Introduction
When I was teaching in the late 1970's, I had a ninth grade English class that met right after lunch. One of the students, a short, thin, blonde boy, would come in so wired that I practically had to pry him off the ceiling. After several weeks of this behavior, I finally asked him what he'd had for lunch, and he told me cookies, an ice cream bar, and a can of soda pop.
No wonder he was crazy! So I talked to him about the effects of sugar, then called his mother and talked to her, and afterwards he was a different kid.
You don't need me to tell you that sugar drives children crazy. And when you add the caffeine in most soda pop, you might as well be shooting up your child with amphetamines.
Food affects our body chemistry, which in turn affects our behavior. And the smaller the child, the greater the effect.
But while food is the major factor that can harm your child's concentration, there is another factor that's almost as toxic: boredom.
When I look back at myself as a student, I realize that today I would be classified as having borderline ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). I was a very smart girl with a lot of physical energy at a time when girls were supposed to be meek and mild, and I had a very hard time sitting still in my seat while drowning in drivel.
Ninth grade was a particularly rough year because every day I was forced to sit through two hours of a combined English/social studies class that was deadly. I was so miserably bored that I used to sit at my desk at the back of the room and tear sheets of paper into itty-bitty pieces to keep from howling in frustration.
By the time I finally escaped, I wanted to run out of that school and keep on going. But that was in 1964, when schools were still prisons, so instead I just went on to my next class, bristling with suppressed energy.
Most schools just don't challenge really bright students. They're designed to manage the broad middle range, and while federal laws insist that they take care of children with learning disabilities, there's nothing on the books to protect children with hyper abilities.
And now that most schools are dealing with reduced budgets and financial pressure to focus on standardized tests, the very bright students are ignored even more.
Until they act up, of course. Then they're diagnosed with ADD and drugged into submission, which makes life easier for everyone but them.
Are there children who really need drugs? Possibly, but if so, they're only a very small minority.
Can your child concentrate on something that interests him for at least five to ten minutes? Does she sit quietly while watching TV or a movie she likes?
If you can answer "yes" to either question, then the chances are very good that my approach will help you and your child learn to live with ADD without using drugs.
But I want to warn you--this program will take a significant amount of time and effort, especially at the beginning when you're making so many changes. I know you parents are extremely busy, which is why I've made this book as short and as clear as I can. And if you do put in the time at the beginning, once your child starts having positive results, making the changes will get easier and easier.
Enough talk. Let's get started!
Introduction
- Sugar + Caffeine = Wild Children
- Boredom can be toxic to your child's concentration.
- Most schools don't challenge really bright children.
- Only a very small minority of children with ADD--if any--need drugs.
- If your child can concentrate on something that interests him or sit quietly watching TV or a movie, then this program will probably help him.
- This program will take a significant amount of time and effort, but once your child starts having positive results, the changes will get easier and easier.