHD that featured The Gift of ADHD: How to Transform Your Child's Problems into Strengths. The story highlighted the part from my book on the role of time in nature for reducing symptoms of ADHD.  I quoted a study in there that showed improvements in ability to focus and to follow directions following time spent in nature. I include  below an excerpt of the article and two links to the article and the sidebar.

Writing about the benefits of nature is probably one of the most "radical" treatments talked about in my book, but it also comes with some science to support it. The thing that seems crazy to me, is that its obvious to any parent that any child - ADHD  or otherwise - responds to being in Nature. In a conversation I had with Roger Housden, author of the series of 10 Poems to Change Your Life, I asked him what parenting advice the great poets would have for parents today. He said that Wordsworth writes about how Nature is the second mother to any child, that no mother can raise a child without nature. I wonder if the rise in ADHD diagnoses is related to how far we have gotten from understanding the importance of Nature.

One direct suggestion for parenting an ADHD child that comes from some of these thoughts and preliminary scientific findings on Nature is to

1) Never take away recess in school as a form of punishment. If this is what kids need to stay focused and follow directions, then you will be setting up  a vicious cycle which will lead to more and more behavioral disturbance. Parents need to get in the schools and advocate for their kids. You might even recommend "preventative interventions" and ask the school for occasional nature breaks to recharge your child's capacity to pay attention.

One of the most heartwarming stories I heard about turning around the punishment dynamic and giving a child what he or she really needs was about a school that stopped punishments for a child that was disruptive (diagnosed with ADHD) and gave him the Responsibility of taking care of a Remembrance Garden. It was a garden that was built to remember a child who had died. This ADHD student got to feel very worthy as he was given such an important responsibility and he got to get his nature fix. His behavior improved.  Parents and schools need to come together to start coming up with creative interventions like this rather than just going along with the vicious cycle of punishment.

here is the excerpt from the Chicago Tribune, by Julie Deardoff.

"Some studies have shown that children were more able to concentrate, complete tasks and follow directions after spending time in natural, especially green, settings, according to psychologist Lara Honos-Webb in "The Gift of ADHD" (New Harbinger Publications, $14.95). Camping, fishing or playing soccer outside were all considered green activities.

Activity alone couldn't explain the findings, because "playing basketball in paved surroundings didn't result in the improvements in concentration that even passive activities in green settings did," Honos-Webb wrote. Still, other studies contradict this to some extent.

Pros: Getting some outside exercise is good for you anyway, whether you're trying to treat attention deficit or another modern malady: obesity.

Cons: Not enough research to prove whether it works as a sole treatment."

here are the links to the  Chicago Tribune article, November 20, 2005.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0511200423nov20,1,5695885.column?coll=chi-health-hed

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0511200402nov20,1,4385162.column?page=2&coll=chi-health-hed

What Labels Can Do

I received an email from a young author Michael Zowoiski who has written a guide, Pay Attention! Whadya Say? - a guide for teens with ADHD. he tells me about his own experience with being told he has ADHD:

I remember in 10th grade, I grew so angry with people only referring to me a label and not a human being, I acted out on purpose that whole year just to be mean to people. Furthermore, i just read in the lastest Scientific American about a person who saw a doctor for a  check up- and it was discovered the man had a shadow in his chest. It was cancer, and he died a few months later. The doctor went back and looked at his past medical records and it turned out that the shadow was there for at least 10yrs. The diagnosis killed him. I think a situation like that has a lot of truth for ADHDs

I think this a very powerful commentary on what the label of ADHD can do to kids. Michael tells us that he acted out BECAUSE he was so angry at the label. This is exactly what I talk about in my book, The Gift of ADHD. Many of the behavior problems result from the diagnosis, from kids having their differences called disorders. These kids know at some level that their differences make them excel at things other kids can't do. Then they get told they have a Deficit Disorder - It Makes Them Mad as Michael so clearly says. His is a powerful testimony for parents to consider. You might want to question labels before taking them on too quickly.


Lara Honos-Webb, Ph.D.
www.visionarysoul.com

link to Newsweek article featuring "The Gift of ADHD"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7102727/site/newsweek/

Listen to a Heart-to-Heart on How to Find Your Life Path and Heal Yourself
http://www.byoaudio.com/play/WWTXckS4

ADHD Success Stories

Here is another story of a successful adult who was tormented in school because of ADHD but went on to do great things.

What I love about what he says is that failure is a necessary ingredient to success: Experiencing failure is the only way to breakthrough success, otherwise others would have gotten there before you. Parents work so hard to protect their children from failure. Fail is the dirtiest four letter letter word that starts with an F in the parenting world. What this successful person has to say, should help parents relax. Take the long-view. Your child's differences may be the very key to their contribution to the world. I read somewhere the other day that the over-protectiveness of parents in not letting them navigate through the world on their own merits is leading to a generation of kids who have great childhoods, great adolescents but completely ill equipped to be adults.   here's a gifted adhd adults story:

I am a 59 year old male who never got above C- in school. I was always in trouble for testing the limits of everything. I did go to MIT ("Good Will Hunting") but they were really glad to see me dropout. I have 75 US Patents and am responsible for 100's of millions of dollars in successful products.

One of my strengths was all the adverse life experiences, coupled with parents who said "don't worry about it", find a way around. It made me able to take risk, try new things and bring others to new horizons. I often have had people quit working for me because they could not take day-after-day of failure, only to be sorry later that they left too soon.

Experiencing failure is the only way to breakthrough success, otherwise others would have gotten there before you.

I raised two like-minded daughters who in contrast were discouraged by the school systems and their teacher mother. I pleaded to let them feel good about themselves but to little avail.

Many people who read your book really don't get it. I want to say to these people … To change these children is to eliminate the person who might find the cure to the common cold. Let these children do their thing and make them feel good about it.

Adult ADHD Skyrockets

See this new story in Newsweek about the skyrocketing rates of use of ADHD meds in adults

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9630257/site/newsweek/

I think one of the reasons ADHD diagnoses are skyrocketing is because adult's attention is exhausted. Of course we will have a deficit of attention if our attention is exhausted by being drawn in too many different directions or by having to focus our attention on things that are not interesting to us, or not in line with our deepest strengths and values. If you spend all day paying attention to stock quotes, but you want to be hiking with your kids, your attention will get exhausted and look like ADHD.  Adult ADHD can be a reflection of overstimulating lives, too many demands, and being out of whack with your own deepest values.

A darker side to the explosion of ADHD could be the lure of the medications themselves. Most of these drugs are stimulants, some have amphetamines in them, aka speed. Some people see a dealer in the doctor. I think its a bit crazy the way prescribing doctors and the FDA fail to see what any person who has ever worked in the substance abuse field sees so easily: These are highly addictive drugs.  Think of the episode on Desperate Housewives, where the mom was addicted to her kid's ADHD meds.  Even investors know this, Jim Cramer (short guy who yells a lot) on his show told investors to invest in these ADHD med companies. He said not only is use skyrocketing in kids, its skyrocketing more in adults. He flat out said, "plus these drugs are basically speed, these customers will be addicted and the demand will only increase"... Its very strange that the voice of sanity about the use of many of these ADHD drugs comes from a financial guy, while psychiatrists look the other way.....

Differences Not Disorders

I received permission to post some success stories of adults with ADHD symptoms. Here is one that highlights how the symptoms are interesting differences not disorders.

here it is, with a helpful tip that follows

Lara,
     I read your article about ADHD on MSN and I want to thank you. It's about time someone spoke up because I have never thought I "suffer" from ADHD. I always considered it a blessing and reveled in the fact my brain goes a million miles and hour in different directions all the time. Being able to harness that and control it to a degree has led to my success in a variety of interests. Also, I find everything in the entire world fascinating. I'm never bored because everything is just as interesting to me now as when I was 18, 10, or 7 years old. I have always thought "outside" the box and I have a staff of people, and some have Masters degrees in computer science, from all over the world working for me. I have no education whatsoever. But I do have ADHD. And because of this, I am able to solve problems that no amount of education can resolve. It's as though I can feel my subconscious churning and working things out, and when it arrives at the solution, my conscious mind is made aware of it and I see the answer as if it was on a movie screen, or held in my hand and completely tangible to me.
>     For the past few years though, I have become frustrated because I can appear rude in conversation. I can't focus longer than 4 or 5 seconds on what anyone is saying. It has nothing to do with how important the conversation is either. A single word can create an image in my head and then my  mind goes shooting off in some other direction. Or, a gust of wind suddenly has me thinking about wind pressure and the flexibility of tree branches, or if the branch scraping our window is slowly knocking molocules off the glass as it moves back and forth and how many years would it take to carve a hole through it. It's affected my friendships, my relationship with my wife, and sometimes hurt me in meetings with my boss. I have learned that I simply -cannot- focus longer than that. I may as well lift a mountain. Because I am the bread winner for my family, I considered some medications to help me focus, but after talking with other people who have manic depression, obsessive compulsion, and ADHD, they all say that it changes your ability to think. I never want to lose my creativity. My abilility to innovate new ideas based on all the fragmentmented,  random knowledge I have is truly the one thing I enjoy most about being alive. It is who I am and I will never give it up. So, I still take no medication, and after reading your article, I never will. I really hope other parents out there, like mine did, nurture their childrens creativity and interests. It seems like these days they want to turn them into zombies just because they find contemplating the aerodynamics of the plane flying outside the window far more interesting that who won what war, when, and with what army.

In response to the difficulty with listening to others' in conversation I suggested the following:

here is a simple experiment,  imagine your raring energy as a motor, and focus on the motor feeling rather than just being driven by it, then imagine a speedometer and mentally lower the speed your engine is revving at. these sorts of guided imagery can really work and if they don't you just entertained yourself for about 15 seconds and probably kept your mouth shut for the same amount of time. ;)

LHW

www.visionarysoul.com

Urgency

Based on the many emails and the few posts to this blog I received after my book was excerpted on msn.com, it seems that the urgency I share about getting the word out to educators and parents and medical professionals is intense. For parents who are worried about their ADHD children, be comforted by the fact that I get so many stories from adults who talk about the torments of being in school, who have gone on to do great things.

For more resources to spread the word, check out the recommended reading list on the blog. Contributors include the parent of a highly creative child (now teen) whose creative impulse was the impetus for adults wanting to label and an educator who writes that all students may be hurt by the rigidity of the current educational system. and of course the Gift of ADHD which is also helpful for adults who have the symptoms in addition to children.  Adult can go back and heal their "inner ADHD child" which sounds flakey, but really  sometimes I think the major accomplishment of therapy and healing is to re-parent ourselves in a healthy way, and give ourselves everything we need.

Some other resources are:

I will be offering a teleseminar on the gift of adhd in the next few weeks, I"ll keep you posted.

this blog: spread the word

www.psychjourney_blogs.typepad.com/adhd/

here is a personal message audio recording about my book The Gift of ADHD (3 minutes)

http://www.byoaudio.com/play/WXxtt88s

If you find a product on my webpage www.visionarysoul.com  (there's lots of free stuff) or like the book The Gift of ADHD, I greatly appreciate any referrals to my website. If you recommend friends and family to a product or my webpage or the blog I would be happy to give you a free special report: When Self-Help  Hurts: Letting Go of Seeking By Finding Yourself. (a value of 19.99). Just send out an email blast and copy to me at lhonoswebb@msn.com, and it's yours.

LHW

Gift of ADHD surpise!

I was surprised to find my book, The Gift of ADHD is excerpted on msn.com today.  there I was just checking emails and I saw the link on my default page, and there was my own book!

here's the link to the msn.com feature of The Gift of ADHD

http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100110773

here is the box with the link on msn.com: After Vin Diesel, but before Ashton!

Today on MSN
Video: Vin Diesel, break...
Autos: Small is beautiful
ADHD: Problem or strength?
10 explosive female...

Only on MSN
Bad day at the office?

More from MSN
Gossip: Ashton's bad love...
Want a date? Check the stars
How to thwart the work...
The secret to super clean...

here is a link to the original Newsweek article featuring The Gift of ADHD


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7102727/site/newsweek/ 

LHW

ADHD Medications Under Fire

I'm sure you are aware that the FDA just issued a black box warning on Strattera, a leading adhd medication. The black box is being issued to warn parents that this medication caused suicidal ideation. You probably also know that in Febuary Health Canada ordered Adderall off the market after reports of sudden cardiac death in 20 Patients.

You may also be aware that the other leading medications contain ampetamines for the treatment of adhd symptoms. while the FDA is wating for more safety data on these drugs before changing labeling recommendations, we already know the effects of amphetamines - stunted growth, heart arrhythmyias, psychotic like symptoms and suicidal ideation. A recent article in the Archives of General Psychiatry found amphetamines to cause psychotic like symptoms. The link was not made to ADHD medications which contain amphetamines, but it is only a matter of time.

While it is true that ADHD medications can reduce symptoms, it seems important to ask - at what cost.? I often have the feeling that using stimulants to keep kids in line is the big - The Emperor's Wearing No Clothes - episode in the field of psychiatry today. If you ask your doctor for stimulants to help you lose weight, she will list a catalogue of terrible side effects and all the dangers associated with it. If you tell a doctor that your child won't sit still in school and is disruptive, she might prescribe a stimulant and tell you its just a mild stimulant with minimal effects. ..... and every psychologist and psychiatrist who knows anything about substance abuse knows all the side effects of stimulants effecting breathing, blood pressure, cardiac functioning and causing nausea, weight loss, agitation, confusion and possibly leading to addiction.

Freud is reported to have discovered that cocaine was a wonderful cure for depression. Only in retrospect do we realize how ridiculous this is - of cource cocaine will reduce depressive symptoms, but we know now that the dangers of cocaine far outweigh the "benefits" to a depressed person.

In addition to the dangers of these medications are the deeper issues of not looking at causes in the educational system or the need for skills training of kids.  The dangerous quick fix also leads to deeper problems being left unresolved.

How To Help Your Child Focus

Ways to Help Your Child Focus and Pay Attention

  The most common question I get from parents and readers of my book, The Gift of ADHD, is "How can I help my child focus and pay attention?"

  Your child is already paying attention. The question is what are they paying attention to?

Children who have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder often fail to pay attention to what they are supposed to be paying attention to – the teacher in the classroom, your instructions to stop running in the house or the fact that they have a quiz next week in social studies class. They are often paying attention to things that are more interesting to them such as what the other kids are doing in the class, what the dog is doing while you’re nagging at them or how many home runs his favorite baseball player has hit.

Using this principle – that your child is intensely interested in and paying attention to some things – you can help your child focus in situations where she currently is falling short. The main strategy is to channel your child’s energy and interest to promote the development of persistence in other tasks.

1. Sometimes kids lack persistence because they doubt their own abilities. By not trying they can preserve their dignity by saying “I failed because I didn’t even try.” You can channel your child’s enthusiasm for a sports hero or a favorite movie or cartoon character by telling him to pretend like he is his favorite hero. If your child is mesmerized by Lance Armstrong, invite your child to walk and talk like Lance would. By pretending to have a lot of confidence, your child will get the feeling for what it is like to have confidence and have the foundation for acting from that place.

2. Sometimes kids lack persistence because they feel if they have a disorder why should they even try since there is already something wrong with them. Using a person whom your child is fascinated with – his or her hero- you can ask your child to tell you what would have happened if that person said “Why Try?” If your child is obsessed with Harry Potter ask her what would have happened if he had just given up and didn’t try to overcome the many obstacles he faced.

3. Use your child’s areas of intense interest to develop basic skills that will help him in learning things that are not so interesting. For example, if you child is obsessed with cars you can help him find books or manuals about cars. In this way he will begin to develop some skills with reading that will carry over to other areas.

4. Let your child play and exercise in nature. A recent study (Faber-Taylor et al., 2001) has shown that playing in “green settings” helps children to focus and pay attention. The findings suggest that letting your child have a little bit of play time outside in nature before sitting down to do her homework, might help her to concentrate, complete tasks and follow directions.

5. Become an advocate for your child is school settings. Sometimes your child needs little adjustments to help him focus in school. As a parent, if you can advocate for small changes, you can make a profound difference in your child’s behavior at school. For example, one parent found that by asking the teacher to let her child get out of her seat occasionally without being punished, the child was able to pay attention more in class just by making this one change.

6. Develop an appreciation for what your child does pay attention to. For example, often a child is not paying attention to the course work in school but he is paying attention to what all the other kids are doing. Tell your child that his interest in other students’ shows a lot of caring and concern for others and intelligence about how other people get along and interact. Ask him to share his insights with you and comment on his abilities to understand what other people are thinking and doing. Praise your child at any opportunity for what they are paying attention to, find a way to reframe it as a strength rather than a deficit.

7. Find out what your child is paying attention to and encourage her interest in that arena. For example, if your child is interested in sports, rather than being discouraged that his interest will not lead to academic success, find a way to show him that you honor his interest and find ways to channel that interest. When parents try to discourage interests in their children, the child will feel that the parent does not understand him and feel alone. As an example, you could use an interest in sports to an exploration of the human body and how to encourage optimal functioning. This could lead to increased interest in science classes.

In summary, the main principles of change are to maintain a positive perspective of your child and to stay connected to your child. By honoring his or her areas of intense interest you can transform your child’s problems into strengths.

Book signing!

Stephanie Vlahov will be at: Borders, the Fremont Hub, on: 10/15 (Saturday) at 2 p.m. to discuss and sign her book “The Active Creative Child-Parenting in Perpetual Motion.”
It is a “survive and thrive” manual for parents and caregivers on recognizing the gifts that their highly active child can bring to one’s life. “ADHD” type behavior has been linked statistically to high levels of creative output. While not an “anti-medication” book,parents are encouraged to question and research before putting their child on medication. And, while making medical decisions, to embrace aspects of their child’s personality that are indeed, special.