ADHD in Children and Teens

Text Box: Every Year, thousands of children are diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Every year, these children and many more like them are labeled, shamed and marginalized often because they simply lack the ability to adapt themselves to a predetermined set of "normal" behaviors and education standards. All too often, they find themselves the proverbial square peg desperately trying to fit into a round hole. As the pressure to be like everyone else increases, they feel more and more isolated. Eventually, fear, sadness and desperation are replaced with bitterness, anger and resignation. Leaving aside the politics of education in America and the ever-increasing demands placed upon teachers, the spectrum of children effectively served by our educational system has seemingly become more and more narrow. Without a suitable or receptive educational system with which to guide them, more and more ADHD children and their parents are left to their own devices. Moreover, many parents are subsequently convinced by doctors, teachers and other, so-called professionals that because their ADHD child does not fit into a rigidly defined set of behavioral norms, they are disabled—“broken”. The sad part is that many of the special abilities or gifts that these children possess are outside of the statistical norms and are, therefore, ignored or worse, completely misunderstood. And without sufficient understanding of their “gifts”, these children and their parents struggle to fit into a strict and unyielding regimen of physical, emotional, intellectual, and social requirements. Many of these children will unfortunately find themselves on the “detention, suspension, expulsion” track, and gradually be purged from the system, again, to fend for themselves. It is unfortunate that so many parents seem to have no other option except to succumb to this pressure. At the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center, we want to return to parents and children the belief in their God-given, natural abilities.

Text Box: ADHD in Children and Teens

Text Box: Working with Teens and Adolescents can present unique challenges to parents and teachers. Teens and Adolescents with ADD or ADHD typically bring an entirely different set of issues which need to be effectively addressed in order for them to succeed. Most teens and adolescents are already feeling peer pressure, the loss of innocence, and the uncertainties of taking responsibility for their own lives. Teen and Adolescents struggling with the effects of ADHD and other learning challenges, are also dealing with a lack of control over what they think and feel. They also may be dealing with impulsivity and an inability to direct and control their own focus and attention. They may be dealing with a flood of thoughts and feelings that, again, they may be unable to slow down, even as drift off to sleep. They may be dealing with intense feelings of inadequacy and the belief that they are broken, damaged or not as smart as those around them. And they may be frustrated that, despite their best efforts, they cannot keep up with their peers. Because they know they’re different, they may often struggle with self-confidence, self-esteem, and their self-image. Their behaviors may not seem reasonable or rational to those around them. Organization, time-management, procrastination and completing projects may all occur as on-going struggles for those struggling with the effects of ADHD. At the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center, we appreciate these unique challenges which often plague the Teen or Adolescent struggling with the effects of ADHD and other sensory-based learning challenges.

Text Box: The NLC approach substantially does away with many of the traditional strategies for memorization and focuses on strategies (or recipes) which utilize the natural abilities of the student.