THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409070112
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 01B EDITION: BAYSIDE
COLUMN: VITAL SIGNS
SOURCE: PAM STARR
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Jonathan Hays has been kicked out of every day care center in the area.
Private sitters don't last too long with the 9-year-old, either. Jonathan has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, a neurological disorder characterized by impulsiveness, a lack of concentration, short attention span, disorganization and hyperactivity. It's also called ADD, or attention deficit disorder, when the hyperactivity component is missing.
His mother, Mary Hays, is a single working parent and she's tired. Dead tired. Jonathan does not stop moving from the time he wakes until the time he goes to bed, she said. He talks incessantly.
``I believe that ADHD parents are saints,'' said Hays, a senior loan counselor in risk management with Essex Mortgage. ``We don't get a rest at all. We love our children, but it's very hard on us.''
Hays knows there are many other parents out there who are also having a hard time raising ADD/ADHD children. So she formed a support group for those parents and caregivers which will meet every week.
It's the first one in the area that offers support weekly, she said. ``I formed the group to let parents know that they're not alone. We have a wealth of information on how to get through homework with your ADD/ADHD child, where to have them sit in class (in the front, for less distraction).
``It's tough being a parent, but ADD makes it even tougher,'' she added. ``It's very stressful on relationships, it can cause isolation. I believe a support group is so important for parents.''
The group, called Parents and ADD Caretakers Experience meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Scott Memorial United Methodist Church on First Colonial Road. But no one showed up last week other than Hays, a school nurse and the guest speaker.
``People are getting their kids ready for school and are really busy this week,'' she said, looking out over the empty chairs. ``Once school starts I predict a lot of people will be showing up.''
Children with ADD/ADHD are the ones who are usually labeled as troublemakers by teachers, the ones who pick fights, fidget, can't stay in their seats and can't keep their minds on one project. At least 3 to 5 percent of all children are affected by ADD/ADHD, which represents 30,000 to 50,000 students in Virginia.
Susan Dye, program administrator for children and adolescents at Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center, said that children with ADD/ADHD are ``very reactive to stimuli.'' If a horn blows outside the classroom, for example, the child will stop what he's doing and look to see where the sound is coming from.
``ADD/ADHD is not necessarily a dysfunction in processing information,'' said Dye. ``ADD kids can be very bright but they have that short attention span. Medication (Ritalin) can be very helpful but it's not the total answer.''
Jonathan is a student at Seatack Elementary and what has helped him ``tremendously,'' said Hays, are the supportive teachers and especially the school nurse, Jody Jessen. Jessen, an adult who has ADD, gives Jonathan his medicine every day.
``He used to think he was the only one who takes Ritalin at school,'' said Jessen. ``One day he saw the rows of pills in the little cups - the same color and size as his - and said `Hey, that's the same medicine I take.' A lot of children take Ritalin. It made him feel better.''
To participate in the PACE support group, call Mary Hays at 428-1389. The group meets Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Scott Memorial Methodist Church, 409 First Colonial Road.
Have you seen the ad on television for the contour pillow, the one that supposedly helps you sleep better?
It shows a woman's neck and back tilted at the wrong angle when she sleeps on a regular pillow. A white line is superimposed on the picture, tracing the crooked outline. When she switches to a contour, or cervical pillow, however, her neck and back are in alignment. This time the white line is straight.
The ad's a bit hokey, I know, but it hooked my husband and me. For years we have slept on pillows that should have been discarded long before. (Why are pillows always the last item on any shopping list?
After watching that commercial a few times Doug and I decided we had nothing to lose and bought two ``anti-snore'' pillows at a discount department store last week. They look like egg crates with a roll at one end. The first night we tried them Doug slept like a baby and woke up feeling great.
I slept like a new mother. The difference is probably because he sleeps on his back, I sleep on my side. I'm not giving up, though. Each night I'm falling asleep easier and staying asleep, but I can barely get out of bed in the morning. I finally decided to call a chiropractor to see if I was just going through a normal adjustment period.
Patricia McLean, who practices at Ocean Chiropractic with her husband Michael, said that I was and that it takes most people up to a month to get used to a cervical pillow. If I were really tossing and turning, she said, I could use the cervical pillow half of the night and my regular pillow the other half.
``I recommend them to every single patient with neck problems,'' she said. ``It's important to have your neck supported when you sleep - that pillow acts like a brace. It opens up the cervical curve and promotes good blood flow to the head.''
McLean, who teaches a non-force technique of adjustment, casually added that while she was at a conference in Hawaii last week she adjusted actor Kevin Costner and 50 other people on the set of his new movie.
``He was the most down-to-earth, gracious person,'' she said. ``He was like your brother. It was fun, too.''
Is he as good-looking in person as he is on the screen, I wanted to know. She hedged a little.
``Well, he looked like a regular guy,'' she answered. ``He looked like a construction worker.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Advice on coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is
available at the Parents and ADD Caretakers Experience support
group.
Jody Jessen, left to right, Mary Hays, and Susan Dye discuss how
they handle situation they have with children who have Attention
Deficit Disorder at one of the support group's Wednesday
gatherings.
by CNB