ADHD: A Path to Success
Chapter 2 of
first 6 Chapters
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ADHD: Historical Change in Labeling the Disorder
Luke, a 14-Year-Old ADHD Boy
Luke was a recalcitrant bully who had struggled with both
behavior and learning problems since his earliest school days. In fact, his
academic performance was in the barely passing range.
When Luke hit third grade, he was referred to a pediatrician,
who diagnosed him as ADHD and began treating Luke with Ritalin. The effect of
the stimulant was immediately positive, and Luke's parents thought the problem
was solved.
But in less than a year, his behavior and grades again began to decline. Over
the next several years, his parents and doctor tried a variety of behavioral
approaches. At the same time, they were periodically putting him on and taking
him off his stimulant medications. Nothing seemed to work and the family
frustration level rose.
By the time the family arrived in my office, Luke had been thrown out of two schools and was temporarily expelled from his current school. His records indicated that he had at one time or other carried diagnosis of ADHD, BD, and LD. He was covering his embarrassment about his poor academic showing by fighting with his classmates. He took pride in the fear he provoked in his peers.
He also turned his intimidation skills on his mother, who was particularly vulnerable to his tactics because of her chronic and occasionally severe depression.
I had Luke make emotionally provocative audio tapes for each of his parents, and they jointly made one for him. Luke then spent seven sessions on CAER reviewing the tape his parents had made as well as his anxious, frustrating, angry and demeaning academic experiences.
He remembered the times he was laughed at in class, when teachers were mad at him, when he felt like a failure, as well as when his peers made him angry and hurt his feelings. As these feelings abated, his behavior at home and school improved.
First Sentence: With terror in my heart, I can still remember sitting in emotional and almost physical pain at Palm Elementary School in Beaumont, California.
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Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
