| Has anyone ever noticed that kids diagnosed as | | | | If he's allowed to travel along this road of getting |
| having ADHD or some other behaviour syndrome | | | | his own way through bad behaviour the behaviour |
| don't have behaviour problems when they're doing | | | | can pretty quickly become a deep seated habit |
| something they want to do or are doing | | | | and needs a determined effort to get back on |
| something they enjoy? | | | | the right track. However, you don't need to |
| Give it a thought! | | | | resort to an ADHD diagnosis or drug prescriptions |
| All is peaceful until someone, an adult or a child, | | | | to sort the behaviour out. It's not as if pumping |
| questions their view of what should be done, how | | | | kids full of powerful drugs has had much of an |
| it should be done or when it should be done -- and | | | | impact on their bad behaviour patterns. |
| our ADHD child doesn't want to do it that way... | | | | A child recently encountered had to have extra |
| All goes well until the child's expected to share | | | | drugs before visiting the consultant's ADHD |
| something, take turns, follow an instruction to | | | | behaviour clinic due to him being so appallingly |
| either stop doing something or start doing | | | | behaved when attending previously. In school his |
| something. In fact it could be pretty much | | | | behaviour, even when full of drugs, had been |
| anything that they're expected to do -- it's just | | | | dreadful, including violent assault, confrontation plus |
| that they don't want to follow that particular | | | | foul and abusive language... He was in a terrible |
| instruction! | | | | state. He was pumped full of drugs and still |
| It could be that he doesn't want to write... To | | | | displaying totally out of control behaviour... |
| avoid having to do so he starts with low level | | | | And how is this little guy now? What a star - and |
| avoidance behaviour and if someone pushes the | | | | in his mainstream school as well. He's really happy, |
| issue and expects him to write he'll explode into a | | | | works hard and always has a smile on his face! |
| massive tantrum... But he was perfectly fine until | | | | He is so much more confident and he's making |
| he was expected to write... | | | | friends in and out of school. What a pleasure to |
| Alternatively, the child might want to continue to | | | | teach! |
| do his drawing rather than do any work! Again, | | | | So what made him change? Well, that's pretty |
| off he'll go, throwing his weight around simply | | | | simple to answer! The changes came about |
| because he doesn't want to stop drawing! He was | | | | because of the changes in the way his behaviour |
| well behaved all the while he was doing an activity | | | | was managed. It involved nothing drastic or |
| he enjoyed. Things only went wrong when he | | | | draconian. It involved nothing out of the ordinary |
| realised he might not get his own way and was | | | | but just simple, easy to follow behaviour |
| expected to something he didn't want to do! | | | | management strategies that anyone can learn to |
| Another scenario could be that he always wants | | | | use in a very short time. |
| to be the leader in games... And when someone | | | | So is ADHD a problem or is it simply a child who |
| tells him that this time it's someone else's turn to | | | | wants their own way and will go to any lengths to |
| be games leader...? Yes, you're right -- another | | | | achieve it? They've proved to themselves that it's |
| tantrum erupts... Guess what though? If he'd been | | | | worked as a way of getting what they want. |
| allowed to be games leader and been allowed | | | | Nobody's ever done anything to stop them, so |
| have his own way he'd have been perfectly | | | | why shouldn't they continue? They don't realise |
| happy -- no problem and no tantrum! | | | | the terrible emotional damage it's doing to them... |