Finding Focus
I recently came across a book that revealed so much insight about the mind and the brain. The title of this book is, Switch On Your Brain, by Caroline Leaf. I highly recommend reading this yourself, but I did discover some insight that might prove helpful to you, and I wanted to share in this blog post. If you are a parent and have ever had an Educator tell you they think your child may have ADD/ADHD, then you how devastating that can be. I know because I am a parent who has had this happen and dealing with it was difficult. The difficulty lies in the mystery of it. The diagnosis is not really scientific, but the resolution requires the science of medication. My opinion here is one plus one does not equal two. It was not as simple as that. My son had a focus issue, but why? Was there a reason that only medication could alter?
My husband and I were not convinced enough to just try medication, and we knew there was something else to be considered. I want to stop here and say, this was our experience and not one that I think is universal for all. So, if you have been through this and found medication to help, then I am glad. For us, we were not so certain that our six-year-old son needed medicine to help with focus. We saw something in the environment he was in. It was noisy, chaotic, and overstimulating. For him, this was proving to be a distraction, a problem that had to be dealt with. He was struggling and it was affecting his behavior and his emotions. He was stressed and this is an understatement.
If you have read our story, in past blog posts, then you know we made a big change and opted to homeschool our son. this was an intentional move to alter an environment that we believed was a major issue for him. This proved to be true for him. We are now in our third year of homeschool, without medication, and he is doing great. There are days focus is hard, but I can say the same for myself. The point here is, he has grown and adapted to the environment around him and this environment offers peace and calmness. Learning takes place now because the stress was removed and in this place he has joy. Learning, focusing has become a joy, not a hindrance or a stressor.
The reason for this post was to share an excerpt from this book, Switch On Your Brain. The entire book is phenomenal, but within chapter six, I saw something that explained our son’s experience, and it revealed why changing his environment brought about such positive changes. We saw first hand the positive results from altering our son’s environment, but nonetheless, the research from this book in relation to focus was eye-opening. This chapter on multitasking shocked me, as I have been a self-proclaimed multi-tasker all my life and believed the busier I was the more focused and capable I was. I had no idea the effects of that kind of chaos on the brain. I now see how multitasking is a myth! It is multitasking that can lead to attention and focus issues. as well as ADD/ADHD diagnoses.
“The poor focusing of attention and lack of quality in our thought lives is the complete opposite of how the brain is designed to function and causes a level of brain damage. Every rapid, incomplete, and poor quality shift of thought is like making a milkshake with your brain cells and neurochemicals. The milkshake-multitasking, which is the truth behind multitasking, creates patterns of flightiness and lack of concentration that is unfortunately often erroneously labeled ADD/ADHD and that are too often unnecessarily medicated, adding fuel to the fire.”
Wow! This statement reveals just how chaotic, high pressured, multi-tasking environments affect the ability to focus. When a child is put in an environment that pushes and moves, at a rapid speed, contrary to the functioning of a child’s growing brain, it can be harmful and may result in a misguided diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. We are not doctors, only parents, who trusted their instincts, and so glad that we did! What we learned through our experience we desire to share in the hopes others may see beyond their own misguided diagnosis.
Like I have said before, your experience may be different, but yet with positive results as well. As parents, we have to navigate the best we can, with what we have, in order to help our children persevere. As a mother of five, I know how difficult this can be, especially when every child is unique. What works for one may not work for another. My heart goes out to all of you moms and dads as who fight the good fight of parenting. May you all find focus in order to see, learn, and live clearly.
Blessings,
Anne Blanchette
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