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Dealing with Distractions and Overreactions
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
In this infographic from Brain Resource, Inc. released on Nov. 8, 2012, nearly 1 in 10 children in the U.S. have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Five million American children and teenagers haveAttention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, commonlyknown as ADHD.
ADHD makes it difficult - if not impossible - to stay witha duty until it is complete.
Katherine Ellison knows the problem well. She is amother who was always yelling at her son to be quiet, to sit still, to stay on task. She did not know that he hadADHD. She also did not know that she had it too.
Ms. Ellison wrote a book about the issue with her son,Buzz. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry talked to her about, "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention."
Buzz Ellison is a child who had many problems inelementary school. He could not sit still. He wasconstantly jumping up and down in class. He did notpay attention to his teachers and could not focus onthe task at hand.
As a result, his mother says, he was always in trouble. He also got bullied. And his teachers gave him a lot of negative feedback.
"His attitude towards school really changed. I think he got bullied both by hispeers and his teachers who insisted that he could do things that he reallywasn’t capable of doing at that age and remembering things and they gavehim a lot of negative feedback."
His mother, Katherine Ellison, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. She did notunderstand why he behaved the way he did. And she admits that her behaviorwas only making the situation worse.
"I was making things worse often by being anxious or being impatient or notunderstanding him. And I realized at some point that I really hadn’t hugged himin a while. And I wasn’t smiling when he came into the room because we werejust having such a hard time."
When Buzz was nine doctors identified his problem. They said he had ADHD. And, like many parents of children with ADHD, Ellison learned she had thedisorder as well. She was in her late 40s.
She says that like many people with ADD or ADHD life can be a roller coaster ride – a life with many ups and downs, high points and low points.
When life has many ups and downs we call it a roller coaster, just like the amusement park ride.
“I, like many people with ADD, had a roller coaster of alife. For instance, I got sued for 11-million dollars for areporting error that I made in one of my first years as anewspaper reporter. And two years later, I won aPulitzer Prize. So these are the kinds of things thatoften happen when you got this disorder; you’re capableof really amazing things and very humiliating, terriblethings."
So, the mother and son teamed to write a book abouttheir experience. Ms. Ellison says she was happy that ADHD became aproject for them instead of a fight between them.
"My son and I started out by writing a contract together, which was terrificbecause it changed the perspective from being a shameful problem that we had to a joint business project. And I also knew that he would cooperate withme. He wanted a percentage of the profits from the book. I was willing to dothat because all of a sudden we’re partners rather than antagonists."
They explored the world of ADHD for a year. They researched treatments anddoctors.
More Cases of ADHD Identified in Children
ADHD is identified more and more. But much about the disorder remainsunknown, including its cause or causes. American and Swedish researchershave released a study that links older fathers and ADHD. It found babiesfathered by men over 44 years old are 13 times more likely to develop thedisorder. JAMA Psychiatry, a journal of the American Medical Association,published the study.
Peter Levine is a doctor of children’s medicine in California. The pediatricianspecializes in treating children with ADHD. He says there are manymisunderstandings about the disorder.
"One of the biggest misconceptions is parents think that this is their fault."
And, he says others find fault with these parents, too.
"Other parents will blame them for it because they see the way these kidsacting and they'll (will) say, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you controlyour child?' So parents will blame themselves. Another misconception is that the child is really not trying, because oftentimes these kids are trying harderthan other kids to control their behaviors. That leads to a lot of difficulties andfrustrations."
Mr. Levine says the first step in dealing with ADHD is getting the facts straight.
"In America, the diagnosis rate in children generally is quoted in the range ofabout 3 to 7 percent of children. It’s more common in boys, by about three toone. This is a highly inheritable disorder. They can’t get over ADHD. I mean it's not something that you can make go away. As many as two-third of thechildren who have problems with ADHD will have difficulties as adults. Youcan’t cure it. You have to find ways of coping with it."
Changing Parenting Styles for ADHD Kids
He says that one of the most effective ways to deal with ADHD is to changethe way you parent.
And that’s what Katherine Ellison did.
She says she is now paying more attention to her son, spending more timewith him, being less judgmental and giving him more positive feedback.
And Buzz is reacting well to these changes. He has fewer outbursts at homeand at school. He is more centered on school work. And he has a new interest– playing tennis.
And that’s the Health Report. I’m Anna Matteo.
Words in this Story
task – n a piece of work that has been given to someone : a job for someoneto do
task at hand – idiom. a piece of work that someone is currently working on
negative – adj. expressing dislike or disapproval
feedback – n. helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to saywhat can be done to improve a performance, product, etc.
bully – v. to use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone),typically to force him or her to do what one wants.
roller coaster - n. a situation or experience that involves sudden and extremechanges
prescription - n. a medicine or drug that a doctor officially tells someone to us
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
In this infographic from Brain Resource, Inc. released on Nov. 8, 2012, nearly 1 in 10 children in the U.S. have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Five million American children and teenagers haveAttention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, commonlyknown as ADHD.
ADHD makes it difficult - if not impossible - to stay witha duty until it is complete.
Katherine Ellison knows the problem well. She is amother who was always yelling at her son to be quiet, to sit still, to stay on task. She did not know that he hadADHD. She also did not know that she had it too.
Ms. Ellison wrote a book about the issue with her son,Buzz. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry talked to her about, "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention."
Buzz Ellison is a child who had many problems inelementary school. He could not sit still. He wasconstantly jumping up and down in class. He did notpay attention to his teachers and could not focus onthe task at hand.
As a result, his mother says, he was always in trouble. He also got bullied. And his teachers gave him a lot of negative feedback.
"His attitude towards school really changed. I think he got bullied both by hispeers and his teachers who insisted that he could do things that he reallywasn’t capable of doing at that age and remembering things and they gavehim a lot of negative feedback."
His mother, Katherine Ellison, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. She did notunderstand why he behaved the way he did. And she admits that her behaviorwas only making the situation worse.
"I was making things worse often by being anxious or being impatient or notunderstanding him. And I realized at some point that I really hadn’t hugged himin a while. And I wasn’t smiling when he came into the room because we werejust having such a hard time."
When Buzz was nine doctors identified his problem. They said he had ADHD. And, like many parents of children with ADHD, Ellison learned she had thedisorder as well. She was in her late 40s.
She says that like many people with ADD or ADHD life can be a roller coaster ride – a life with many ups and downs, high points and low points.
When life has many ups and downs we call it a roller coaster, just like the amusement park ride.
“I, like many people with ADD, had a roller coaster of alife. For instance, I got sued for 11-million dollars for areporting error that I made in one of my first years as anewspaper reporter. And two years later, I won aPulitzer Prize. So these are the kinds of things thatoften happen when you got this disorder; you’re capableof really amazing things and very humiliating, terriblethings."
So, the mother and son teamed to write a book abouttheir experience. Ms. Ellison says she was happy that ADHD became aproject for them instead of a fight between them.
"My son and I started out by writing a contract together, which was terrificbecause it changed the perspective from being a shameful problem that we had to a joint business project. And I also knew that he would cooperate withme. He wanted a percentage of the profits from the book. I was willing to dothat because all of a sudden we’re partners rather than antagonists."
They explored the world of ADHD for a year. They researched treatments anddoctors.
More Cases of ADHD Identified in Children
ADHD is identified more and more. But much about the disorder remainsunknown, including its cause or causes. American and Swedish researchershave released a study that links older fathers and ADHD. It found babiesfathered by men over 44 years old are 13 times more likely to develop thedisorder. JAMA Psychiatry, a journal of the American Medical Association,published the study.
Peter Levine is a doctor of children’s medicine in California. The pediatricianspecializes in treating children with ADHD. He says there are manymisunderstandings about the disorder.
"One of the biggest misconceptions is parents think that this is their fault."
And, he says others find fault with these parents, too.
"Other parents will blame them for it because they see the way these kidsacting and they'll (will) say, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you controlyour child?' So parents will blame themselves. Another misconception is that the child is really not trying, because oftentimes these kids are trying harderthan other kids to control their behaviors. That leads to a lot of difficulties andfrustrations."
Mr. Levine says the first step in dealing with ADHD is getting the facts straight.
"In America, the diagnosis rate in children generally is quoted in the range ofabout 3 to 7 percent of children. It’s more common in boys, by about three toone. This is a highly inheritable disorder. They can’t get over ADHD. I mean it's not something that you can make go away. As many as two-third of thechildren who have problems with ADHD will have difficulties as adults. Youcan’t cure it. You have to find ways of coping with it."
Changing Parenting Styles for ADHD Kids
He says that one of the most effective ways to deal with ADHD is to changethe way you parent.
And that’s what Katherine Ellison did.
She says she is now paying more attention to her son, spending more timewith him, being less judgmental and giving him more positive feedback.
And Buzz is reacting well to these changes. He has fewer outbursts at homeand at school. He is more centered on school work. And he has a new interest– playing tennis.
And that’s the Health Report. I’m Anna Matteo.
Words in this Story
task – n a piece of work that has been given to someone : a job for someoneto do
task at hand – idiom. a piece of work that someone is currently working on
negative – adj. expressing dislike or disapproval
feedback – n. helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to saywhat can be done to improve a performance, product, etc.
bully – v. to use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone),typically to force him or her to do what one wants.
roller coaster - n. a situation or experience that involves sudden and extremechanges
prescription - n. a medicine or drug that a doctor officially tells someone to us