From American Physiological Society
Posted on the web : May 30, 2006

Methylphenidate (Ritalin) elevates norepinephrine levels in the brains of rats to help focus attention while suppressing nerve signal transmissions in the sensory pathways to make it easier to block out extraneous stimuli, a Philadelphia research team has found.

From Center for Development and Learning
by Glenda Thorne, Ph.D. and Alice Thomas, M.Ed.

Attention Quick facts

• Paying attention is the first step in the learning process.
• Everybody fails to pay attention sometimes, but some people fail to pay attention a lot.
• Not paying attention to what you are doing can be a problem for both children and adults. For example, not listening to the directions in class can cause a student to do an assignment wrong, and running a stop sign can cause an adult to have an accident or get a traffic ticket.
• It is easy for almost anyone to pay attention to things that are interesting or exciting to him.
• It is hard for most people to pay attention to things that are not very interesting or exciting to them.
• Emotions such as feeling anxious, sad or depressed make it harder for people to pay attention.
• It is difficult to pay attention to things when we are tired, sick or not feeling well.
• People differ in their ability to focus their attention at the right time on what is important.
• It is possible for people to manage their attention problems.

It would be nice if you would leave, Albert. Your behavior at school, so distracted and absentminded, and your poor interest in all I teach set a bad example for the whole class.
- Teacher's comment to young Albert Einstein, from Albert Einstein by Ibi Lepscky.

From Center for Development and Learning
by Gerard A. Ballanco, M.D., FAAP

Parents, teachers, public health officials, physicians - in fact, anyone who is awake - is aware of the increase in the use of stimulant medication for children that has occurred in recent years. The use has doubled since the beginning of the decade. Are we opting for the easy fix to the detriment of children or is this increase appropriate? Are we helping the short term but delaying the development of personality and adult stability? Are we helping to prevent debilitating failure?

From Center for Development and Learning
By Glenda Thorne, Ph.D.; Alice Thomas, M.Ed., and Candy Lawson, Ph.D.

The following strategies are offered for enhancing attention and managing attention problems. This listing is by no means exhaustive, but rather is meant as a place to begin. The best resources for strategies are the creative, inventive minds of enlightened assessment professionals, teachers and parents, in partnership with the students they serve. Together they can create multiple alternative strategies.

From NYU's Child Study Center
by Steven M.S. Kurtz, Ph.D., ABPP

In this issue of the NYU Child Study Center Letter, we focus on the importance of establishing a working alliance of home, school and community to enhance the development of each child with ADHD and prevent academic, social, and emotional difficulties.

From the Office of Special Education Programs - part of the US Department of Education.

Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the core symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A child’s academic success is often dependent on his or her ability to attend to tasks and teacher and classroom expectations with minimal distraction. Such skill enables a student to acquire necessary information, complete assignments, and participate in classroom activities and discussions (Forness & Kavale, 2001). When a child exhibits behaviors associated with ADHD, consequences may include difficulties with academics and with forming relationships with his or her peers if appropriate instructional methodologies and interventions are not implemented.

From the Office of Special Education Programs - part of the US Department of Education.

We have all had one of these experiences at one time or another. Perhaps it was at the grocery store, watching frustrated parents call their children’s names repeatedly and implore them to “put that down.” Maybe it was a situation at school with a child who could not seem to sit still and was always in motion. Maybe we noticed a child who appears always to be daydreaming in class—the student who will not focus on an activity long enough to finish it. Possibly the child is bored with a task, seemingly as soon as it has begun, and wants to move on to something else. We all puzzle over these challenging behaviors.

From Attention Deficit Disorder Association
by Andrea Little

AD/HD coaching has been defined as follows: "AD/HD coaching is an ongoing relationship which focuses on the client taking action toward the realization of their vision, goals or desires. AD/HD coaching uses a process of inquiry to discover ways in which a client can maximize strengths and talents, function optimally with a disability, and be responsible and accountable for actions or lack of action. AD/HD coaching provides clients with structure, support, skills and strategies."

From Attention Deficit Disorder Association
by Edward M. Hallowell, MD

What is it like to have ADD? What is the feel of the syndrome? I have a short talk that I often give to groups as an introduction to the subjective experience of ADD and what it is like to live with it:

Attention Deficit Disorder. First of all, I resent the term. As far as I'm concerned most people have Attention Surplus Disorder. I mean, life being what it is, who can pay attention to anything for very long? Is it really a sign of mental health to be able to balance your checkbook, sit still in your chair, and never speak out of turn? As far as I can see, many people who don't have ADD are charter members of the Congenitally Boring.

From http://www.tourettesyndrome.net.
by Leslie E. Packer, PhD.

There are three main components to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): problems with inattention, and problems with impulsivity-hyperactivity. Not all students will have all three problems: some may be primarily inattentive and some may be primarily impulsive-hyperactive.

Students with ADHD may also have other conditions or challenges that are likely to significantly impact educational performance, such as executive dysfunction (EDF), what appear to be oppositional behaviors (ODD or Conduct Disorder), mood lability, tics or Tourette’s Syndrome, and obsessions or compulsions or full-blown Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).