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Author:
Angie Dixon

It was one of those "Well, DUH" moments for me. I was researching ADHD and came across the headline, "Ignoring Useless Information Aids Memory."

Well, of course it does. But if you have ADHD, especially if you're a child with ADHD, determining useless information in the first place can be a major challenge.

What's useless? If you're 10 and have ADHD, grammar is useless. But ignore it and your memory will really improve. You'll have a clear memory of flunking fifth grade English because of ADHD.

Or maybe the author meant frivolous information--things like the names and life histories of all of Harry Potter's freinds. Those, indeed, could safely be ignored most of the time, even by an ADHD kid.

So here I am, a ten year old ADHD fifth grader who hates grammar and loves Harry Potter. My attention deficit both makes it hard to focus on anything for long and makes it hard to shut things out. Too many stimuli.

What do I do? If my ADHD makes it hard to study in class and remember my grammar, I take refuge in Harry Potter and enjoy his exploits and make friends with Ron and Hermione. I let my ADHD help me hyperfocus on what I do enjoy and get something out of.

So while "Ignoring Useless information Aids Memory" may be a great breakthrough, it's not for those of us who have ADHD. We already know that ignoring much of what our ADHD brains pick up would help us.

We don't avoid this ignoring because we don't want to do it. Everyone with ADHD--be we politicians, teachers, or just ADHD kids--want to focus and can't.

I didn't read the article, because I was hyperfocused on something else. I'm just riffing on the headline. But it seems to me that knowing the problem is a long way from solving it, and telling ADHD people to "ignore" anything is not as helpful as it might seem at first glance.

Angie Dixon is a writer and ADHD mom of an ADHD son, Jack. For a free report on helping your ADHD son, see Angie's site "That's My Son!" at http://www.Raising-the-ADHD-boy.com

| Article Keywords: ADHD News

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to ADHD News... What You Should Consider About ADHD Medications I know some of my readers are up in arms that I even wrote this article. You think there is no question about ADHD medications. The funny thing is, some of you think there's no question that your child SHOULD take ADHD medication, and some of you think there's no question that your child SHOULD NOT take medication for ADHD. The truth is, it's a very individual decision, and there are a lot of things to consider. First, just to be fair, let me say that my son takes ADHD medication and will as long as I have anything to say about it. For us, not medicating is not an option. It helps him handle his ADHD symptoms and he does better in school and at home. He stays out of ADHD-related trouble caused by impulsive behavior and gets better grades than before the ADHD medication. He also has more friends because he's easier to be around. That's why we decided to medicate Jack's ADHD in spite of side effects like lack of sleep and lack of appetite. When deciding not to medicate ADHD kids, a lot of parents talk about fear of side effects. This is a legitimate concern and one you should discuss with your doctor before deciding for sure against medications. Since ADHD medications affect different people in different ways, it's possible to mitigate side effects. Some parents just don't want to give their kids medication for something that is "normal kid behavior." To this I would submit that if you're concerned enough about ADHD to be discussing medication, it might not be "normal." Other parents really want to try natural remedies/diet/alternative therapies for ADHD first. Again, I would say do your research and know what really works in treating ADHD and what you're getting into. Some parents believe every ADHD child should be medicated, and don't investigate very thoroughly...