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Government Reform for the Parents of ADHD Kids?
By Kerri Houston
September 26, 2002

Millions of school children in America are under attack by a clamoring cloud of individuals using uninformed opinion to criticize responsible parents who in turn are merely acting as vigilant advocates for their progeny.

Kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are being relentlessly marginalized and minimized by the unaware. It is now time for the parents of such children to rise as one and yell "shut up and leave my kid alone!"

On September 26th, Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), is holding a hearing entitled "Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders - Are Children Being Overmedicated?" Although one can only wonder why this committee is using our tax dollars to investigate a neuro-biological disorder, the Chairman's position is abundantly clear based on the speakers he has invited to participate.

These include the president of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a group established by the Church of Scientology, an organization fundamentally opposed to psychiatric treatment; Lisa Marie Presley, a Scientologist and an expert in, um - being Elvis Presley's daughter? Also on the panel will be Dr. Mary Ann Block, an osteopath who believes that ADHD is not a real disorder and it symptoms can be managed by diet and the dietary supplements she sells. Apparently Dr. Block does not notice the inherent contradiction in "this is not a real disease, and you should use my product to treat it."

Also invited to speak to Rep. Burton's committee was Neil Bush, brother to President George W. Bush. In an appearance this week on Good Morning America, Mr. Bush discussed his own son's learning challenges in school. He correctly identified the educational establishment as an unyielding blob to education progress, and noted his experience with a school that he states "diagnosed" his son with ADHD. GMA co-host Diane Sawyer introduced Mr. Bush by noting, "schools are over-prescribing (ADHD) drugs like Ritalin."

Teachers are not qualified to diagnose disease either physiological or psychological, and schools are certainly not able to "prescribe" anything. Foolish as it was, Ms. Sawyer's statement unwittingly boots the responsibility of an ADHD child right back where it belongs - squarely on the shoulders of the parent.

As anyone who has it can tell you, ADHD is a legitimate medical condition that negatively impacts the ability to control concentration, impulsive behavior or mood. It interferes with learning, appropriate social conduct, and being generally happy and successful.

To be ignorantly and reflexively dismissive of this disorder and its treatment is a painful and inexcusable insult to the children, adults and parents who struggle with ADHD on a daily basis. I know this because I am one of those parents.

National health organizations that accept ADHD as a legitimate disorder include the National Mental Health Association, the U.S. Surgeon General, the American Academy of Pediatrics, The National Institute of Mental Health, and the American Medical Association. Even the American Osteopathic Association, the trade group for Dr. Block's specialty, recognizes ADHD.

These organizations have recognized the plethora of scientific studies which provide empirical evidence that ADHD has two biological roots - one in the physical structure of the brain, and another in the production and absorption of certain brain chemicals responsible for attention and retention.

Through research and practice my children and I have discovered that they keys to educational and social success for ADHD kids boil down to parental involvement, education and responsibility.

First, find the right learning environment for your children. If you are unable to utilize a private school that specializes in ADHD and learning differences such as Dyslexia that travel with it, make yourself a fixture at the public school. Be your child's strongest support and advocate - repetitively - until proper accommodations for his learning needs are made.

Develop coping techniques that work for your children. Our closets and drawers look like Mrs. Doubtfire's cabinets - we use small plastic boxes and everything is labeled. Find every kind of hook, peg, box and notebook to encourage organization, and never be without a Sharpie.

Obtain proper diagnosis by a psychiatrist or a pediatrician who specializes in ADHD. Accept a teacher's suggestion that there may be a problem, but do not substitute this for diagnosis. If medication is deemed appropriate, work with the doctor to find the right medicine and dosage. And never apologize for giving your child a medication that helps him overcome the negative symptoms of ADHD and allows his gifts to shine.

And most of all - believe in them, encourage them to celebrate their differences, and don't let them ever use ADHD as an excuse. Use whatever resources are available to them, but remind them that their behavior and its consequences are ultimately their responsibility.

Last year my daughter graduated from The Winston School in Dallas, a school that specializes in "bright students who learn differently." Better than I ever could, class Valedictorian Corkie Wood sums up the potential of a medically and parentally supported ADHD child:

"The world is filled with 'normal' people who wake up, go to work and then home to bed. History is made by people like us, who got side-tracked one day at their boring job as a research assistant and discovered the theory of relatively - like Einstein, the ADHD Dyslexic."

"Oh, and be patient with the normal people - remember, they can't help it."

Parents of ADHD kids don't need the media, Hollywood, a government committee or others from the realm of "normal" telling them how to raise their children. They only need legitimate, professional resources and their own good sense - and a little encouragement from Corkie.

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Kerri Houston is the National Field Director for the American Conservative Union and the mother of two ADHD children.