| One of the great Myths of working with the ADHD | | | | give him more auditory sense, and bam! He had focus |
| child, or people with ADHD symptoms, is the need to | | | | instantly. Why does this work? How does this happen? |
| "remove all distractions." This article shows why this | | | | There are some different theories about how this |
| strategy doesn't work, and what you can really do to | | | | happens, and I read about one amazing theory in a |
| help an ADHD child focus on one task... | | | | book called Healing ADD by Daniel Amen. He’s |
| One of the great myths of working with the ADHD | | | | a medical doctor, and he talks about the prefrontal |
| child (and anyone with ADHD symptoms for that | | | | cortex of the brain, the part of your brain that’s |
| matter) today is: "Take away all extra distraction and | | | | actually responsible for doing a few things. One is for |
| stimulus so the ADHD child can focus." This is just not | | | | balancing your emotions, for maintaining a balanced |
| true, and I will show you why. | | | | emotional state, also the ability to actually plan ahead |
| There was an ADHD child I was working with...his | | | | and think in advance. Finally, it allows you to do things in |
| mother worked in a fitness gym, and I had an office | | | | a sequenced, step-by-step structure, to essentially |
| there. At my office, I would see this ADHD child to try | | | | make a list of things to do and do it in steps A through |
| to help with his ADHD symptoms. | | | | G. |
| His mother was often really frustrated. Whenever she | | | | A linear person focuses on one thing. This activates |
| was trying to close up the fitness center to go home | | | | that part of the brain we were talking about earlier, the |
| at night, her ADHD child was running all over the | | | | prefrontal cortex. Their emotions get balanced. They're |
| place...he wasn't listening to anything she said...making a | | | | able to think ahead, plan ahead and do things in |
| mess...taking all the exercise cushions and scattering | | | | sequence. That’s pretty good for focusing on |
| them...basically tearing the place apart. She was trying | | | | one task at a time, such as doing the dishes. It’s |
| to clean up and go home for the night, and she was at | | | | a monotonous, step-by-step kind of thing. |
| her wit’s end. | | | | If a person with ADHD symptoms, or an ADHD child, |
| One night, I was locking up my office for the night and I | | | | focuses on one thing, generally what happens is, your |
| said to his mother, "Pssst...watch this." This particular | | | | brain, the part of your brain that is in control of doing |
| ADHD child was only about six. He had eight different | | | | things in sequence, planning ahead and doing things in |
| diagnoses of ADD, OCD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder | | | | order, literally shuts down. |
| on top of his ADHD symptoms, and everything else. | | | | The activity in your brain just goes "plop," and what |
| But I said, "Hold on, let me show you something simple." | | | | happens is your brain starts looking for other things to |
| Then I said to the ADHD child, "Hey, try this... All those | | | | stimulate it so it can stay active, except it’s |
| cushions you're throwing all over the place, I'd like to | | | | going on "randomizer," meaning it will just soak up |
| see if you can do this. I don't think you can. I don't think | | | | whatever’s coming into your senses. |
| that you're smart or fast enough to do this, but if you | | | | The point is, if you feed an ADHD child's senses with |
| can, prove me wrong." | | | | things that are related to what they're trying to |
| I said, "Try to balance them all up on one hand while | | | | accomplish, they'll stay focused on accomplishing that |
| you're looking up at the ceiling, while you're reciting the | | | | thing. |
| alphabet backwards." | | | | This is the big difference between people with ADHD |
| The next thing I knew, this ADHD child had all these | | | | symptoms and people without ADHD symptoms, that |
| cushions from the workout machines balanced on one | | | | gets really misunderstood. |
| hand...AND he was looking up at the ceiling, and reciting | | | | Someone who sees an ADHD child struggling to stay |
| the alphabet backwards. | | | | focused on one thing, usually tries to help by "taking |
| I said, "Ok, let's see if you can remember where each | | | | away all the distractions" actually taking away more |
| one of those cushions go, and if a single one of them | | | | stimulus from the ADHD child's environment, and trying |
| is out of place, you have to start over." The fact is, it | | | | to force their brain to focus even more on just that |
| didn't really matter where they went. But this ADHD | | | | one thing. |
| child, even though he was only six, he remembered | | | | Because that is what works for a person without |
| precisely where they all came from. | | | | ADHD symptoms, right? However, as I've shown, that |
| One at a time, he put all these cushions back squarely, | | | | is the worst thing to do to the ADHD child. |
| exactly where they were supposed to go, and he | | | | When you give an ADHD child (or adult) enough things |
| didn't argue, because I didn't give him anything to argue | | | | to do at once, as well as a stimulating environment, |
| with. I gave him something challenging to do that | | | | they can do anything at all, they are in their element, |
| needed to be done that occupied all his senses at | | | | and they really shine. If you'd like to learn more |
| once. | | | | surprising secrets about how to help the ADHD child |
| At the same time, we turned the music up in the | | | | and others with ADHD symptoms focus and thrive, |
| fitness center while we were at it. We turned it loud to | | | | see below. |