reply to post by Wrabbit2000
Hi Wrabbit... sorry for the delay. Thank you for that reply. I read you post and other one up top. I can hardly guess what you must be going thru with
your son and how much heart and soul have been applied to find a solution. Indeed, there is a real medical issue with some children who from birth
display characteristics of autism? I mention that because you did. ADHD and autism share similar symptoms but may begin differently. My post on this
thread was directed at casual clinical diagnosis of ADHD, where sometimes prescriptions are quickly issued for something that is less medical and more
societal "training" or "indoctrination" by all the influences we receive from the world around us.
I agree that when we were younger we did not see this kind of number of claims of Attention Deficit and wonder a lot about it's source. I have come
to some conclusions about that.
TV Remote Control: Teaches kids younger and younger that, if they want, they can quickly change "reality" by clicking from show to show. Programs
are broken up by commercials which rapid fire our brains with short subject matter. We don't have to be patient anymore, work or wait for anything.
Just bang, bang, bang on the remote and change from one program to another. Breeds a desire for instant gratification, shortens our attention span and
dulls presence of mind.
TV itself, computer games, cell phones: teach youngsters to ignore the real world while they use them. People call our name and we ignore them again
and again. Teaches non responsiveness.
We ignore our kids while "busy" on these things. Kids tug on our sleeves and we say, "Not now" or, "In a minute". Next time we ask them to come
along or participate, they pay us back for that by ignoring
us.
I watch my nephew try to get mom or dad to pay attention to him for a question and they ignore him, he nearly pulls them off balance to get their
attention, and they say wait or stop that. Drives him crazy. He's not old enough to understand all that yet, just that he's being ignored. Now when
we babysit him and he is watching TV or playing on the computer and we call to him or talk to him, he "plays" deaf and dumb. If that goes on for
years it can train his mind to not pay attention.
A counter balance to that I think can be not only reading books, but playing games like ping pong, which teaches concentration, or board games from
checkers at first, up to chess. Card games too. Playing catch with a ball. Anything that counters the volumes of "dumbing down" traffic from the
world around us, and practices focus on the moment will help. Being attentive and spending time with them is most important. No matter how trivial the
question or problem (in our minds) we should spend more time with the kids in direct eye contact and activity.
Thats for simple "acquired" ADHD to catch it early and begin reversing it. My heart goes out to any one with more acute disorders like autism. I
don't have much experience there but am aware of the growing problem. Is something toxic in the environment causing that? Probably. Today, disorders
like autism and asthma, etc., are on the rise and it's hard on families. More power to you Wrabbit.