[Noahs Rook]

My stepson has been diagnosed with ADHD. One interesting bit of info: Once something has his attention, he only focuses on that one thing...everything else is blocked-out completely.
I watched as he walked home from the bus stop after school, and saw that a fly captured his attention...he followed it out into oncoming traffic trying to swat at it. That's just one danger of this "disorder". This helped us decide, with the advice of his doctor, that medications pose the lesser risk.
Now, I'm not an advocate for medicating kids to make life easier on teachers or parents. But in my boy's (Bughunter)case, medications are working--for him.

rook

[r9etb]

My stepson has been diagnosed with ADHD. One interesting bit of info: Once something has his attention, he only focuses on that one thing...everything else is blocked-out completely.

A doctor described this to me as follows: ADHD is not an inability to concentrate; rather, it's an inability to suppress the impulse to concentrate on more interesting things. For interesting stuff, there's no impulse to focus on something else -- indeed, the impulse is to block out everything else.

For dull stuff (such as schoolwork), the impulse is always to focus on something more interesting. The impulsive behavior is moderated by the uptake of dopamine into the brain. Stimulants allow this to happen, which is why they are used to treat ADHD.

As it happens, a little bit of ADHD isn't necessarily bad -- it spurs creativity, and is apparently very common among very bright people. But it can get to the point where it's impossible to focus on anything at all -- in which case mediction helps.

[luckystarmom]

Most boys can only focus on 1 thing. Girls are better at multi-tasking.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

My stepson has been diagnosed with ADHD. One interesting bit of info: Once something has his attention, he only focuses on that one thing...everything else is blocked-out completely.

He might also be right brained. And guys tend to be more this way then girls for some reason. (I did it just to be ornery )

Have you read this book? Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World: Unlocking the Potential of Your ADD Child

Very interesting. I don't agree with everything they teach but there is a lot of good in it.

[Xenalyte]

Your son can concentrate and focus on one thing exclusively, and he's been diagnosed with - wait for it - Attention DEFICIT disorder?

[Marie]

I watched as he walked home from the bus stop after school, and saw that a fly captured his attention...he followed it out into oncoming traffic trying to swat at it.

Did it ever occur to you that this behavior is normal for a child, especially a boy? It's a sign of immaturity, but also a male, lazer-beam focus that would make him a wonderful hunter, builder, warrior. I've seen boys climb into danger to achieve a small goal (see the bird's nest) without even thinking about the potential for disaster. It's a struggle for most male children to learn caution, but that's the male brain. It's something they have to develop into and be taught all at the same time.