ADD Student

Archive for February, 2009

No, this isn’t a post about horses who have ADHD. It’s a post about how horses can help a person with ADHD.

Maybe you’ve heard of horse therapy or Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) before. It’s often used with children who are physically handicapped, and it’s been clinically proven to work.

Did you know, though, that horses can also help kids who have ADHD?

According to Franklin Levinson, who developed the idea of using EFL to help children with emotional or communication challenges, “It’s been clinically proven that just being in the vicinity of horses changes our brainwave patterns. They have a calming effect which helps stop people becoming fixated on past or negative events – giving them a really positive experience”.

EFL helps kids with ADHD learn to communicate, interact with others, and carry out instructions. And because horses are extremely sensitive and can pick up on a person’s demeanor, they can naturally help the person working with them to calm down and focus.

“Horses react as a mirror to the person who’s with him” says Franklin. “He’s a prey animal so he wants to feel safe and is always on the lookout for predators. A horse will become very fearful if he’s with someone who’s aggressive, noisy, disrespectful or too controlling. On the other hand, if the person makes requests rather than demands the horse will begin to cooperate. He is always looking for a leader.”

Learning to work with the horse, including such tasks as grooming, can help a child increase their attention span, learn leadership and communication skills, and feel good about themselves.

We have an abundance of stables near my house, but even when we lived in the suburbs, there were a few not far away. You might want to look into this for your child. I bet they would love it.

For more about EFL and Franklin Levinson, go here.

Now is about the time of year when we begin the slide into the end of the school year. For ADD students, that often means a last ditch effort to bring the grades up, at least to passing.

It also means that about this time, they’re completely overwhelmed, disorganized, and beginning to get burnt out.

There are at least two things I can think of that you as a parent can do to help.

The first is to help them get organized again. And yes, that means the backpack, the room, the locker at school, and maybe even the car. And while you’re at it, let’s keep the negative comments to yourself, OK?

Take some time to do it and plan a little reward at the end – a trip to the mall, some ice cream, whatever. You want this to be a positive experience.

Getting your child organized will help them tremendously. They will feel more in control and more calm, and that will help them do better work.

The next thing you can try – it won’t always work – is to see if any of the teachers in the classes your child is struggling with will allow extra credit. (Some teachers just won’t allow extra credit, and some don’t want to have to grade it.)

Now before you (or your child) approach the teacher, give some real thought to your child’s strengths and the things they like to do. If your child hates to write papers, and the teacher assigns a report for extra credit, that may or may not help.

Think creatively and see what you can come up with that the teacher might appreciate. When my son Andy was in high school, he was allowed to create a website about Napoleon for extra credit for his history class. He learned a lot while he was researching what to put on it, he enjoyed doing it, and his teacher had a new teaching tool for her classes.

See what you can come up with for your child. What do they enjoy doing?

I remember when my son, Andy, was first diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. He was crushed, and I struggled for a way to explain it to him that made sense and didn’t make him feel bad about himself.

Children’s author and psychotherapist Kara T. Tamanini has written a wonderful new book called “Understanding My Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” that helps parents explain ADHD to their children.

In it, she tells a story about a little boy named Tommy, who has ADHD. He is feeling pretty bad about himself until he meets the owner of the Toy Store, Mr. Timmons. Mr. Timmons tells Tommy a story about another little boy very much like him who was always getting into trouble, too.

This book helps children understand ADHD symptoms and learn more about themselves. Here’s a quote from the press release:

Tamanini takes a sensitive and often painful subject, for both children and adults, and
weaves it into a valuable learning tool. Her book is a must-have for parents and children
who are experiencing the mysteries of ADHD.

This book got excellent reviews from customers on Amazon. Here’s what Dr. Abraham had to say:

As a clinical psychologist who works with ADHD clients, I have found this book an excellent primer for parents and their kids, especially those who have been newly diagnosed with this condition. The book skillfully brings awareness of the many traits of ADHD all the while painting a picture of hope that this is a highly treatable condition. I highly recommend this book to my clients and to anyone who might be facing this specific challenge.

Here is a list of places where you can buy Kara’s book:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books A Million