Recently I was asked to help out with a Cub Scout pack here in Brisbane. These are young boys and girls (yes, they have girls in cub scouts here) who are 8 to 10 years old. The first day I was in class, I mostly observed how the class interacted, helped out with setup, and spoke to the kids a bit one-on-one. What was apparent was that every one of these kids must have ADHD, as they seemed incapable of any sort of self control, were constantly distracted from the task at hand, and had the scout leaders (both young adult women) yelling at them to get their attention and try to control the unwanted behavior.

On my second visit, I was asked to teach the kids how to make a survival bracelet (just like the one we've seen here on this forum). At first, I had to deal with all the frenetic energy that had been the usual habit. Instead of trying to captivate a lost crowd, I took one of them aside and began teaching them how to do the weave in front of the rest. Once the kid had it going, I moved on to another one and got them started, and so on. Many were simply unwilling to focus on the task, that is until the first one started getting excited because hers was forming up. I never yelled at any of the kids, I left the other scoutmasters to keep them from wandering off too far, and I actually taught the scoutmasters how to do the weave so that they could also help out. By the end of the session, most of the kids were busy working on their bracelet, a few were still wanting to visit and carry on, but the group was essentially quiet and under control. By the end of the night, I had picked one of the younger kids who stayed on task the whole night and, in front of everyone there, I awarded her my LED flashlight that I had since first going to Baghdad. I told her about how special the flashlight was and with her dad standing just a short distance away I showed her how to operate it. On the side of the flashlight was one word, "Attitude" (how great a coincidence that was). It was time to replace it anyways, though it was still quite functional and in pretty good shape considering.

The next meeting, most of the kids came up at the beginning and asked if I was going to show them any more cool things to make.

IMHO, ADHD is an excuse for adults to justify not dealing with kids in the manner to which we have evolved. ADHD cannot be some new disorder, just recently visited upon mankind. So how was it dealt with in the eons before modern psychology discovered this "novelle clinique"?

This may sound a bit crude, but I believe it is consistent with our history, and I know it sure works well. When I was growing up, I spent a good deal of my time doing chores. School, playtime, and even meals were a privilege. If I didn't get the chores done, then I would be prohibited from my privileges until they got done. I hated doing chores, but I had no choice. It taught me to value my free time, to appreciate my provisions, and to focus on doing well (if I didn't bring home good grades, then I got more chores, dad figuring that manual labor would be more in my future and wanting to condition me accordingly to that lifestyle, or motivate me to aspire to greater accomplishments). I only ever missed a few meals (surprisingly I didn't die, just got really hungry). I also didn't just sit around when I had the chance to go play either. Sitting around was a sure invitation that I needed something more to do.

I believe there are some kids who need medication. I met one who had suffered some brain damage at birth. You could run that boy into the ground, and he would still fidget so much he would scratch sores on his face. He was otherwise fairly normal. When he got on the right medication (and that didn't happen right away), he became a lot more functional and able to integrate with his peers. However, I do not think that most of the kids on meds today really should be. I look for cause and effect. Without physical cause, there can be no associated manifestation. That means that whatever abberrant behavior is observed can be conditioned and trained to be under control (I suspect that sounds suspiciously Dianetic, if so, then that's what I've been doing with all my dogs over the years, with great success I might add). I won't say you can eliminate it, as it is a personality trait, and I abhor the notion of conformity. I think we are all different in many ways, and the dynamics of human psyche challenge the notion of labels for normalcy, thank God. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, some would say alchohol really helps them do better. To each his own. Susan's example is a great indication of how we can adapt to overcome inherent difficulties to accomplish great things.

Back to the point, I reckon it was the extra clothing and the modicum of training he retained that had a bigger impact on his survival than all the drugs he's been given over time. I doubt very much that Ritalin or any other mind altering chemical is going to make a huge difference in our ability to survive such an ordeal.