Ask the ADDvisor     Your questions answered By Linda Karanzalis, M.S., Learning Specialist / ADD Coach
My 9-year-old son has been diagnosed with ADD by a reputable psychologist. How can I be sure he really has ADD or is just lazy?	My child shows symptoms of what might be called ADD, but I don’t want her to have a stigmatizing label stuck on her because her teachers and school psychologists want to jump on the band wagon.
A: If you have gone to a reputable psychologist, you can rest assured your son has been properly diagnosed. If you are still unsure, you may want to get a second opinion, which in itself is a good rule to follow. The fact that ADD is so invisible (you don’t see a wheelchair or a limp) makes it easy to jump to the conclusion that the child could do better if she or he would just try harder. Most children don’t choose to be lazy. We all want to feel good about ourselves and our accomplishments. That behavior which we call lazy is most likely either a masked fear of failure or a response to some type of unexpressed resentment or frustration.      This is why it is so important to understand the nature of ADD. It is a neurobiological condition resulting from the inadequate production of chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters. Dopamine and nor epinephrine are the main neurotransmitters that are responsible for maintaining attention and regulating behavior and physical activity levels. When someone’s brain doesn’t produce enough of these chemicals, they experience the symptoms of ADD.      Many people are not aware that ADD is one of the most credibly diagnosed brain disorders documented today. There are countless studies to document the neurobiological validity of this condition.      In short, we live in a highly competitive society in which we are conditioned to believe that if we just try harder we can accomplish whatever we want.  Nothing is further from the truth for someone who has ADD. Meeting their potential will require a different set of strategies and way of doing things and it will still be a struggle to achieve their goals.	A: Nobody wants to have a label stuck on his or her child. We can’t help but ask questions like, “Will it hold him back in the future? Will she feel stigmatized or inadequate? Will people expect less? Will he be treated differently?” Parents should be concerned about their children being mislabeled and how it might affect how their children are treated by others.      On the other hand, a bigger concern for a parent than a child being mislabeled is that the child might not get the help needed to experience success. It would be a bigger tragedy for a child’s ADD not to be identified. A diagnosis can help a child’s self-esteem because it lets the child know his behavior issues are not due to being ‘lazy, crazy, or stupid’, as the title of the bestseller on ADD by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo suggests.  Not having a diagnosis can seriously compromise one’s childhood, as well as one’s adulthood.      Those with ADD have brains that are wired differently. It can be hard for those who don’t have ADD to understand because so many people experience symptoms that mimic ADD. Most people today have a hard time keeping up with our non-stop pace. Kids are overscheduled, and if they are not being shuttled here and there, they are ‘plugged in’ to some type of device such as an iPod, Gameboy, TV or computer. Since the bar for tolerating stimulus has been raised higher than ever, there is little tolerance for those whose brains do not simply ‘adapt’. In addition, ADD can mimic many other conditions, such as depression, anxiety and, according to some, even food allergies.

Linda Karanzalis