How might our actions change if we are open to accepting that certain behaviors displayed by children and adolescents (and adults) are not rooted in laziness or a lack of trying but rather represent an often desperate attempt to avoid failure, humiliation, and emotional exhaustion in what is perceived to be a less than supportive environment?
One of the most consistently found adverse effects of ADHD is on inhibiting children’s learning. Does ADHD medication help children learn more?
Stress is a physical and emotional reaction that people experience as they encounter challenges in life. When you’re under stress, your body reacts by releasing hormones that produce the “fight-or-flight†response. Your heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure go up, your muscles tense, and you sweat more. Occasional stress is a normal coping mechanism. However, long-term stress (also called chronic stress) may contribute to or worsen a range of health problems including digestive disorders, headaches, sleep disorders, and other symptoms. Stress may worsen asthma and has been linked to depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
Identifying factors that buffer some youth with ADHD from negative developmental outcomes is important as it could inform efforts to minimize the negative long-term effects of ADHD.
Children with ADHD often struggle academically. Does reading tutoring help children with attention problems?
Recent studies have linked screen time – including video game play – to concerning outcomes in children, including low self-esteem, low life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Screen time has also been found to be correlated with symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents, even when earlier attention difficulties are taken into account.
Our efforts to identify the features of a resilient mindset represent more than an academic exercise. We believe that the more precisely we can articulate these features, the more successfully we can develop strategies for nurturing this mindset and resilient behaviors in ourselves and in our children.
Although medication treatment for ADHD has been shown to significantly reduce core ADHD symptoms in hundreds of studies, important concerns remain about it being prescribed inappropriately to children and teens who do not have ADHD. There is also evidence that many youth with ADHD who could potentially benefit from medication treatment do not receive it, and may realize poorer outcomes in as a result.
You’re dragging after a night of tossing and turning. It’s probably going to be a tough day at work. What can you do to make things a little easier and make sure you sleep better tonight?
