Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder

by Edward M. Hallowell

Pay attention to boundaries and overcontrol within the family. People with ADD often step over boundaries without meaning to. It is important that each member of the family know and feel that he or she is an individual, and not always subject to the collective will of the family. In addition, the presence of ADD in the family can so threaten parents’ sense of control that one or another parent becomes a little tyrant, fanatically insisting on control over all things all the time. Such a hypercontrolling attitude raises the tension level within the family and makes everybody want to rebel. It also makes it difficult for family members to develop the sense of independence they need to have to function effectively outside the family.