Not long after Joey (names in this article were changed to protect confidentiality) was finally diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of 7 – when he was always getting into trouble at school with his teachers and peers – did his family begin to search for a better alternative than medicinal solutions. It was not easy. Joey’s parents believed that there must be a better way than to just allow Joey to be "helped" with Ritalin or other medicine. They searched all over Western New York for strategies to help him focus on his school work and to decrease his poor social interactions. They were not very successful.

They asked his school for assistance. The school was steadfast on the use of medication and added that it would be a BIG help if Joey was to be successful in their regular education classroom. Joey’s parents were not happy with that strategy, so they came to me for counseling services.

Joey was an impulsive, vibrant, intelligent child who was "full" of energy. He was small for his age, but his grin reminded me of the Cheshire cat – proud and confident. He seemed very happy and well adjusted. His mother stated that it is "this Joey" that they did not want to curb with the use of medications. They added that they loved the way he was but wished that he could improve his school performance and have more positive peer interactions.

I explained to them that this energy and impulsive activity would have been seen as successful in many of yesteryears’ cultures. For example, before the agricultural revolution, distractibility (or scanning) was important for the successful hunter who was in charge of gathering and hunting the food for his clan. Even impulsiveness has had its place in history. Thomas Edison once stated that impulsiveness helped him to discover many world altering inventions. He once said "Look, I start here with the intentions of going there (drawing an imaginary line) in an experiment, say, to increase the speed of the Atlantic cable, but when I have arrived part way in my straight line, I meet with a phenomenon, and it leads me off in another direction, to something totally unexpected." He was speaking to [delete ‘the issue of’ AP] the need to be able to be flexible to meet his unstated goal. With Ritalin, Edison may have been too focused to "pick up" on these subtle "phenomenons." However, I also explained to them that it is important for Joey to feel successful and liked. Schools can be very harsh place[s] for students who are emotionally challenging.

I recommended a course of action that involved two distinct parts. The first was a parent support group. The second included Joey joining a pro-social group to teach him basic social skills and the ability to recognize and understand his body’s physical cues. They stated that they were willing to try "anything" to help Joey maintain productive friendships and his dynamic personality.

Joey attended one of my social skill groups. In my groups, I utilize a pro-social curriculum (loosely based on Arnold Goldstein’s pro-social skills) and a forum for cooperative gaming (such as the New Game strategies employed by Dale LeFevre). This group met once a week for an hour and continued for 10 consecutive weeks. During this group, we focused on 10 major social skills: 1) listening 2) interrupting 3) joining in 4) anger management 5) waiting your turn 6) stress reduction 7) dealing with being rejected 8) ignoring 9) trying when it is hard, and 10) reading other’s body language. The aforementioned skills are those that most educators have told me get in the way of learning for children with ADHD. I also incorporated many project adventure type activities that required the use of cooperation. This is an important element in my programs. I believe that large motor activities that require group cooperation "force" the children to learn to work together not against each other.

Joey completed the 10 week group and his grades improved significantly. Although his elementary school utilized a three-tier grading system (Needs improving, Satisfactory, Excellent), they included a comment section in the report card to help parents understand their child’s progress. Joey earned Satisfactory or higher in every subject. The comments went from "does not stay on task" and "very disruptive" to "a joy to have in class." One teacher wrote "what a significant turnaround." When Joey’s parents went to meet with his classroom teacher, she commented on Joey’s improvement. In search of an explanation, the teacher asked Joey’s parents if he was taking medication to help with his impulsiveness. Joey’s mother replied that he wasn’t and explained the social skills’ group that he attended. In disbelief, the teacher asked if Joey had "altered his diet." Once again Joey’s mother told her about the group and the success and enjoyment that Joey has found in the group.

We believe that there are many children with a story similar to Joey’s. Because of the success of the social skills program, we have designed a similar curriculum to be used in collaboration with Livingston County Recreation Programs. A very generous grant has been awarded to New Horizons of the Genesee Valley, Inc. to provide our groups to children utilizing recreation services. This grant was provided by the Livingston County Mental Health Subcommittee using funds from the New York State Reinvestment Initiative. It is our hope to reach as many children as possible through our nine-week program. It will be offered for the first time this summer at four recreation sites. For information about these summer programs, please e-mail me at or call (716) 346-6737.