European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 31, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Behaviour carefully and discovering in which situations he does Best. The Walls found that Andrew had trouble completing tasks if he was Given More than one responsibility at a time. He does better if he is allowed to. Complete one task before being Given another. A punishment of any kind usually does not work with children who have attention deficit problems Marrero said. Parents will be More successful if they try to anticipate or prevent their child s unwanted behaviour. When Andrew becomes angry he is allowed to verbally release his frustration in his bedroom which is considered his Safe place. The Walls also give their children responsibility at Home and Praise them for even the smallest tasks. Parents of children with attention deficit problems May be tested to the limit and become frustrated because they feel they can do nothing right. The Walls found support and better understanding of the disorder through family counselling and by attending a support group at Kapaun As. Parents who suspect their child May have characteristics of attention deficit disorder should have the child evaluated by health professionals. Usually a paediatrician evaluates the child first. The doctor must carefully examine the child and the family situation to determine Why the child is inattentive and has difficulty completing tasks. The Lack of attention could be caused by a medical problem a learning disability or some other reason other than attention deficit disorder. Diagnosis can be difficult because there Are no specific medical or psychological tests to identify attention deficit disorder. Diagnosis is based in part on social and medical histories As Well As school reports. A parents should not hesitate to have their child evaluated for attention deficit disorder Wall said Quot having an add child is not the end of the world. These Are wonderful children. They take a lot of work but with counselling you should manage.11 attention deficits also frustrate adults by Daniel Goleman new York times in her Early 40s, in the midst of a frustrating struggle to finish a doctorate in medieval history Barbara Karler went to the psychiatry clinic at the University of Utah for treatment of depression she Felt terribly scattered High Strung irritable and unable to concentrate on her studies. To her Surprise her doctor Paul Wender said her problem was not depression. He said she had an attention deficit the same kind of attention problems seen in school children. Looking Back at her childhood Karle now 59, said she saw that there were Many signs that something was wrong. She fidgeted constantly and was always in trouble. Quot All through school i Felt too much information was coming in at me Quot she said. Quot i tried hard to focus but i always Felt distracted by any Little thing the cat a car going by outside it was like having no filtering system it everything got  Karler s problems disappeared when Wender prescribed ritalin a stimulant commonly used to treat attention deficit in children. People like Karler Are Likely to go undiagnosed because until recently most therapists believed that attention deficit was a problem children outgrew. And people her age grew up at a time when the diagnosis was unknown even among children. Now however experts believe that 3 to 10 percent of children about three quarters of them boys have attention deficit problems. Recent findings make it increasingly Clear that a third or More of children with attention deficits still struggle with the problem As adults. Wender began investigating this possibility about 10 years ago. He and other researchers now estimate that 2 to 5 percent of adults up to 6 million americans suffer the distracted Ness restlessness and irritability that Are the Hallmarks of the disorder. Previously most studies involving adults with attention problems had focused on those with extremely debilitating difficulties. This group which made up about one third of the children with the attention disorder had problems ranging from chronic trouble with the Law to alcoholism and drug abuse As adults. But the new work is finding a group a no one can yet say just How Large it is a whose members have a few of the More obvious problems with schoolwork that Lead to outright failure and others whose problems simply went undiagnosed despite All their struggles. For these adults life is plagued by Small frustrations and repeated disappointment. And some like Karlen Are Able to find ways of compensate that allow surprisingly High achievement though not without great struggle. Quot if they were never diagnosed in childhood they re confused and bewildered not knowing what s wrong with them Quot or Why they have to struggle so much harder than others Wall she Kim a psychiatrist at the University of California at los Angeles. Quot and even if they were treated for attention deficit As children most Don t realize the pro6lem can continue right into  she Kim has just completed a study of 200 adults whose screening tests disclosed that they suffered attention deficits. All came to the psychiatry department at Urcla complaining of other problems like anxiety and depression. / those in their late 30s and older Are most Likely to have gone through life never knowing exactly what the problem is she Kim said. The diagnosis of attention problems in children was unknown in the 1940s and 1950s and still controversial in the 1960s when the focus was on hyperactivity. Beginning in the 1960s, though researchers found that an attention problem was at the heart of the disorder which is called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Symptoms in children include being fidgety and easily distracted and impatience. Many have the kind of impulsivity that sends a child running into the Street without looking. Because most children do such things from time to time the diagnosis requires that the symptoms have been prevalent for six months and Are unusual for the child s age group. About half of children with attention deficit also have a specific learning disability like reversing numbers or letters. About a third Are diagnosed As anti social or having a conduct disorder indicating they Are chronic troublemakers z n Trinidad promises elections it if rebels end coup release hostages Rke a he 6 my eader offers to quit pm i v.-41 y4 Quot Totz la gunman ends Isoyo in l a Tot i 1 i r y on Nevery Day can make a world of difference in your life in a world that never lakes a Day to rest every Day can make a world of difference. A Day can mean the difference Between a Campaign and a Victory. A budget and a budget Cut. A revolutionary idea and a revolution. The stars and stripes has All the news it takes to keep you on top of the world s events. And a subscription to the stars and stripes can assure you that you la never fall a Day behind. Cay one of our circulation offices today listing on Page 11 for your subscription to the stars and stripes. Or write to says to attn sales promotion \ Apo 09211 the stars and stripes a we can make a world of difference in your life. Every Day. Tuesday july 31, 1990 the stars and stripes Paga 17