Is ADHD a disability or a super power?

More and more children are being diagnosed with ADD or ADHD these days. Before you start giving your child drugs, consider some other options:

Early childhood is the time where ADD/ADHD may begin to show instead of regular executive function, but many parents don’t realize it until much later. The increased diagnosis of ADD and ADHD may be a result of the increase of toxins in our environment, but it may also be over-diagnosed. Please understand that stress in your child’s life can inhibit the executive functions, and the child may appear to have ADD or ADHD when the real culprit is stress or simply lack of sleep. Other research shows that simply eliminating gluten from certain children’s diets can reduce or eliminate the symptoms that lead to an ADHD diagnosis.

If you believe your child has it, don’t think of it as a disability, but more like a super power – her brain has a race car engine with bicycle brakes. Instead of ADHD, Dr. Edward Hallowell frames it more positively as VAST: Variable Attentions Stimulus Trait. He says that untreated it can cost you 15 years of your life, but instead of treating it as a disability, learn to unwrap the gift and gain the benefits. Check out Dr. Hallowell’s website at https://www.drhallowell.com/adhd/ or Dr. Nicole Beurkens’ website at https://www.drbeurkens.com for some positive options. Always consult your doctor, but not all doctors agree on specific treatments. Do some research and consider getting a second or even a third qualified opinion.

For other resources to help your child grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, click here to see your options.