Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder

by Edward M. Hallowell

Think for a moment of the importance of the innocent curiosity a child brings to school. Think of the little tendrils of knowledge and of self-esteem embedded in that curiosity. If nourished, those tendrils will grow, over the many years the child will spend in school, college, and beyond, into a solid store of knowledge, a feeling of confidence around learning new ideas, and a buoyant sense of self. Think of the look on the face of a three-year-old as she tries to blow bubbles, or the face of a four-year-old trying to make a house of cards, or a five-year-old balancing on his first bicycle. Think of the look of concentration on that face and think of how important it is to the child to get it right. Remember in your own life, when you were a child, the feeling of excitement and danger as you tried something new. Remember how the one thing you feared more than anything else was not failure but being made fun of, being humiliated. Think of the faces of children everywhere as they open their minds to learn. Keep those faces in mind, the little girls and boys in the early grades, all trusting the adults to show them the way, all eager and excited about life and what will come next, and then just follow those faces over time. Follow the face of a little girl who doesn’t read very well and is told to try harder; who tends to daydream and is told she better pay attention; who talks out in class when she sees something fascinating, like a butterfly on the windowpane, and is told ...