Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Another Great article in the Series of The Doctor says = The Bible Says. By Dr. Michelle Strydom MD.
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ADD OR HD
Phil stop acting like a worm
The table is no place to squirm
But Philip will not take advice
He’ll have his way at any price
He wriggles and jiggles
Here and there on the chair
Phil these twists I cannot bare.
There is no brain scan or blood test to diagnose ADHD. A doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist makes the
diagnosis by obtaining a history of the child’s behavior from the parents and teachers at the child’s school.
A form called the Conner’s questionnaire is given to the parents and the teachers to fill in (this can be
down loaded from the internet – just go to Google and type in the key words – Conner’s Questionnaire for
ADHD). Basically if a child’s behavior fits the following criteria, ADHD is highly likely:
CRITERIA FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ADHD
6 or More Symptoms of Inability to Sustain Attention
• Can’t sustain attention whilst performing a task (short attention span) and is easily distracted.
• Often starts a task in a rush but has difficulty in finishing it.
• Makes careless mistakes in school work.
• Doesn’t listen – for example ignores the formality of class or teacher’s social requests.
• Can’t organize tasks.
• Avoids schoolwork.
• Loses things
• Is forgetful.
6 or More Symptoms of Hyperactivity or Impassivity
• Fidgeting or squirming
• Keeps leaving seat in class.
• On the go – runs around or climbs excessively, ignorant of danger.
• Cannot play quietly, silly noise making.
• Talks excessively.
• Blurts out answers.
• Has difficulty in waiting for anything.
• Often interrupts or intrudes into the action of others.
• Pleased to get negative attention.
• Class clown.
* For the diagnosis to be made the symptoms must have been present before the age of 7 years.
(Symptoms are often present by age 3).
* The symptoms must have been present in at least 2 settings, for example at school and at home.
* Impairment in academic functioning (academic failure) and/or social functioning.
Children with ADHD often have emotional difficulties such as moodiness, depression and irritability.
They often have a low frustration threshold, bad temper, are emotionally labile and have a poor self-image.
About 75% of children often show aggressive and defiant behavior which is hostile and confrontational.
Unfortunately ADHD is being far too frequently and flippantly diagnosed by doctors who in a “parrot
fashion way” prescribe Ritalin to any child who sort of fits the above profile. Not every child who has some
of the symptoms of ADHD has real ADHD. In the medical field we are seeing more and more children showing symptoms of ADHD (who do not genuinely have ADHD – i.e. they have no abnormality in neurological flow in the brain) as a result of stress and emotional turmoil.
In the chapter on page 190 I wrote about stress and I explained there that children take 18 years for
their brains to grow and fully mature. The stress that children experience is much greater than that which
we as adults experience – it is catastrophic to put it mildly. What we experience as moderate stress for
children is catastrophic because the brain is still growing and in the developmental phase – it is vulnerable and susceptible.
When children are stressed, they cannot verbalize and express their emotions as well as we can, so it
will come out in behavioral problems. We are finding a lot of ADHD symptoms coming from classroom
induced stress and/or an unhappy home where for example the parents are continually fighting. Parents
you have no idea how deeply you affect your children when they hear or see
you fighting. It instills deep emotional insecurity and fear inside them.
Before your children are diagnosed with ADHD, just take time to sit with
them and find out what their issues are. What is stressing them out? What
is making them feel insecure and/or fearful? Children with ADHD symptoms
coming from stress require lots of love and attention from you as a parent.
We have a huge responsibility to reduce stress in our children’s lives and let
then have more fun, play more, and by giving them more love.
The best ways of dealing with stress in
children is play and love – give them lots of love, hugs and touches. There’s an old saying – children spell love like this: “T-I-M-E”. If you cut down your own busy schedule and invest more quality time than you usually do into your children – talking and bonding with them, and doing various activities with them
that they enjoy, you’ll soon start to see a significant change, such as an improvement in their class room
performance. Dads, don’t sit back and leave it to the mothers – you have a vital and instrumental role in
the development of your children emotionally and especially spiritually, so be hands on and get involved.
The time and effort will be well worth it as you will prevent the development of serious problems later
on. For example the stress and emotional insecurity in a child from a strife filled or broken home has the
danger of leading to addictions such as alcohol abuse later in life.
When it comes to real ADHD, there is a specific spiritual root behind it which is explained earlier in this
chapter under the heading “The ADHD, Epilepsy, Dyslexia, Color Blindness, Autism, Learning Disabilities,
Homosexuality and Bisexuality Profile.” Please read through that section on page 458 before continuing
to read further here because it is essential background information that is necessary to understand the
spiritual dynamics behind ADHD.
Whilst there are several medications available for the treatment of ADHD, Ritalin is the best known and
most widely prescribed by doctors. I explained previously that ADHD involves an interruption in neurological flow – this leads to free floating thoughts and impassivity. The child just does whatever comes to mind, shifting from one activity to the next, starting many things but seldom finishing a task. Ritalin is a psycho-stimulant which means that it goes into the brain and stimulates the nerves – the best way that I can explain it is that it wakes the nerves up again so that neurological flow is continued without being interrupted.
This elevates alertness and motivation. Some recreational drugs like amphetamines (speed) work
by exactly the same mechanism. After the drug has worn off the person feels even more despondent and
de-motivated. In the language of recreational drug users: “speed” is followed by a “rebound crashing”.
It is true that 70% of children show some improvement in symptoms on Ritalin – however, it is a very
dangerous drug. There is a psychotic value that comes with this drug that is absolutely horrific (The term
“psychosis” is explained on page 470). Ritalin has been one of the most widely researched drugs. One study by a national organization in America concerning children who are on Ritalin showed that 50% of them, at some time in their lifetime, end up breaking the law and in jail. This has been directly related and attributed to the drug, not to ADHD. The statistics say that a child on Ritalin has a 50% chance of experiencing a psychotic side effect – you are playing a game of “Russian-Roulette”.
Psychiatrists treat the side effects of drugs with other drugs. The rebound depression is treated with
anti-depressants. Their answer to the psychotic side effects is to prescribe another drug – an antipsychotic,
which has terrible side effects of its own. It is like opening Pandora’s box and yet Ritalin is the current
“drug of choice” for ADHD.
Other side effects of Ritalin that have been documented in further medical research include:
• Headaches
• Insomnia (inability to sleep).
• May worsen tic disorders.
• Appetite loss may lead to growth suppression.
• Tachycardia – this is an increased speed at which the heart beats. This is fine as long as the child has
a normal heart. However if the child has an underlying heart disease or abnormal defect – this can
send the child into heart failure.
• Rebound effect – rebound crashing as explained above.
This can lead to depression.
Ritalin is the shame of our doctors, parenting and school systems because it is a lazy way out of the
problem. My experience in consultations with patients who have all kinds of sicknesses is that they are
often looking for a quick fix: “Doc, just give me a pill or something quickly so I can get on with my busy
life.” There is an alternative method of dealing with ADHD which is a technique called focusing. Focusing is
a treatment, at the secular level, but you will hardly ever hear about it because it is so much easier to give
your child Ritalin. The focusing technique often does not appeal to parents and teachers because it takes
a lot of co-operation, effort, time and patience on their part. Ritalin is a quick way to partially deal with
the problem but it certainly doesn’t solve the problem. If you have an open tap that it flooding your house
with water, there are two possible ways to fix the problem: you can put a bucket under the tap (Ritalin)
that will temporarily solve the problem, or you can switch off the tap (focusing) that permanently solves
the problem. Ritalin merely deals with the fruit of a problem – God’s way is to deal with the root and get rid of it permanently.
Proverbs 22 v 6: “Train up a child in the way he should go [and in
keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not
depart from it.”
In the hyper-range of ADHD, the child is fine as long as he or she is concentrating
on an object of interest. The neurological flow of focusing is normal,
but when the child is not motivated the neurological flow is interrupted and
the child then does whatever comes to mind. The focusing technique literally trains them to focus – this
also involves a lot of loving discipline. I’m going to illustrate the focusing technique to you in the following
true testimony given by Henry Wright who dealt with a child with ADHD:
“A child was brought to me. The child’s school had said they needed a meeting with the parents because
this child was so disruptive that he had to be placed at the back of the school room in a chair
with his face against the wall.
He was totally isolated in a classroom and they still could not contain
him. This particular child had straight ‘Fs”, an antisocial, disruptive, mouthy, rebellious, you-name-it
behavior. When the parents got the letter they came to me. It was obvious that the next step the school
counselors would recommend would be to put the child on the drug Ritalin. I went with the parents to
the school counselor to propose an alternative. The parents did not want the child on Ritalin because of
its psychotic side effects and potentially dangerous implications. With the Technique of ‘focusing’ we felt this child’s ADHD would be resolved.
The school agreed to let us try it.
We took this particular child and made up a chart. It had a row for every day of the week and every
week of the month. We charted the next nine week period of the school semester. The chart had three columns.
The first column had a smiling face. The next column had a face with a straight line for the mouth,
and the next column had a frowning face. I brought the child in and said, “This is the deal, if we can’t help
you through ministry and focusing, they are going to put you on Ritalin, which is a drug.” I explained to
the child the ramifications of the drug and the consequences. This is part of focusing…education. However
this is not threatening the child. Children understand when you take the time to talk to them. You
may not think they do, but they really are listening and you can reason with children if you take the time
to meet them on a level they can understand. We asked the child, “If you could have anything today, what
would you like?” He said, “A SEGA video game player!” We told the child, “For every day that you turn your
homework in and you behave well in the classroom, the teacher is going to evaluate you and if you have
succeeded she’s going to put a smiling face in that column for that day. If you come home with a smiling
face, your parents are going to give you U.S $2.00 toward your goal to purchase the SEGA. The day that
you barely make it with a straight line on the face – you don’t get any dollars. The day that you blow it,
and you really blow it, and get a frowning face, you will lose one dollar from one of the days you got a
smiling face. At the end of the nine week period, if you have more smiling faces than you have straight
lines and frowning faces, then you’ll receive your prize. The alternative if you don’t is Ritalin because the
school will require it.
This is your choice.”
That’s where we began. For the first two weeks it was kind of rough. Remember that we are establishing
new boundaries – new focusing, new concepts – and that takes time, patience and effort. But things
started to shift. I’m here to tell you that, with ministry and focusing, in conjunction with the teacher’s
co-operation as well as the child and parents this works. In the second 9 week period, the child went from
“Fs” to the AB honor roll. The third nine week period, the child maintained a position on the AB honor roll,
and by the fourth grade period the child was still on the AB honor roll. He became student of the year,
and for the last nine weeks was the teacher’s assistant. He went from the back of the room to the front of
the room, all through focusing, prayer and ministry and we didn’t have to go to drugs. That’s significant
and this is a more excellent way.
That’s not the rest of the story. He felt so good about himself and was so proud when he walked up in
front of that assembly at the end of the school year and got the certificate for the Student of the Year.
Something wonderful happened inside of him and he never let go of his achievements. Part of the profile
of ADHD is self-rejection. This young man started to be a winner and he liked being a winner. He did not
want to rebel any more. He liked being the teacher’s pet. Suddenly a new life had begun, and he knew
he wasn’t on drugs and didn’t need to be on drugs and that was very important to him. The second year
came up and they brought him to me again and I said, “OK, you know how we won this battle last year.
This year, there’ll be no reward. You only get one SEGA in a lifetime. You know how God met you, and you know how you came through with flying colors last year. This year do you think you can make it through just by focusing and observing how you feel about yourself? He said, “Pastor, I think I can do it. I might blow it every now and then.” Henry said, “Well, I blew it yesterday myself.”
In summary:
• ADHD involves a breakdown in neurological flow in the brain that interrupts a child’s thoughts, making
it difficult to focus and causing them to shift attention from one thing to another.
• ADHD is caused by a deaf and dumb spirit – this demonic spirit was given an entrance point through
ungodly order in a family where the woman dominated and ruled the household – she wore the
pants while the man was passive. The deaf and dumb spirit along with ADHD (as well as epilepsy,
autism, dyslexia, learning disabilities and color blindness which are also caused by this evil spirit) run
in families and can thus be inherited.
Because the demonic deaf and dumb spirit is behind ADHD –
deliverance is necessary for healing.
When you step out in faith and use your God-given authority to cast the deaf and dumb spirit out,
it has no choice but to leave. The neurological flow in your child’s brain will be restored back to normal.