In the past ten years the number of children regarded as having ADHD has risen by 53% to more than 6.4 million. In the past five years, sales of stimulant medications have risen from 4 billion to 9 billion annually. A lot of things affect how well a child with ADHD fares in society. One […]
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Sharing Stories by Meryl Lipton
Reading Faces
I remember my school observation of Tory Browning with particular clarity. She was a sturdy, dark-haired second grader, and although she was the tallest child in the class, did not seem the most mature. There was something lost about her expression, as if she was younger than the other children and struggling to keep up. […]
Read more »Madeline
Madeline, who’s eight now, is small for her age, a charming little girl with long brown hair and a shy nature. She’ s bright, precocious verbally, and very self-aware. The first time her parents brought her to my office she was only three, but she was able to describe the things that worried and frightened […]
Read more »I Feel Completely Helpless
“I feel completely helpless,” said the mom who called me. “My son Michael is absolutely miserable, and I don’t know how to help him. There are a bunch of kids at school who are so cruel. They really know how to get him worked up.” I arranged to do both a parent interview and a […]
Read more »So Simple a Child Can Do It
Click Here for Printable pdf In some ways, learning to be mindful, to focus attention and to relieve stress, is so simple a child can do it. I was reminded of this last month in the course of doing an observation at a kindergarten. I’d watched the children begin the day in their home classroom, […]
Read more »Three of a Kind?
Click Here for Printable pdf Version Recently I got a call from a school principal I’ll call Laura who was concerned because of what she called “an epidemic” of ADHD in a first grade classroom. “There are three little girls we’re all having a hard time working with,” she explained. “They’re sweet, they’re affectionate, they […]
Read more »Not Another Word About College!
Click Here for Printable pdf Version I saw Janine about two weeks before the beginning of school. Sixteen, with brown hair in a pixie cut, and wearing a baggy T shirt and short shorts, she slouched comfortably, one leg thrown over the arm of the chair in my office. I had treated Janine for anxiety […]
Read more »Like Father…
Every year about this time I start seeing relaxed, sunburnt kids reluctantly gearing up for the coming school year. For those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) returning to the classroom can be a stressful prospect. When I ask if they feel ready, I normally get a shrug or a headshake no; But Josh, a […]
Read more »Relax! It’s Summer
Usually when I see a young patient, and have appropriate testing done, I am able to form an effective treatment plan that often leads to improvement in the child’s learning and behavior. But every summer I find children who improve because of something else: no school. Take Mrs. Pollack and her daughter Julie, for example. […]
Read more »A Sense of Perspective
Ellen Walker spoke dispassionately about her 8 –year –old son Teddy’s many problems. “He has learning disabilities and an inability to interact with classmates. He’s disorganized. He doesn’t listen. Every day is a string of arguments, tears, melt downs. I’m afraid he’s profoundly handicapped,” Mrs. Walker concluded. It was a somber picture that she painted. […]
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