Alternative views on ADHD Published Aug. 27, 2007 By Capt. Colin Burchfield 14th Medical Operations Squadron COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. -- This article will present some alternative views of ADHD. As mentioned in the last article, these alternative views are intended to begin further discussion of behaviors that are frequently diagnosed as ADHD. It is my belief that looking at these children from a different angle may be necessary for those involved to better understand their behavior. In the process, this understanding will be more satisfying for both parents and the children. What are other ways of viewing these children? One view is the belief that a child's behavior is determined by biology that is outside of his control, and as a result, is not responsible for his behaviors. However, another view to consider is that the child is responsible for his own behavior. Viewing the child as someone who does possess responsibility would mean a dramatically different approach in working with children and their behaviors. The child could be responsible, whether or not he believes himself to be. However, for an action to be meaningful, the child has to believe himself as being personally responsible - or be responsible - for that action. For a child to experience his action as important, the action must be intentional. All of this means that a discussion needs to take place with the child about the intention of his actions. This also means that others involved with the child must spend time watching the child in order to understand the intention of his actions. By doing this, knowledge is gained in how to deal with the child's actions. Also, knowledge is gained to provide the child with feedback on how to receive the possible consequences without having the child act out. Understanding the where and when the ADHD-related behaviors are seen can be tremendously important in understanding children better and help limit the behaviors that are viewed as negative. By looking at ADHD from the view that children are responsible for their behavior means that children have choice, free will, and self-generated thoughts and actions. As it relates to ADHD-related behaviors, this would mean that children with ADHD are able to do something other than what is dictated by biology. These children would be viewed as being responsible for the choices they make. As a result, the treatment for ADHD would look at the responsibility that the child has for his behavior. This goes against the view that biology alone is responsible for ADHD-related behaviors. Earlier, it was stated that ADHD-related behaviors can be the result of several factors, including biology. If biology is important, how can children be viewed as being completely responsible for their behavior? The answer to this question lies with the view that the mind and body are viewed as parts of a larger system. In other words, self-determination and biology interact. With this view, self-determination affects biology and vise versa. Everyone is guided to do certain things by their biological makeup. This view means that children and their actions are not understandable without looking at both their biology and self-determination. At this point, you might still be asking the "so what" question. What can I do to help my child and myself, given these alternative views? In the next article I will present some concrete recommendations to parents that you may find helpful.