Joe:
Many kids who "act up" are often diagnosed as ADD. How would you differentiate ADD from ODD?

Dr. Sutton:
First of all, even the experts agree that we've gone nuts with ADD. A survey of pediatric psychiatrists indicated that at least half of all ADD diagnoses are wrong. This is because the symptoms of ADD can be related to other conditions also, such as trauma, anxiety and depression. In manifestation they LOOK the same as ADD. But, since we have the "magic bullet," medication, we tend to see everything as the condition that it fixes.

Basically ADD is biological/neurological, coming from a sluggishly operating Reticular Activating System in the brain that helps a youngster exercise control of input and behavior. It's always the predisposing condition, since it is there at birth. ODD describes reactionary behaviors to situations, environments and people. The ADD child can become ODD (and often does ... this is called "comorbidity.), but the ODD child does not become ADD.

Joe:
More kids than ever are being diagnosed as ADD and are being placed on medications such as Ritalin and Adderal. Is this "epidemic" real and do you think that these medications are being used appropriately? Do you think that many are actually ODD. Would this change of diagnosis also change their therapy?

Dr. Sutton:
My answer to the previous question addresses most of this one. Of course it would change treatment if we determined that a child was depressed, and that their inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity were coming from that, and not ADD. If follows that, if the psychiatrists interviewed were correct,
then we have too many children taking amphatemine medication that don't really need it. The course of treatment for anxiety and depression is distinctly different, even thought the manifested behaviors might look much the same.  

Joe:
Many people feel that dietary modification is an important part of ADD therapy. Do you think there is a role for dietary modification in the treatment of ODD?

Dr. Sutton:
Most experts fell that many things can affect a child's ability to tolerate frustration, and basically affect their delicate sensitivities. This could include foods, learning disabilities, illnesses ... many things. It might be that diet would help some ODD children, but I believe that, with the ODD youngsters, the issues are more psychological and relational rather than physical. This is the only way I can account for how the same youngster will have trouble with one teacher, and not another. It's more "What's eating you?" rather "What are you eating?" Anyway, that's my take on it after about 23 years of study.

Joe:
Are you working on another book and could you let us in what it is about?

Dr. Sutton:
I recently finished "101 Ways to Make your Classroom Special." It really "fits" with youngsters who tend to be oppositional and defiant. These tips came from top shelf teachers all over the country. The middle section of the book deals with task initiation and completion ... compliance, in other words.

My current book project is just about finished. I am working with an author in North Carolina on a book of 114 grandparent-grandkid stories. It's a "Chicken Soup-" type book, and we have contributions by some well-known folks, inlcuding Zig Ziglar, Art Linketter, Thelma Wells, Louis Wyse, "Dear Abby," John Wooden, Mike Ditka ... well, lots of folks. This project was a breather from the educational/clinical stuff I have been writing. Check out a few of the stories on the website.

Joe:
Thank you, Dr. Sutton for your comments. Next I would like to share a FREE excerpt which is Chapter 7 from your wonderful book. Thank you for allowing us to reprint it here.

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