In today’s schools, parents and educators are more sensitive to kids’ special needs than ever before.
Central to the vocabulary surrounding early learning is a relatively new focus: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
But the public and medical understanding and acceptance of ADHD has had a rough past. Misperceptions and misconceptions of the issue don’t seem to be going away, which makes it all the more important to raise awareness and eschew false notions.
While the following myths might sound believable to the untrained ear, each and every one receives a failing grade from local experts.
Myth 1: It is not a legitimate neurological condition.
“People with ADHD exhibit a different kind of neurological wiring, and their neurotransmitters function differently,” says Earl Oremus, head of school for Marburn Academy, a nonprofit independent school in north Columbus that specializes in educating children with dyslexia and ADHD.
The reality is that ADHD is an observable condition with specific criteria for diagnosis. The chemical imbalances in the brain that result from ADHD can be seen physiologically, not just in a child’s resulting behavior.
Myth 2: Kids will outgrow ADHD when they become adults.
This is a misconception, though a tricky one.
“Some individuals do show enough improvement after puberty and therefore are no longer in need of medication,” says Judy MacNamee, founder of ADHD Coach Connect.
But MacNamee cites a study from the American Academy of Family Physicians that says “two-thirds of children with ADHD continue to grapple with the condition throughout adulthood.”
As Oremus says, many people will see the “H,” representing “hyperactivity,” disappear as kids with the disorder grow older. But the root of the problem often never dissipates, and the students who struggled with learning will go on to struggle with functioning in a professional environment.
Myth 3: People who have ADHD are stupid or lazy, with little motivation or willpower.
The problem isn’t intelligence; it’s the difficulty of creating an educational system that fulfills children’s needs.
In fact, most people with ADHD have higher intelligence than those with normative brain activity. ADHD inhibits learning through traditional methods, because it alters the way our brains “do” attentiveness.
“Our schools and our businesses are often not structured for this unique brain wiring,” MacNamee says.
But with proper attention, MacNamee says, the system can make room for those with the condition and allow them to become capable members of society.
Myth 4: Diagnosed children who take ADHD medication are more likely to abuse drugs when they become teenagers.
The truth is the precise opposite: If a person’s ADHD goes untreated, he or she runs a greater risk of abusing drugs and alcohol in adolescence and onward.
Despite the medication’s reputation, it has been proven safe for decades.
“The kids who are likely to abuse medications are the non-ADHD kids in college who buy it from their ADHD friends and use it as a ‘stay-awake pill’ while they’re studying,” Oremus says.
In addition to the drugs, there are myriad options for treatment, including counseling, coaching, cognitive behavioral therapy and psychotherapy.
Myth 5: ADHD is the result of bad parenting.
ADHD is biological. It’s simply not an effect of faulty child-rearing.
While this final myth has no basis in fact, parents’ methods of dealing with their children’s disorder can certainly determine how those children cope and develop.
“Bad parenting makes the outcomes of interaction with ADHD people way worse, and it can also diminish the desire to do the things we expect from other kids,” Oremus says.
MacNamee’s outlook is positive: “Parents of today are seeking and finding resources and support to help with their understanding of the ADHD brain, and to provide the structure and environment that is effective for – and needed by – their ADHD child.”
Zach Maiorana is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
WEB REFERS
-Study of a possible connection between sunlight and ADHD prevention
-A Pickerington winter guard group that has helped some members cope with ADHD
-A Westerville school fitness program that has helped with hyperactivity
