The Diagnosis

The ADD Answer: How to Help Your Child Now
by Frank Lawlis, Ph.D.

(Page 4 of 6)

The scenarios of discovery don't vary greatly from one family to the next. Often a teacher sounds the first alarm by alerting parents to the fact that a child is disruptive in class. Within the first month of a school year, the label attention deficit disorder becomes associated with the child. The parents are given behavioral reports from the school and are encouraged to consult a physician or psychologist. Over the course of the next six months the child is put under a microscope and the family is subjected to an overload of stress as they attempt to grapple with this new development.

In the majority of my cases, the family quickly begins to experience conflicts and doubt. Their conventional understanding of what constitutes good and bad behavior for a child is tossed out. The child once seen as beautiful and precious is suddenly cast as abnormal. The blame game begins soon thereafter. Parents and teachers are often at odds over their responsibilities. This is a dangerous time. When the adults in a child's life become completely focused on negative behavior, the youngster's self-image deteriorates. The child can give up hope of ever being good or normal when his parents and teachers seem to perceive everything he does as bad or aberrant. You cannot allow this to happen.

A Disorder, Not a Disaster

The modern terms attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often used interchangeably, but they have subtle differences. Actually, ADD is typically used for the lack of attention abilities, while ADHD usually refers to the hyperactive behavior often attributable to the lack of concentration. The condition has undergone many name changes over the past century. First described by Heinrich Hoffmann in the nineteenth century, in a poem about Fidgety Philip, the disorder and its implications have not been fully appreciated until the last ten to twenty years. Today, attention deficit disorder is understood to be a neurological disorder. It is typically mild as far as direct brain symptoms, such as seizures or paralysis, are concerned, and the child functions normally in most daily activities and has age-appropriate skills. But ADD has extensive ramifications for a child's learning processes.

An ADD diagnosis means that the child's brain is not functioning normally. ADD is not a sign of inferior intelligence. It is not a handicap. It does not result in a damaged personality, criminal tendencies, or immoral behavior. And it is not necessarily a learning disability or a mark of mental immaturity, although such conditions can coexist with ADD. Much of the time, the problems of ADD are related to the brain performing at lowered, subdued ranges. Brain performance is usually discussed in four ranges of measurable electromagnetic activity. These output ranges, called "states," are Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta.

Beta State. This is the highest range of brain activity. This brain state measures greater than 13 hertz (or cycles per second), and this is the output that occurs during most of the day. You are producing Beta waves when you are problem solving and actively thinking.

Alpha State. This is called the relaxation or calm state (8-12 hertz) because there is a perceptible tranquil sense that you experience as you enter this state. You may remember the Alpha machines that were popular a few years ago as aids to help people relax and fight stress.

Theta State. When you are in a trance, similar to that period just before you fall asleep, in a kind of "twilight" time, you have entered the Theta state (4-8 hertz). This is the state of hypnotic effect, where realities blur and the imageries of dreams are created. Consequently, this is the state when creativity is highest, because the obstacles of rationality and objectivity no longer restrict you.

Thomas Edison used an unusual technique to achieve a Theta state for solving his problems. It sounds awkward, but he would hold pebbles in his fists while supporting his head on his wrists above a bowl of water. Just before he dozed off, his fists would relax enough so that the pebbles would fall into the water. The water would splash up into his face and keep him just close enough to the waking state, while still in the Theta zone, for him to view a problem in more insightful ways.

Delta State. This is the slowest range (0.5-4 hertz), but you are fully asleep during this phase. There are lower levels within the sleep stages, but suffice it to say that Delta is not usually a state that psychologists consider as related to the issues of ADD.

The Brain Stuck in Overdrive

With attention deficit disorder, the brain is functioning in the Alpha and Theta ranges most of the time, even when it is more appropriate to be in the higher ranges, such as when the child is at school and solving problems.

Your child's ADD brain, then, is like a car stuck in overdrive. Your child can't use the power of the engine to get over the hill. He may feel as if he is caught in mud up to his knees while being expected to run a hundred-yard dash. No wonder he gets frustrated and acts out!

ADD children are hyperactive not because their brains are operating in high gear, but because they can't shift into high gear. Their mental engines are bogged down. Their normal methods for stimulating the brain aren't working, so they try other ways to step on the gas. They engage in risky behaviors, get into fights, and challenge authority - anything they can do to create an excited state. They create stress, and then their adrenal glands kick in and raise the brain activity to a higher level.

Children love to run and play. Movement gives them pleasure. This is especially true for children with ADD. They crave excitement as a means for stimulating their lethargic brains. They eat gobs of sweets because sugar offers a quick fix. Unfortunately, their energy drops rapidly once the sugar high fades.

For some children, certain parts of the brain connections in the administrative and memory parts run at a lower rate than normal; but they may not feel drowsy, because their muscles and organs are still charged with energy. Children experiencing this condition do not feel particularly unpleasant, but their conscious thoughts are in that dreamlike state of free association, with the boundaries between reality and dreams broken down. We've all experienced a similar state of consciousness as we drift off to sleep.

© 2005 Plume, a division of Penguin Putnam, used by permission.

About the Author

Dr. Frank Lawlis is a renowned psychologist, researcher, and counselor with more than thirty-five years' experience working with families. He is the cofounder of the Lawlis and Peavey Centers for Psychoneurological Change and was named a fellow by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Lawlis is also the chief content adviser for the Dr. Phil Show.