Chris* was a cute, freckle-faced, six-year-old boy who embodied my image of Tom Sawyer. Only in the first grade, Chris was already falling behind in his schoolwork. His teacher described him as constantly disrupting the class by speaking out of turn, touching other children, being out of his seat, and playing with toys rather than doing his work.
Occasionally Chris would get into fistfights with other children. He did not start such conflicts, but when provoked, Chris spared no effort or tactic to win. And he always did win.
Chris' mother brought this young "Tom Sawyer" to me for an evaluation for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This was at the school's insistence. The teacher was resolute in her belief that Chris had ADHD and must be put on stimulant medication.
Since Chris' mother strongly objected to this recommendation, she instead brought Chris to me, a psychologist with a new, drug-free, alternative treatment.
After only three sessions using Computer Aided Emotional Restructuring (CAER), Chris' behavior at school and home improved markedly. Yet at age six, Chris was at the lower limit developmentally to benefit from CAER.
Three years after his initial visit, follow-up evaluations have revealed no further academic or behavior problems. Chris is still doing well at home and school.
If you know anything about traditional psychotherapy or theories of ADHD, the best thing you can do is forget it for now. Goethe said it well: "It is impossible to learn something you think you already know." So for now, getting dumb is the most brilliant thing you can do.
Computer Aided Emotional Restructuring is a treatment technology that extinguishes ineffective emotional patterns quickly, effectively, and without drugs.
As the title implies, "emotional restructuring" demands cooperation from the patient in order to dredge up unpleasant memories. These unpleasant memories are often the root of physiological and psychological problems.
With Chris, I asked him to think about people who made him mad. This included his teacher, some of his fellow students at school, some boys at day care who would not let him play, and his big brother. Chris liked doing this. He said it made him "think about things."
At the end of session one, which included an initial evaluation and beginning treatment using CAER, Chris' mother was given a five-minute cassette tape and instruction sheet to take to the teacher.
During sessions two and three using CAER, this same tape was played. Once again, Chris was asked to think about people who made him angry. He reported that this tape made him mad. He also said that after he had listened to the tape a few times, it did not make him angry.
By the end of the third session, Chris did not seem to have any emotional response to the tape. The powerful feelings that were at the root of Chris' behavioral problems were extinguished by CAER.
I also saw Chris' mother for one session. This was to alleviate her own guilt about putting firm limits on her son. Abused and rejected in her own childhood, she was overreacting in her determination to avoid the same patterns with Chris.
Although she had an excellent command of behavior management concepts, she could not effectively put them into practice because doing so made her feel terrible. In fact, whenever she tried to be firm with Chris, his complaining made her feel like the "Wicked Witch of the West."
After one session using CAER to re-experience her own unsettling emotions, Chris' mother was able to do an excellent job of systematically rewarding and punishing Chris. That's because such actions no longer tapped into her own emotional history.
With the help of CAER, ADHD can be overcome.
ADHD is a major problem occurring in as many as 3.5 million children in the United States, or three to seven percent of the nation's children, according to various estimates. No one really knows the exact number. The male-to-female ratio is about two to one.
1) Fidgeting with the hands or feet
2) Difficulty remaining seated
3) Difficulty awaiting taking turns in games
4) Difficulty following through on instructions
5) Shifting from one uncompleted task to another
6) Difficulty playing quietly
7) Interrupting conversations and intruding into other children's games
8) Appearing to not be listening to what is being said
9) Doing things that are dangerous without thinking about the consequences
Currently ADHD is thought of as a neurological disorder that affects motivational systems. Accepted treatment consists of behavior therapy and/or stimulant drugs.
These treatments are usually helpful, but the child's behavior seldom becomes normal. When either of these treatments is withdrawn, behavior most often regresses.
That's because the treatments only manage and do not cure the pathology (Barkley, 1990).
Traditional thoughts about ADHD impose a number of damaging myths onto children like Ryan. These myths have led to many ineffective approaches for treating ADHD.
Let's compare traditional views of ADHD with my view of children like Ryan.