Kids with ADHD less adept at crossing street

[Enrique]

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/07/25/kids-with-adhd-less-adept-at-crossing-the-street-study

MONDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- Parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder have one more worry to add to their list: Kids younger than 10 years old with ADHD may be unable to cross the street safely on their own.

New research found that while children with ADHD may look as if they are capable of crossing the street solo -- they do stop and look both ways before crossing -- they aren't always good at judging how much time they need to safely cross.

"In our study, the outcome of crossing the street was much worse for kids with ADHD than for their peers without ADHD," said the study's lead author, Despina Stavrinos, an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of Alabama. "Kids with ADHD left much less time to spare to cross, and there were several close calls," she said.

Results of the study, published online July 25, will appear in the August print issue of Pediatrics.

(...)

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. This just in. Bear poops in the woods. News at 11. n/t

[LWolf]

24. +1

[seabeyond]

2. omg... was the scariest for my oldest. i taught, taught, taught that kid to cross

the street and he didnt get it. lol.

here he is older than any kid, and i would have to be concerned about him walking the neighborhood.

he doesnt have the hyper in the add. the upside, i would tell him how to walk to friends, for safety adn he followed that rule.

i still point something out, look there, and he looks the opposite direction. even when i day, LOOK at where i am pointing, he still cant follow it. never has been able to follow my point to see something.

lots of oddities

[marions ghost]

13. Both my nephews are the same

not hyper, but not able to focus easily especially when distracted.

Parents do have to be more vigilant. Give them the tools they need. By adulthood they will have developed coping strategies that work and it won't be a problem. Make sure they have a long period of driving instruction also.

[seabeyond]

16. years ago, dealing with this, son saying how hard it makes his life

we concluded, he wouldnt be who he was without all of who he is. we actually appreciate and value the quirkiness this brings in our life. but yes, this is why i am not overly concerned. every year i see him implement more tools to help him in life. taking personal responsibility and finding solutions. good life lessons.

seeing so many different things in him, i reduce it to.... fuzzy brain. lol. lots of noise going on in that brain.

[Greybnk48]

3. Just wait until they get their driver's licence. Nightmare!

All three of my kids have ADD or ADHD. We had second and third opinions to be sure since I thought it was nonsense at first. All three had a lot of difficulty, one especially with speeding. She had to watch what was on the radio because as she says, "some songs are like crack cocaine to me."
Example: The theme song for Great America, LOL! I laugh now, but it's been hard on them.

[seabeyond]

6. yes. i was thinking about the driving as i was typing about crossing streets, above.

my son got his drivers license a couple weeks ago. have been in car with permit since dec. horrible driver. nightmare. lol.

again, so many oddities.

radio off and for the time being he is not allowed more than one friend, perferrably himself only. so he can focus.

[LeftyMom]

19. If your kid is a horrible driver you shouldn't let him drive.

I know you won't listen but the good news is that you've admitted on the internet that the kid is dangerous, and no doubt when he hurts somebody their lawyer will find this post and sue the crap out of you.

[seabeyond]

28. if you will read my other posts on his driving, i hardly think any court will decide

that single post indites me in a law suit, lefty mom.

your answer is DON'T drive. when reality is there are so many creative solutions to the issues and a parent doing their job finds those answers. one of them being, you will take note in my post, was i drove with him for 7 months, prior to him getting his license and well past his april bday. but really, be reactionary and accusatory hoping for the worst. so much more fun.

he isnt over confident. he is responsible and cautious, aware of the issues. i have more confidence in him because he will not be reckless and take risks.

and on edit... he took a driving school and had hours upon hours driving with instructor or observing other drivers. they passed him

[Myrina]

9. Why would you even ALLOW them to get a drivers license?

How many lives are you willing to put at risk so your kid has the luxury of not taking the bus?

[seabeyond]

10. kids have lived with this their entire life. it effects every part of who they are, in all manners

of experiences and situations. they have to start learning from day one, tools and exercises in dealing with this issue so they can be a part of the real world. successful, able, productive.

your answer is not the way to go.

there are a whole lot of other solution, than no driving. you really think that is the answer? there is much you do not know or understand, really not putting you in a knowledgable place of judgment.

[marions ghost]

14. My ADD nephews both drive very well now

--just make sure they have good drivers ed.

People forget that ADD kids can be drifty but they can also LEARN to concentrate acutely --in certain situations where they REALIZE they may be at risk. They're smart kids usually--it's correlated with intelligence.

You don't deal with these issues by denying ADD or teaching them to deny it. You teach them to cue themselves when to pay attention. Then it becomes second nature.

[seabeyond]

15. thank you marion. exactly. right on

i spent a lot of time with my son and his driving, working with his particular issues, so he addresses them ahead of time and can find ways to work them out. comforting, one of the answers is to drive slow, safe speeds, and use neighborhoods when he isnt comfortable on more congested roads.

he is very conscious and aware of his weakness. and has spent his life addressing these things to do well.

and very very smart. that is the funny in it. watching him doing the stupidest of things, and say, yup, my genius. and he does score that on his tests. tis an hoot.

thank you for your experience. does my heart good.

[marions ghost]

17. You've probably read

the positive spin that Thom Hartmann puts on it in his books (with himself as an example of an individual on the ADD spectrum). Suggest that your kid reads those books at the right time for him. Also there's those fascinating brain scan studies coming out these days. Your son's going to do well in life. Every kid has something challenging to deal with. But I am more than familiar with ADD as it runs rampant in my extended family--in all the variants. And everybody is cool with it, because it's acknowledged and accepted.

They need to change the name ADD to something else--it's not a deficit, it's an inconsistency. And sometimes there is over-focus rather than under. I also wouldn't call it a disorder so much as differently abled.:)

[seabeyond]

18. he was called out in kindergarten. i had recognized oddities from newborn

on. but in kindergarten the teacher had me come in and watch the kid. wasnt him at all in the class. truly amazing shit. she had a book she had me read. we learned a lot about him. they immediately suggested drugs. i immediately said no. and from then on, i had teachers work with him. without suggestion of drugs. it was over a decade ago, where drugs were the answer to everything.

so i refused the testing and the labeling and worked one on one on one with the teachers.

the hartman book sounds good and i have thought about testing him now. we have just had a household where we understand, and is, but never an excuse. an reason, but never an excuse for failure.

hartman sounds interesting though. i like the guy. havent heard at all about add from him. but i agree with your perception on the oddity.

[marions ghost]

21. Oh yeah

you can pick it out from birth. Your son is lucky--my poor mother suffered so much because she came along in the days when it was unheard of--Her family just thought she was weird and willful and tried to stamp it out of her (to no avail). She became a journalist--a good ADD occupation if you can write. But I didn't realize what her problem was until I was 30 years old. When I finally suspected it and began interacting with her differently, the light came on. She has given me much appreciation for understanding, tho it has never really been discussed.

Glad your son could avoid the drugs. Some can't (with extreme hyperactivity usually), but then hopefully they can wean off once they learn techniques to control it themselves. Absolutely teachers need to recognize ADD--the incidence is so high in America they should be better trained in it from the start. I have a friend whose daughter is 8 and was going down the bad road at school. When the parents realized her teacher was dealing with ADD all wrong, they found a way for the daughter to get a teacher who understands it. Like magic, the girl is now excelling. Right, you do have to beware making ADD an excuse for everything--but a wise teacher or parent can do that. The worst thing anyone can do is continually berate that child, but there's always the danger of being too lenient too. The child has to learn self-discipline like anybody else. Anyway I highly recommend the Hartmann books--suggest to read this one & then pass it along to your son if you think it's suitable:

http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Gene-ADHD-Hunter-Child/dp/0892811285

"...the author, a former psychotherapist who has written previously on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perspective), recommends techniques for raising children diagnosed with this condition. Although many of the specific strategies will be very useful to parents raising ADHD children, too much of the text is devoted to complex genetic and evolutionary theory. According to Hartmann, ADHD is a trait (referred to here as the Edison gene, because the inventor Thomas Edison is believed to have had the trait) rather than a disorder, because it once provided useful skills for functioning in a hunter-gatherer society. The hunter abilities contrasted sharply with the farmer trait, which carried the skills required in farming societies. For example, hunter children have a short attention span, beneficial in a dangerous world where the environment had to be constantly monitored. The innovative but impatient hunter child is usually placed in special ed classes and is looked on as a disciplinary problem; but Hartman believes that ADHD children should be thought of separately. He provides specific guidelines for parents, partly based on the work of Alfred Adler, which encourage mutual respect between parent and child. Hartmann is not an advocate of drug therapy, and he argues for educational reform and alternative schools or home schooling as better learning situations for ADHD children. Hartmann believes that creative outside-the-box thinking, characteristic of those with ADHD, is a real asset to solving many of the world's serious problems."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Thom Hartmann is the same guy who has the progressive radio talk show and is often mentioned on DU:

http://www.thomhartmann.com/

Talk about making multiple directions work in life....he is amazing. (There's a list of his books at the bottom of this webpage).

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. Something else? How about "Attention de... HEY LOOK! SHINY!"

Two kids with ADD, one with autism. Ya gotta laugh, or else.

[marions ghost]

23. ha ha --you're obviously the right dad

for those kids. "Hey Look Shiny" (there's the title of your book) :rofl: The exuberance and excitement about the stuff distracting them can be cute (when it's not). One good thing tho, they are usually never bored. Outside activities that take them away from electronic over-stimulation as much as possible would be good.

Keep laughing! (and take up meditation...) :D :7 B-) :thumbsup:

[MedicalAdmin]

27. Like this?

[pipi_k]

12. My hope would be that...

any competent road tester would not give a license to someone who doesn't seem to have a sense of timing or distance as he's being tested.

[MedicalAdmin]

26. Some people don't know that the flip side of the coin...

with ADD and ADHD is that although they can have split focus, when they do focus or learn to focus, their concentration is amazing, seeing the tinest detail and reacting with a speed that is awe inspiring.

The truth is that ALL teenagers are bad drivers and yet we give them all time to learn and grow. Sea's kids will too if we give them that chance. I'm sure she knows about the issues and will take appropriate steps ...

[Ian David]

4. Thank you, Captain Obvious. n/t

[Ian David]

5. When my daughter was four years old, she ran out of the classroom and into the parking lot. n/t

[JohnnyLib2]

7. I'm glad to see this publicized.

Old counselor here. While the safety factors are obvious or becomes obvious to the families of those involved, they truly need emphasis. (note the personal examples upthread) Grandparents may be slower to have the realization than parents; the same goes for day care attendants and teachers.

Rec.

[tridim]

8. Ask your doctor about Crossinol (r) by Pfizer.

[Enrique]

11. lol

and for kids without ADHD, might want to give it to them too just to be extra safe.

[Atman]

20. My kid gets overwhelmed by a restaurant menu, yet...

...he graduated with a Bachelors of Science this year. With honors. Go figure.

.

[county worker]

25. I'm 65 and have had ADHD all my life.

I have no sense of direction. I can't make a quick decision when driving. My wife will yell out. "turn here!" and all I can do is go inside myself. I pull over to the curb and stop and ask her to please stop yelling at me.

My cars always have small dents in them from hitting walls or curbs or something while my concentration is on something else. Always going less than 5mph but it happens.


The hardest thing for me is to accept that I do what I do and it will never change. We have to learn coping mechanisms over and over as new things enter our lives.

I have learned to avoid a lot of social situations where I know my actions will be misjudged.

From my experience, some of us never grow out of it or never learn to cope with all we have to deal with.

The one thing I take pride in is that in many things I excel over the majority of people and it is harder for me to do those things then it is for them. I don't talk about it to anyone, I just keep it inside and smile sometimes.