ADD/ADHD

ADD/ADHD Attention Deficit Disorder; Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) is one of the most controversial learning disabilities around.

Those who have luck with medications swear by them.

Those who’ve had negative experiences with medications or don’t believe in medicating their children for focusing issues have a different story to tell.

ADD/ADHD is a biologically based condition causing a persistent pattern of difficulties resulting in inattention or impulsivity that interferes with academics and social performance. At Bravo! Tutoring, we know there’s more going on than just that!

How the Brain and ADD/ADHD Work Together

When a child struggles to focus, a lot can go on! For starters, your child can be “stuck” in the right hemisphere of the brain and is therefore unable to or has a limited ability to access the left side of the brain.

The left hemisphere of the brain is the logical, step-by-step, organizational side. Schools judge a student’s intelligence and performance through the left brain’s abilities. It is logic, bit-by-bit thinking, math, numbers, phonics, reasoning, and logic side.

The right side of the brain is involved with pictures, color, movement, daydreaming, creativity, rhythm, thinking in “wholes”. A learner who is right-brain dominant can remain in the daydreaming, creative, impulsive state, which can make it difficult to focus.

Or the student might be stuck in the “movement” portion off the brain. These are the kids who need to move to learn. They might be tapping their pencils, bouncing their legs, poking their neighbors, or wriggling in their seats.

These are the kids who need to use the restroom every five minutes or who are involved in all their neighbor’s business.

Nothing is Wrong with Them!

Being a right-brain dominant thinker isn’t something bad. Most of the creations, inventions, and masterpieces throughout history were created on the right side of the brain.

But our schools today primarily focus on left brain skills like phonics and math. Certainly NOT creative thinking. Even worse, since the 1990’s the United States has had a push for math and sciences, which has only served to confuse and upset the bulk of our top, creative thinkers.

The problem comes when a student has a difficult time functioning in a typical classroom. These kids are bored to death and their minds wander. They fidget and squirm. They stare out the window when homework isn’t finished on time or at all, they get in trouble.

When assignments are lost because the child is so unorganized, they get bad grades. When they can’t hold still long enough to focus on what the teacher is saying, they get sent to the office. When behavior problems arrive because of frustration or being misunderstood, then they’re labeled as “bad” kids.

These kids aren’t bad! They’re just bored and mistreated. Math and science are great, but they’re lost without intervention and creativity.

We have to stop squelching our creative kids and go back to nurturing creativity like we did in the 1980’s. Back then, learning disabilities were rare. Most kids were happy and learning.

The Downside of Medication

Some kids really do benefit from ADD/ADHD medications. But at Bravo! Tutoring, it is our stance that a young child has a growing and maturing brain.

We know that Ritalin use can cause users to be suicidal. We know that it can cause users to lose weight and disrupt sleep cycle. Less severe side effects are irritability, stomachaches, headaches, and loss of appetite.

Adderall has similar side effects. Loss of appetite, weight loss, dry mouth, stomach upset/pain, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, headache, diarrhea, fever, nervousness, and trouble sleeping may occur. This medication may raise blood pressure as well.

It’s our goal to always treat the whole child at Bravo! Tutoring, and that means we take a non-medication approach to treating ADD/ADHD. However, we never cast judgment on anyone who chooses medication as a route to helping your child.

Helping Kids with ADHD Holistically

There is a way to help kids with ADD overcome their lack of focus. Kids with ADD/ADHD can be taught to access both the left and right hemispheres of the brain so that they can function in the modern left brain dominant classroom.

It takes time and effort. It isn’t a quick fix, like giving a pill every day. But it is a lasting fix without side effects.

Many parents who have enrolled their children in Bravo! Tutoring programs relate how they “lost” their children when they were medicated for ADD/ADHD.

They go on to explain how their personalies seemed to go away, that the “spark” that made their child special seemed to flicker out. It doesn’t have to be this way.

There are alternative and better treatment plans available that aren’t so hard on the child’s growing body and brain.

The Crossover Problem With Other Learning Disabilities

One serious problem with ADD/ADHD is that the symptoms can crossover with those of an auditory processing problem, visual processing issues, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities.

If images or text in a book is moving around, distorted, has halos, is tilted or diagonally, or appears in some other odd, way, it would make it difficult to focus and concentrate.

These are also symptoms of a visual processing disorder or dyslexia. The student might wiggle in his seat. He might look out into space. Or she might avoid doing her assignments.

Perhaps the student is experiencing auditory processing issues and might hear noises like they are as loud as a jet taking off. Maybe she hears her neighbor’s pencil scraping across the page and it sounds like scraping fingernails down a chalkboard.

Maybe the student can’t tune out background noises like the computers whirring in the back of the room or the kids playing on the playground. Can you see how difficult it would be to concentrate if you were experiencing these things?

Alternatives to Medication

There is a better and safer way to help these kids focus. It’s not as easy as taking a pill, but it’s a lot better for the child in the long run and it’s long lasting.

The combination of physical activities that engage the brain, sensory processing activities, and brain integration helps kids focus without harsh medications.

Of course, there aren’t instant results, but the results you do get are long lasting. Even better, your child enjoys the activities and there aren’t terrible side effects.

Since there is no definitive measurement when a child is tested for ADD/ADHD, it makes it difficult to determine which learning disability it truly is. The tests used for diagnosing ADD/ADHD are purely subjective.

A team of people fill out checklist on the student’s behaviors and it’s given to a doctor to decide if medication can help. There is no blood test or definitive measurement to determine if a young child will be placed on medications.

Symptoms of ADD/ADHD

Inability to give close attention to details
Makes careless mistakes in schoolwork or other activities
Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
Has a difficult time following instructions, especially multi-step instructions
Has temper problems
Avoids or refuses to do activities that take mental effort, such as school work
Loses materials necessary to complete tasks, such as pencils or books
Is extremely unorganized
Is easily distracted
Is often forgetful in daily activities

Myths About ADD/ADHD

Kids with ADD/ADHD will outgrow the condition
ADD/ADHD is caused by poor parenting
A pill can fix everything
If these kids just try harder then they’ll power through it
All kids with ADD are hyperactive
Children with ADHD are brats and just need discipline
You can turn focusing on and off according to interest
Only boys have ADD/ADHD
Kids with ADD/ADHD aren’t very smart
Medication is the only way to treat ADD/ADHD
Kids are just daydreamers and they’ll learn to focus later on
ADD/ADHD is a learning disability
ADD/ADHD is just a children’s disorder

Truths About ADD/ADHD

You don’t outgrow ADD/ADHD, but you can learn to control it by accessing the left hemisphere of the brain and using those skills to accomplish what’s needed.
ADD/ADHD is not caused by poor parenting. It is a real condition and children with this condition have a difficult time focusing and sometimes behaving. They need a set of tools to help them succeed not only academically but in life. These kids can be exhausting and wear out parents, so judgment needs to be reserved for this situation.
There are other solutions to helping kids with ADD/ADHD than medications. If medication works, you’ll see an improvement in your child’s focusing abilities. If you don’t see a change in your child’s behavior with medication, you need to explore why.
No matter how hard a child with ADD/ADHD tries, it doesn’t affect his ability to focus or hold still. He needs skills and tools to help him deal with this condition
Not all children are hyperactive with ADD/ADHD. Some students are calm and can stay still for a long time but still struggle to focus on assignments or other activities.
Kids with ADD/ADHD are not brats who need discipline. These children are impulsive and act before they think. They often have a difficult time holding still or respond to loud noises. Visual stimuli can also set them off, such as fluorescent lighting. Most kids, especially those with ADD/ADHD are sensitive and want to please others. For some of these children, it is extremely difficult.
You can’t turn ADD/ADHD on or off. The brain doesn’t work that way. Kids with ADD/ADHD, like anyone else, pay better attention to something that interests them.
Children with ADD/ADHD are just as smart as anyone else. Often, they are smarter than their peers and have a difficult time channeling this intelligence. Focusing affects academic performance, but it has nothing to do with intelligence.
There are numerous approaches to help children with ADD/ADHD that don’t include medication. At Bravo! Tutoring, we have had excellent results in helping children and teens overcome ADD/ADHD through our research-based brain integration program.
Not all children with ADD/ADHD are daydreamers who will rein it in as they grow. Some kids do learn to power through their inability to attend to focus, but many have a difficult time their entire lives. Many children can’t focus, and they aren’t daydreaming.
ADD/ADHD isn’t a true learning disability because it affects more than learning. It affects the person’s ability to deal with learning and life.
Kids with ADD/ADHD aren’t necissarily lazy. Many have true learning disabilities and are simply retreating because it is painful to learn. Most kids want to do well in school but if they find it too difficult, they might give up or think they’ll only fail, so why bother. With the proper set of learning tools, they gain confidence and the ability to not only learn but succeed.
ADD/ADHD is not just a children’s disorder. It affects adults as well as children and follows its victims through life.