When I coach boys age-6 recreational classes, inevitably at least one parent tells me their son has been diagnosed with ADHD or some sort of attention deficit disorder.
The thing is, I can never tell which of the kids is disordered. ALL seem attention disordered to me. It’s the natural state of an excited 6-year-old boy.
Case study:
Patricia and Ron Golden needed something to occupy their youngest child, a 4-year-old boy whose frenetic energy was taking its toll on their furniture and their patience.
“Sean used to flip down the stairs backward, like a Slinky,” said Ron Golden, a retired juvenile detective with the Camden Police Department and now a federal court security officer.
…
The Goldens rejected suggestions that their son try Adderall, a drug frequently prescribed for hyperactivity. Finally, they discovered gymnastics.
Sean took to the sport so well that now, two decades later, he is one of America’s leading male gymnasts, the U.S. champion the last two years in the vault, the 2005 champ on the rings, and a member of the American men’s team that finished fourth at the recent world championships in Stuttgart, Germany. …
From Camden’s streets to a gymnastics mat | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/25/2007
I think drugs are prescribed far too quickly. Too often.
Lets wear the hyperactive kids out with sport, instead.
That said, I was just coaching a gymnast who is on daily medication. She said she cannot identify any negative side effects from her prescription. But that when she is not on the meds she finds it difficult to concentrate during training.
I coached her brother too when he first went on the same medication at age-6. He went from wild-and-crazy to quietly introspective over-night.
In all, 3 siblings are on the same medication. None are considering going off it as yet.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 