Talking sense on child ‘disorders’
PARENTS concerned about their child's underperformance at school - or who have been told their child has attention deficit disorder - will benefit from a talk being given by Cabarita-based "kid whisperer" Diana Vogel.
Ms Vogel maintains that there is no such clinical condition as ADD (or ADHD) and behaviours that lead to a diagnosis of these conditions are caused by stress.
Treating kids with drugs is a disastrous option, she said.
"I encourage parents to look at the root causes of their child's behaviour, which is always a result of stresses in their environment," Ms Vogel said. "Those can be from television, certain foods or exposure to fluorescent lighting in the classroom.
"There's no way to avoid them being exposed to some of these stresses, so we need to teach them stress management techniques very young."
And for parents there are many simple strategies to follow - outlined in Ms Vogel's book How to stop the ADD/ADHD Nightmare. The book will be available at the talk, which is in St Finbarrs Catholic School Hall, Bangalow Rd, on Friday, February 15 at 10am.
