ADHD and Golden
Submitted by Boys and Schools Blog
So, there’s this American swimmer named Michael Phelps, and apparently he’s pretty good.
(That’s the background for people who have no TV, radio, newspapers, or internet, and are currently living in a mountaintop monastary with a strict code of silence. I can only assume that they’re having this blog entry brought to them in printed form via mounted couriers or sherpas or something.)
I’m assuming that I don’t have to give much other background on Michael Phelps, considering that NBC’s Olympic coverage mandates one profile on him every hour. I now know that he drinks milkshakes for breakfast, to wash down several egg sandwiches, french toast, grits, hasbrowns, and a smallish yak. (Honestly, I’m more jealous than I care to admit–I wish that someone had told me when I was younger that I could have as many milkshakes as I wanted if I were an Olympic swimmer. I think it might have done wonders for my breaststroke technique.) But one of the most interesting things about our new greatest Olympian of all time (Phelps broke the record for the most gold medals last night) hasn’t even been mentioned in any of the profiles I’ve seen. Apparently, Michael Phelps has ADHD. Yes, Michael Phelps’ mom had to go through the same difficult meetings with teachers, and the same parenting challenges as so many other moms. In fact, it seems that one of the reasons that she had him start swimming was as an outlet for his boundless energy. But I’ll just quote her own words instead of endlessly summarizing:
Debbie, who had taught middle school for more than two decades, began working closely with Michael’s school to get him the extra attention he needed. “Whenever a teacher would say, ‘Michael can’t do this,’ I’d counter with, ‘Well, what are you doing to help him?’” she recalls.
After Michael kept grabbing a classmate’s paper, Debbie suggested that he be seated at his own table. When he moaned about how much he hated reading, she started handing him the sports section of the paper or books about sports. Noticing that Michael’s attention strayed during math, she hired a tutor and encouraged him to use word problems tailored to Michael’s interests: “How long would it take to swim 500 meters if you swim three meters per second?”
At swim meets, Debbie helped Michael stay focused by reminding him to consider the consequences of his behavior. She recalls the time when 10-year-old Michael came in second and got so upset that he ripped off his goggles and threw them angrily onto the pool deck.
During their drive home, she told him that sportsmanship counted as much as winning. “We came up with a signal I could give him from the stands,” she says. “I’d form a ‘C’ with my hand, which stood for ‘compose yourself.’ Every time I saw him getting frustrated, I’d give him the sign. Once, he gave me the ‘C’ when I got stressed while making dinner. You never know what’s sinking in until the tables are turned!”
Debbie used various strategies to keep Michael in line. Over time, as his love of swimming grew, she was delighted to see that he was developing self-discipline. “For the past 10 years, at least, he’s never missed a practice,” she says. “Even on Christmas, the pool is the first place we go, and he’s happy to be there.”
Debbie also made sure to listen to her son. In the sixth grade, he told her he wanted to stop taking his stimulant medication. Despite serious misgivings, she agreed to let him stop — and he did fine. Michael’s busy schedule of practices and meets imposed so much structure on his life that he was able to stay focused without medication.
Of course, this isn’t meant to imply that if your child has ADHD, he’ll become a great Olympian. But it obviously won’t stop him either.
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