[jennifermac]

Hi distractomom,

I have three children, now 14,16 and 19 who have been in Taekwondo from about age 7. They all now have their black belts and have competed and trained seriously for many years. I can’t say enough good things about the sport, I tell everyone to put their kids in it! I don’t believe that involvement in sport should be purely for competition and this sport provides a far greater balance of training and exercise than most. The focus on self control, co-ordination and strength building is extremely beneficial for ADD kids. All three of my children are ADD and I think they were more prone to impulsivity and frustration driven outbursts before they started Taekwondo. My son in particular was very restless and had a temper that got him in trouble in school. Taekwondo is literally training them to get kicked and react in a controlled and strategic way. Watch a class and if its well run you will see kids “fighting” or “sparring” and not getting angry or aggressive. The atmosphere of self-control and sportsmanship is what this sport is best known for. At 19 he is definitely a young man who both knows how to handle himself, and more importantly, doesn’t feel the need to prove it. The confidence they feel is experience based and very much part of who they are. Any activity that creates confidence and self-control must be highly recommended for kids with ADD.

Many schools are just about fighting, properly referred to as sparring, and not to be confused with school yard scuffles and brawling! Our club only does sparring and not “forms”. We regularly get kids coming from other clubs who were bored with forms and want to be more challenged. In any case classes for small children are pretty low contact, kids that age are learning balance and co-ordination. They aren’t strong enough to hurt each other with that much gear on! Any good master will stress the fact that taekwondo can only be done in class. Our master tells them they will be forbidden to train if he hears they kicked someone outside of class. This can be reinforced at home. I have also noticed that because most clubs group students according to experience not age, your child will end up training with a broader age range. This is great because they have role models with more maturity than the average group of six year olds. My kids regularly trained with university students, adults, and even a retired school teacher! This creates well adjusted kids with social skills that match the real world where we don’t spend all day with people exactly our own age.

Good luck, I hope you find a really good Master/Club. And don’t forget to let the teacher know your sons issues, you wont be the first Mom to put her son in Taekwondo to learn self-control!

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[jennifermac]

We recently had this issue with generic substitution with our daughter. It was her first prescription and I had asked for Concerta but the pharmacy substituted the generic without telling us! I didn’t realize for weeks until my mother asked if I was sure the script was right. I was furious that the pharmacy had done this and upon calling them was given a line about it being the law in N.S.. My Doctor was frustrated as well. We have since had a “no substitutes” script filled and noticed a definite improvement in release time as expected. If I hadn’t known the difference I would have asked for an increase in dosage, and may have ended up one of those people over-medicating their kids in an attempt to get the effect of Concerta extended release. How are we supposed to make informed decisions about these meds. if the pharmacist can switch them around and not even tell us! She claimed ignorance of the issue by the way. She said she hadn’t had any complaints and wasn’t aware of any issues. When you hear of kids having adverse reactions to these medications I have to wonder if anyone really has their facts straight!!

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[jennifermac]

As the wife of an unmedicated ADD husband I feel my name should be changed to Ritalin! As I’m sure many family members can attest, I do the job that medication should- I remind, I organize, I finish jobs, I council, I encourage, I love this man! But make no mistake I find it exhausting, and I would far rather he took medication so I could stop feeling like all this was my responsibility. People with ADD often get into co-dependant relationships with care-taker types and burn them out. It becomes just the normal routine for you and you don’t see the effect it has on those around you until they get fed up. You would save yourself a lot of painful relationship fall-out by taking meds. and thereby taking ownership of the problem. This isn’t to say you can’t expect help and support from family, friends or employers. I think people are just more inclined to help you if they feel you are doing everything you can to help yourself!

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[jennifermac]

Hello Browneyes,

My daughter is dyslexic and ADD and as far as I’m concerned the only book you should be reading is by Ron Davis, The Gift of Dyslexia. I agree that Gabor Mate, while very smart and insightful on other parenting / health problems misses the mark with ADD. It is a very tangled web to decipher and simply blaming parents and the environment is a little too simplistic. Ron Davis is the pioneer of a program to correct the perceptual problems caused by dyslexia and ADD( and yes they are closely related) The web site is dyslexia.com and it has all the resources you need to get started. I read the book a few times before I really “got it”, but the day we started working with his methods was a huge milestone for my daughter. She now reads fluently, spells well, and has an 80+ average in grade 9. You can read about other success stories online. Good Luck!

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[jennifermac]

My daughter just started taking concerta 18mg a few weeks ago. She is 14, and had anxiety/stress related to school. She seemed to get very irritable and moody almost immediately and within a few days it had escalated to crying for “no reason’ and feeling jittery in the evening. I read online about taking 5-HTP with concerta to eleviate these symptoms and since I have taken it for years, I had it on hand. Wow, the very next day she was her happy easy-going self again! (I gave her 100mg, Happy-Sense, by Preferred Nutrition.) The theory is that if you had anxiety to begin with, a stimulant is going to exacerbate the problem. 5-HTP is a serotonin booster available at health food stores( a naturopath can help you with dosage). The 5-HTP works well for depression, anxiety and a host of other mental health issues. It CAN’T be taken with prescription anti-depressants, so you need to talk to your doctor. It is a very effective alternative to these drugs, and may allow you to tolerate the ADD meds. with less side effects. Trying to cope all these years without meds. has been very stressful for my daughter and I feel she has paid dividends in her health. I think its important to take stock of your general health and realize that stress wears you out! It may take a more holistic approach to find that balance because the meds., while necessary, may not solve all your problems. Hope you feel better soon!

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