Why Johnny Can't Learn; Parents and Teachers Turn to the Net to Cope With ADD.

BOSTON--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 9, 1998--

Fall Marks the Season When

Teachers First Identify Children's Symptoms

-- What's a Parent to Do? --

Education, Health and Technology Editors:

Parents and teachers participating in Mediconsult.com's ADD support group are available for interviews

The 10th annual conference of CHADD, the leading non-profit group exploring ADD meets in N.Y. Oct. 15-17

Millions of parents will emerge from the annual autumn 30-minute parent-teacher conferences distraught, angry and confused, after the teacher suggests that their child may have Attention Deficit Disorder, popularly known as ADD.

This widely diagnosed condition affects approximately 5 percent of all students, particularly of elementary school age, and opens up a thicket of questions, doubts and worries about what to do next.

www.mediconsult.com/add provides extensive on-line resources to help parents and teachers identify whether a child has the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder. It also provides tools for coping at home and in school, and on-line peer group support.

"Millions of kids are labeled by teachers, parents and school administrators as difficult, troublesome and disruptive students," said Dr. Ned Hallowell, a Harvard University instructor and nationally known specialist on diagnosing and

treating ADD. "In reality, most classrooms have at least one student with ADD - and probably several. Providing the proper diagnosis and treatment can make a world of difference for these kids, their families, their peers and their teachers."

ADD affects teens and adults, too, though many develop coping skills to hide it. Because ADD is so easily misdiagnosed, Mediconsult.com identifies the most critical symptoms associated with ADD. Students with ADD are likely to:

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--   Frequently make careless mistakes in schoolwork

--   Have a hard time keeping focused, whether it's work or play

--   Seem inattentive when spoken to directly

--   Not follow through on instructions and fail to finish their
     schoolwork

--   Have a lot of difficulty organizing tasks and activities

--   Dislike or avoid tasks that require sustained mental effort

--   Frequently lose things needed for assignments, projects or
     activities

--   Be easily distracted by outside noise or objects

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Being impulsive, fidgeting and interrupting are also signs of ADD, though many of the most obvious symptoms are perfectly normal at certain stages of a child's development, making diagnosis even more difficult.

On-Line Tools for Coping: Support Groups and Traditional Treatment

Most experts believe that it's most effective to treat ADD with a combination of medicine, new ways of behaving, and intervention in the classroom to foster success.

Parents often find that on-line support groups, including those on-line at www.mediconsult.com/medbin/news?add-1 are extremely helpful.

"Parents often feel so alone, trying to cope with this challenge," said Dr. Anne Castleton, director of content and community for Mediconsult.com. "Just hearing what other parents are experiencing can be so reassuring. They also share good ideas about approaches that have worked for other people."

The first step in treating ADD is often a complete medical exam, including a physical and neurological assessment; a quantitative evaluation of intelligence, aptitude and personality trait, and possibly, a consultation with an allergist.

Physicians generally recommend helping students learn to change their behavior, both at school and home. This includes giving them simple, specific instructions, praising and rewarding them for positive behavior, and setting routines for mealtimes, play, TV and bedtime.

The Web site includes 50 tips on managing ADD without medicine. Though treatment with medicine can be highly effective, it's also sensitive, because of the potential for over-use. Stimulants are prescribed most often; some experts report that they help 70 to 80 percent of patients treated.

Because so many students diagnosed with ADD often have trouble succeeding in the classroom, Hallowell notes that reinforcing success is vital - for parents, too.

"With so many frustrations, it can be easy to lose sight of what makes these kids so special," he said. "They're usually very intelligent, and highly creative. As with all kids, a parent's love may be the one thing that helps them more than anything else to become happy, successful adults."

Mediconsult.com is the leading patient-focused Internet site, providing news, discussion groups and other practical information for patients and the people who care about them on more than 50 of the most widespread medical conditions, receiving nearly 1 million visits monthly. It is the core Internet offering of Mediconsult.com, Inc. (OTC:MCNS).

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Other resources include:

--   Mediconsult.com's site www.mediconsult.com

--   C.H.A.D.D. Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorders)
     www.chadd.org or in Plantation, Florida, [phone]

--   National Attention Deficit Disorder Association (NADDA),
     www.nda.org, or in Mentor, Ohio, at [phone]