ADHD Without Labels - Treating the Whole Child
Bringing Out the Best in Kids With ADHD Symptoms
Jul 8, 2009
For those not familiar with his work, Thomas Armstrong's optimistic child-centered approach to working with kids who have attention problems is a welcome alternative to drugs and the tyranny of labels.
Armstrong is a psychologist, educator, consultant, and author of many books including "The Myth of the ADHD Child: 50 Ways to Improve Your Child's Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels or Coercion." The book was first published in 1995 and is still available. Armstrong's many books for parents and educators have been translated into several languages
Beyond the Medical Model
Armstrong rejects the medical model of ADHD with its emphasis on subduing and controlling kids' behavior with drugs. The symptoms of ADHD are real, but not every child has them for the same reasons. The medical label creates the illusion that all kids with the ADD\ADHD label have the same problem and would benefit equally from the same treatment, usually Ritalin or a similar drug.
Armstrong looks at how changes in our culture may be affecting children's development and creating what he calls "short attention span kids."
In Armstrong's view, children may be developing short attention spans as they adapt to the speed of electronic media, television, video games, computers and other electronic entertainment that is so much a part of contemporary society.
A number of studies on the effect of television on children's attention span development lend support to this view.
No or Minimal Drugs
Often, children can learn to manage their hyperactive behavior without drugs, but occasionally, they may be necessary. Armstrong sees three situations when using drugs such as Ritalin, may be useful:
- When children have severe hyperactivity due to identified neurological problems such as brain injury, poisoning or other biological causes.
- As a short term treatment when children are in a crisis and cannot control their behavior.
- As a last resort when other non-drug approaches to improve the symptoms are not leading to positive results.
Empower the Child
Children do not need to be controlled, they need to learn how to be in control.
Out of his experience as a special education teacher, Armstrong came to see all children as having innate genius, a joy and capacity for learning and creative problem solving. The challenge for parents and educators is to discover and foster a child's own native intelligence and ways of learning.
In his writing and presentations, Armstrong empowers the parent and educator as much as the child. He offers no set rules, no technique to follow. In "The Myth of the ADD. Child," he presents practical strategies that serve as a guide for parents and teachers.
The strategies are presented as examples in a way that encourage parents, educators, and children to all become involved in the creative process of developing ways to deal with attention disorders. In the book he writes, "There are only individual children with unique needs. The greater number of sensible options that parents have to choose from, the better able those parents will be in developing strategies that meet the needs of their special kids."
Sources:
The Myth of The ADD. Child: 50 Ways to Improve Your Child's Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion; Penguin Group; NY, NY; 1995
Landhuis CE, et.al; Does Childhood Television Viewing Lead to Attention Problems in Adolescence?; Pediatrics; vol 120 no 3; Sept 2007
Strong, Colby; Is Excessive Television Viewing in Children Linked to ADHD?; Neuropsychiatry Reviews; vol 5 no 3; May 2004
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