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Sue:
Think Fast the ADD Experience, by Thom Hartman and Jane Bowman with Susan Burgess, is an extensive and highly personal guide and resource to life with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

Think Fast was created with the conversations and thoughts from groups of parents who turned to   Janie Bowman's online ADD support group.  This accounts for the highly personal and rich tapestry of experiences between children with ADD and their parents.   Think Fast includes all the triumphs and travails of these families which has helped thousands of other families make an ADD plan that is right for their child.

Janie Bowman, the moderator of this support group and a freelance writer, has first hand knowledge of ADD as her son CJ has ADD.

She is the Sysop of the ADD and School at Home Forums on CompuServe 1993 to present. She is the Co-editor, with Thom Hartmann and Susan Burgess, of Think Fast! : The ADD Experience, based on information from the ADD Forum on CompuServe.

With as many as 20 million people dealing with ADD every day this is an important book.  Everyone has been touched by ADD whether directly in their families or within their communities.  It is important to understand this condition along with the hope and determination that these kids and their parents have for a bright future.

I had the opportunity to interview Janie, whose work has long been applauded and recognized in the ADD field.

Thanks Janie for taking the time to talk with me about ADD and your book Think Fast The ADD Experience : )

Sue:
It seems like every day we hear that more and more kids are being diagnosed with ADD and or ADHD. What do you attribute this increase to?

Janie:
I believe there are many reasons:

1. The Decade of the Brain
   Congress declared the 90s as the "Decade of the Brain" which opened a flood of research related to the brain. When my older son was diagnosed with ADHD few educators and parents had heard of ADD/ADHD. Now, we know much more about this syndrome and many more professionals know how to diagnosis and treat it.
2. ADD is more mainstream.
   We now have a population that is familiar with ADD/ADHD because they have a family member or friend who's been diagnosed, or they've read about it in the media. ADHD has, in a sense, become more mainstream.
3. Success in school
   Parents want their child to succeed in school, so they're more likely to get an evaluation if their child experiences any learning or attention problems. Schools don't teach to the needs of the individual child and children on either end of the bell curve are at risk for educational neglect.

Personally, I believe that many children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD are bright children bored with factory model, assembly-line schools. What would you do if you had to watch the same movie over-and-over again for six hours a day, one-hundred-eighty days a year? Your attention span would wander, too.

I also believe all children are gifted,
and am a proponent of Howard Gardner 's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (read them in an interview with Mary Leppert) as published in his book, Frames of Mind. So in a major sense, a failure of schools to provide for children with learning or attention differences is also a failure to provide for the needs and gifts all children. This may also contribute to the increase in ADD.

Sue:
Dr. Steven Pollack, noted psychologist and author of Real Boys, believes that many kids, especially boys, are being misdiagnosed as having ADD and/or ADHD. He says their behavior is misinterpreted as ADD when in essence they are symptoms of sadness, cultural problems (too much violence on television, high divorce rates, etc..) and depression. How do you feel about his possible explanation for the explosion of ADD/ADHD cases?

Janie:
There are many books on ADD/ADHD, and each author has a personal perspective on the syndrome based on their particular experience. For example, Russell Barkley, Ph.D., noted psychologist and researcher, feels ADD is a true disorder. On the other hand, Thom Hartmann, author of the bestseller, Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception believes people with ADD are descendants of hunting societies where ADD symptoms were skills needed by that society to survive. And there are more viewpoints for parents to consider, as well.

I haven't read Dr. Pollack's book so I can't speak in specifics about his premise. However, Drs Hallowell and Ratey wrote about pseudo ADD in their bestseller, Driven to Distraction. They suggest our culture contains the elements that make us vulnerable to experiencing ADD symptoms: high stimulation environments, including video and TV; violence, anxiety, living in the fast track, etc. They call this "pseudo ADD" as compared to true ADD. In this respect, Dr. Pollack's book may provide food for thought, especially if he includes helpful ideas and resources to help parents raise "highly spirited" children.

Keep detailed school records and a diary
There are many elements to the puzzle of ADD/ADHD, so it's important for parents to look beyond behavior. It helps to keep detailed school records and a diary. And it's important to work with a professional who can tease out the various symptoms and provide a proper diagnosis and treatment plan-one who empowers the family and advocates for the child in the school.

I'm not a neuroscientist, and I don't particularly care for labels, but I am proactive in that I believe parents are the experts on their families. It's our responsibility to do what's best for our children. In my opinion, if we need a label, then the causes of ADD aren't as important as providing our children with what is best for them.

Sue:
Could you give us an idea of what true ADD looks like as compared with natural restlessness and irritability?

Janie:
True ADD/ADHD is intense and perseveres. The syndrome interferes with an ADD/ADHD individual's quality of life, goals, relationships, career, education, etc., more so than it does with an average person.

Now, having said that, it's been our experience that homeschooling is a great environment for children with ADD. I can't corroborate this with a scientific study, but I am aware of homeschooling parents who say their children would have the ADD diagnosis if they were in public school. So while homeschooling doesn't cure ADD, it does provide the child with a learning environment based on respect and individual needs.

Sue:
Through your online support group on CompuServe, you have heard from thousands of parents. What have you found to be parents' number one concern about ADD/ADHD?

Janie:
The parents who frequent the ADD Forum on CompuServe are no different than those who visit the Homeschool Zone. The majority are caring,  compassionate people who need guidance or support. They are concerned with how ADD/ADHD affects the child behaviorally, educationally, and medically, and in the context of family dynamics. It's hard to single out any one concern because it's all inter-related.

The online community has grown because of its generous and reciprocal nature. We learn from one another, which makes it a great resource for parents. You've created a wonderful online presence with the Homeschool Zone, and I want to thank you for the hard work you've put into this labor of love.

Janie Bowman is a freelance writer, homeschooling parent, and coeditor of the book Think Fast! The ADD Experience. She's runs a Web site and you can contact her.

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More Essay's by Janie

• "Gifts of Homeschooling"
• "Ten Steps to Special Needs Homeschooling"
• ADD & special kids support

Self-Directed Home Schooling
by Lisa Rivero
author of "Creative Homeschooling for Gifted Children"
There are nearly as many definitions of unschooling as there are people who consider themselves unschoolers. Lisa Rivero, author of Creative Homeschooling for Gifted Children, says: "I prefer to use the phrase self-directed learning or self-directed home schooling to unschooling as a way to describe our home schooling approach, because it is a more positive description of what actually occurs." In this adapted excerpt from her book, she describes how self-directed learning is an educational philosophy that emphasizes the child's role as an active learner. She shows how parents can introduce self-directed learning to their children by giving their children input into the content of study, materials used for study, and the pace of study.