Better Health Interviews – Fact or Fiction: Attention Deficit Disorder

by Rob on September 23, 2010 · 4 comments

in American Medicine, Medical, Pediatrics

Last Thursday (9/16/10) I had the pleasure of attending a conference on Attention Deficit Disorder.  The following are my two interviews.  They are both very interesting, and both apply greatly to my practice as a primary care physician.

The first is Dr. Ari Tuckman, author of the book More Attention, Less Deficit, as well as the podcast with the same name:

The second interview is with Katherine Schantz, head of the Lab school, an innovative school for kids with ADHD and other learning problems.

I hope you enjoy watching these as much as I enjoyed doing the interviews.

This material, written by me, is free to re-post and share under the Creative Commons agreement. In other words, use it all you want; just give me credit.
  • Clare

    I loved the “picture” of the bedraggled wife!!! Although I don’t think my husband has ADHD he definitely has many symptoms of it.Never being on time,forgetting things etc., I have often felt like a bedraggled wife.
    I think there is an advantage for anyone suffering from a chronic illness or lifelong diagnosis that the family be involved in the treatment and consultation process.I have spoken to so many people who feel alone with their illnesses and misunderstood.I can imagine ADHD being one of those illnesses where the patient is plagued with guilt because people don’t understand the lack of concentration and don’t understand why they just can’t BE ON TIME. I would really like to see more involvement from family when they have a sick family member,a willingness to support and learn coping skills for themselves too.
    Good Job Dr.Rob!

  • Health Writer and Lab Parent

    My son is one of the lucky kids who goes to the Lab School of Washington. I can’t tell you what a relief it’s been to him and to us to find a small, supportive and innvotive environment where he can discover his talents and strengthen his skills. Lab School is not afraid to try new approaches while building on 40 years of experience and creative thinking. I love what Katherine says at the end of this interview about neurodiversity and the intellectual capacity of many people with ADD. “These are people we don’t want to lose. They have so much potential to contribute and if we put them down through the educational system so they don’t want to go on, we’re losing a lot of talent. These are the innovators we’re searching for.” Thank you, Katherine and Dr. Rob.

  • guest

    With all due respect, if you have ADD, Dr. Rob, then how the heck did you make it through medical school, while I have ADD, and have been struggling for years just to earn an Associates degree?!? In comparison, my non ADD brother is a law student at Columbia. I’m not saying you are not scatter brained or a bit hyperactive, but when I hear doctors say they have ADD, I can’t help but suspect that the ADD they have and the ADD that has been so detrimental to my life are two totally different things.

    • http://distractible.org/ Dr. Rob

      Not all ADHD is built alike. I had a very ordered home (unusual for ADHD kids) and very predictable environment. I had teachers who didn’t label me. So when I went to college, I had confidence, structure, and had learned some of the coping skills necessary. I was much more interested in my classes as well and drank a ton of coffee. For me, I had the “perfect storm” that allowed me to succeed where many with ADHD can’t. Now I have the perfect job for a guy with ADHD: lots of structure, variety, never boring, lots of personal interaction, and mentally challenging. I wrote a post called “The Doctor is Distracted” that goes through some of these things.

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