Golden boy

You might think ADHD kids can't focus, but that's not necessarily so. Some focus almost exclusively on one particular thing to the detriment of social skills or academic learning. Michael Phelps, according to his mother, has ADHD and as a child was medicated. And this is just a guess, but once she found that swimming could grab his attention, and helped him channel that energy, they were off to the Olympics. Having exceptionally long arms and being very tall with big feet, probably didn't hurt. With 13 gold medals, he's won more gold than any athlete in Olympics history.

I watched an interview with her this morning, and she still maintains a web site for parents of ADHD children. I'm against medicating kids--Thomas Edison was ADHD, too--thank goodness no one medicated him. Maybe Mom or the teacher just need to take something. Michael's mother says he was diagnosed at 9 and went off medication at 11, and that he didn't use it in the summer or on week-ends. I'm not a doctor, but most medications need to be taken consistently. If they noticed any improvement in his behavior, I'm guessing it was the placebo effect. But the medication gurus are pushing their stimulants based on the Phelps case in their publications. Unfortunate.