"How We Diagnose and Treat A.D.H.D.
To the Editor:
Re “Expand Pre-K, Not A.D.H.D.,” by Stephen P. Hinshaw and Richard M. Scheffler (Op-Ed, Feb. 24):
As an elementary-school teacher for the past 47 years, I find much of the debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder narrow-minded and disturbing. Do I have students who fit the description of A.D.H.D.? Some, and medication has helped them dramatically from their first days of taking it.
But I have lots of kids who just wiggle, who observe and exclaim over things the rest of us miss (such as a new bird at the feeder outside our window or the emerging of a monarch butterfly in our classroom habitat), who would rather stand than sit when they work, who need to take a break from a sustained activity (a drink of water will often suffice), and who are perfectly all right.
We’re not all the same, and traditional classroom expectations fit only some of us, especially when we are young and have less self-control. We need to look not only at our children but also at the setting in which we place them.
Preschool is not the place for workbooks, being quiet and holding still. It’s the time to explore the world, ask a million questions and create a seamless day in which work and play blend into one self-directed adventure.
Young children need a rich and stimulating environment, and permission to bounce around in it. The few who are actually in need of evaluation and perhaps intervention will stand out even in that setting.
LYNN HUGHES
Quakertown, Pa., Feb. 24, 2014"
Quakertown, Pa., Feb. 24, 2014"
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