If you are the parent of a child who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.), you have probably spent an incredible amount of time and effort trying to discover how you can best help that child succeed in an educational system that just doesn't fit. You have watched as this bright, capable, spirited child has struggled to concentrate, and has become less and less motivated to turn in assignments or study for tests. You have dealt with the frustration of that child continually failing to follow directions and consistently showing a disregard for organization and schedules. You may have turned to both educational and medical professionals for help in identifying and prescribing a remedy so that your child can learn to cope with the discipline and structure of an inflexible and impatient world.

But how do you know which of these professionals will truly recognize the difference between your child's natural learning style strengths and a bona fide learning disorder? How can you be sure that your child will receive the appropriate diagnosis and treatment?

Even the most competent and understanding professional cannot provide an accurate assessment of your child until you have done your homework. It is unreasonable to expect a physician or educator to know your child better than you do. In an age where the "quick fix" has become an increasingly appealing option, you will need to take some steps to ensure that you do not allow your child to be labeled or dismissed simply because he or she does not fit into the traditional educational mold.

While those in the medical and education professions are dedicated to helping your child learn to successfully cope with the world, you must be sure that the specialists you choose are also dedicated to obtaining a balanced and reasonable view of your child as an individual. How can you be certain that you are doing the best thing for your child? Start with one vital but simple step: Know your child.

For example, if you have a child who is a kinesthetic learner (one who needs movement in order to concentrate), he or she will be in constant motion. The typical kinesthetic learner needs to work in short spurts, not concentrated blocks of time. It is often easier to listen while doing something else, or to work while on the move. There are extremes, of course, but it's important to distinguish how much of your child's inability to concentrate has to do with a legitimate need to keep active.

A child with a more global (big picture) learning style can often miss the details that a more analytic person focuses on quite naturally. While the global learner usually has a good grasp of the overall concept, it can be very frustrating to try and explain analytically what he or she only knows conceptually. Again, it is important that you know how much of your child's failure to remember specific details has to do with the global or analytic bent in his or her learning style.

Please remember I am speaking to you as an educator, and not as a member of the medical profession. For some children, medical intervention may be absolutely necessary. For others, professional counseling may be needed. For many, it will be a combination of professional help while teaching a child coping strategies to deal with tasks that are difficult.

I do not advocate letting a child use his or her learning style as an excuse for not doing the work that is required to succeed in school. Discipline and structure play an important part in every child's education. But I do believe it is essential that we recognize and appreciate the basic framework and design of each child's mind before we decide that there is a learning disability or attention deficit disorder.

To Medicate, or Not To Medicate?

Those parents who have made the decision to medicate their child because of a diagnosis of A.D.D. have usually not done so lightly. I have personally never met a parent who set out to deliberately start their child on drugs simply because it was the easiest thing to do. Medication is, I believe, the last resort. If you have done your homework and you are fortunate enough to have found a physician who encourages a balanced approach, you may feel confident in the prescription of a controlled substance to deal with a medical condition. But I struggle with three basic questions related to prescribing medication, especially in cases that are labeled "marginally A.D.D."

Is there a bona fide test to determine a medical diagnosis of ADD or ADHD? I have spoken to several pediatricians as well as learning disability specialists. They tell me that even the leading researchers and A.D.D. specialists cannot agree on a common definition of A.D.D. nor can they come to consensus on the symptoms or treatment. How is the distinction made between mild, moderate and extreme cases of A.D.D.? How can we be sure that A.D.D. is not being over-diagnosed or casually diagnosed if there is no conclusive medical or neurological test?

Are parents given complete information regarding possible long-term effects of taking Ritalin and similar medications? The Physician's Desk Reference lists one of the contra-indications of Ritalin as the onset of Tourette's Syndrome. That means that if there is any genetic predisposition toward Tourette's, the use of Ritalin could trigger this incurable disease. Are parents being warned? According to the doctors I have spoken with, there has been a marked increase in the incidence of Tourette's Syndrome during the past ten years. Are parents being made aware of this?

Perhaps my greatest concern lies in the message we send to the children when we prescribe medication to help them succeed. How are we teaching our children to cope with what's hard for them? Are we simply encouraging them to use mind-altering drugs as a method of dealing with difficult situations, or are we teaching them strategies for working through their problems? Do we teach a person who is dominantly random by nature to do sequential tasks by working within the design of his mind, or do we try to change the design of his mind by using drug intervention? Although the choice may not always be that simple, I believe that more often than not we parents and educators may be overlooking some very obvious solutions.

For example, let's encourage that highly active child to find ways of incorporating movement without distracting others around him. Let's teach that global child some methods of turning general knowledge into specific answers on a test. These coping strategies may not be the only solution for a child's learning difficulties, but they must be an integral part of any approach to improve his or her ability to learn.

I struggled in college to maintain a B average without having to do very many boring or difficult things. When I sat in math or science classes, my mind so easily strayed from the subject at hand. The homework and reading from all my college courses was overwhelming, and I often felt a little like I was drowning. As I did my homework, I quickly found I was very prone to distraction. At the slightest provocation, I took the opportunity to stop working and do something else. As I listened to a boring professor drone on, I usually tuned completely out, later finding that the information I had missed came back to haunt me at exam time. I was almost always restless, preferring to work in very short spurts taking frequent breaks. My level of concentration was never very deep or prolonged, and I found myself regularly working on several projects at once rather than finishing one at a time. Although I could easily have been labeled as having ADHD, I did not have it then, and I do not have it now. You see, the interesting thing is, I found that I love to learn about everything that has to do with what interests me. I was passionately committed to becoming the best English teacher I could be, and throughout my college years and even during my graduate education, I excelled in anything that furthered my goals. I was not interested in expending energy to do what did not interest or compel me. I quickly learned which hoops must be jumped through, and which red tape must be cut, and I forced myself to do what was necessary to achieve my goals. I did only what was absolutely essential to get by in the subjects that had nothing to do with my plan, and my more analytic friends were mildly horrified that I felt no remorse at getting C's or even an occasional D as long as my overall grade point average survived.

Not every child who shares my learning style will share my motivation and commitment to a goal. Even with my level of determination, I'm honestly not sure how I would have reacted if my parents and teachers had insisted I had a medical problem or learning disability. If someone had pointed out to me how unlikely a candidate I was to finish formal education and excel in my field, I'm not sure my strong-willed nature would have surrendered to their diagnosis. But what if I weren't so focused on the prize? What if I weren't really sure what I wanted to do? Some serious self doubt could arise, and possibly even cripple me emotionally if I was repeatedly told I had something inherently wrong with me.

There are no simple solutions when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities, especially Attention Deficit Disorder. As a parent, you should do your best to make sure your child has competent medical care and is getting an excellent education. You may have to make some difficult decisions regarding intervention and medication. You may have a child who needs to be on medication despite your best efforts to succeed without it. You may have to resist efforts on the part of professionals who want to medicate your child when you do not believe it's necessary. You may feel defensive and frustrated when you seem to be judged by other parents who don't share your views. But remember, every child is an individual. If you have done your homework, and you have taken the time to really know your child, you can use that knowledge to help your child become the successful learner he or she was meant to be.

When I take my children to the shoe store and the shoes don’t fit, I can’t change their feet. Of course, they can’t just go barefoot--my children must learn to wear shoes. But I must find the shoes that match the design of their feet instead of insisting that their feet conform to the design of a specific shoe. Unfortunately, education offers very few styles of shoes. When a child’s foot doesn’t fit the shoe that’s offered, we are told, "Change the foot." It’s time to change the shoe.

The Way They Learn: How to Discover and Teach to Your Child’s Learning Style.
Cynthia Ulrich Tobias, Focus on the Family Publishing.

Every Child Can Succeed: Making the Most of Your Child’s Learning Style.
Cynthia Ulrich Tobias, Focus on the Family Publishing.

Do You Know What I Like About You? Jump Starting Virtues and Values in Your Child.
Cynthia Ulrich Tobias, Vine Books.

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