Michael Phelps - New Hope for ADD Kids
Michael Phelps told the interviewer about being an ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) kid, in a long magazine article a couple of years ago. He simply had incredible surplus energy. He told about how he would check in at home after school, then leave for the park. There hs would tear around, trying to burn off as much energy as he could, so that when he returned home, his behavior would not exhaust his mom. Pretty insughtful for a kid, obviously. And pretty considerate of his mom too.
Then came the big revelation. Michael did not tire like other athletes. His energy just did not stop. He was one of those rare athletes who could do more than one major swimming event in one day's time. If fact, he sometimes did more than two in one day! He seemed not to get tired, not in the way the other athletes did. His energy came right back.
Think what that means. Many believe that kids are often misdiagnosed as being ADD when they are not, and medicated when they should not be. Most ADD kids are boys - who are often more energetically active than girls anyhow - and whose energy and restlessness may be disruptive in a classroom.
But what Michael's case shows is that many of them may simply be exceptional, super-charged future athletic champions. How many more "Michael Phelps kids" are out there, controlled by ADD medications rather than working out until they drop? It may be that what many ADD kids need to be doing is working exceptionally hard to become champions, rather than being medically quieted down.
Today Michael told an interviewer that as an ADD kid, he didn't want to take the medications. Instead, he asked his parents to let him burn up energy by working out hard at the pool. That was the start of his sizzling-fast surge to championship. Michael was just 15 at his first Olympics. Now, at age 23, he is already being called "The Greatest Olympian," with 11 lifetime gold medals - more than anyone in Olympic history. He may even win more before these Olympics close..
Smart coaches looking for young potential champs would do well, it seems, to look among ADD kids in the future. Rather than a handicap, an ADD label may actually indicate great possibilities for unusual success.
If so, Michael Phelps' incredible achievements in swimming could someday be eclipsed by what he has added to our understanding of the strange phenomenon of ADD, and even of some possible great advantages.
Then came the big revelation. Michael did not tire like other athletes. His energy just did not stop. He was one of those rare athletes who could do more than one major swimming event in one day's time. If fact, he sometimes did more than two in one day! He seemed not to get tired, not in the way the other athletes did. His energy came right back.
Think what that means. Many believe that kids are often misdiagnosed as being ADD when they are not, and medicated when they should not be. Most ADD kids are boys - who are often more energetically active than girls anyhow - and whose energy and restlessness may be disruptive in a classroom.
But what Michael's case shows is that many of them may simply be exceptional, super-charged future athletic champions. How many more "Michael Phelps kids" are out there, controlled by ADD medications rather than working out until they drop? It may be that what many ADD kids need to be doing is working exceptionally hard to become champions, rather than being medically quieted down.
Today Michael told an interviewer that as an ADD kid, he didn't want to take the medications. Instead, he asked his parents to let him burn up energy by working out hard at the pool. That was the start of his sizzling-fast surge to championship. Michael was just 15 at his first Olympics. Now, at age 23, he is already being called "The Greatest Olympian," with 11 lifetime gold medals - more than anyone in Olympic history. He may even win more before these Olympics close..
Smart coaches looking for young potential champs would do well, it seems, to look among ADD kids in the future. Rather than a handicap, an ADD label may actually indicate great possibilities for unusual success.
If so, Michael Phelps' incredible achievements in swimming could someday be eclipsed by what he has added to our understanding of the strange phenomenon of ADD, and even of some possible great advantages.
posted by Old Neocon at 7:25 PM
1 Comments:
Very interesting, thanks, I can relate with him to a degree, what a great story and insight. I agree that the best thing for hyper kids is channeling that energy it into sports. I can say that the more energy I burned in sports the better I was able concentrate in school, so it is a win-win situation.
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