ADHD and Tae kwon do - Your Child's Success Strategy
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by: KalynnAmadio
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The child that has ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is gifted. This special child is creative and spontaneous with the ability to hyper focus on any interesting task.
On the flip side, that same child can be difficult to parent due to frequent distractibility, impulsiveness, aggressiveness and hyperactivity. These traits usually define the ADHD child to the outside world and label them as "troublemakers" which can irreparably damage self-esteem.
It is true that all children are inattentive, impulsive and easily distracted sometimes, but the child with ADHD experiences these traits most of the time. As a parent, you can help your child to perceive ADHD temperament traits as an advantage or disadvantage.
In spite of its name, ADHD is not only a lack of attentiveness but the ability to exert more focused attention on a chosen topic. Those with ADHD don't lack focus but often focus inappropriately. They have little tolerance for inactivity and are bored quickly.
Sports can be a positive or negative experience for any child but especially the ADHD child. Releasing excess energy is a plus but team sports are often frustrating if the child can't learn to follow the rules or play their specific part for the team.
Martial arts, like tae kwon do, can be immensely therapeutic for the ADHD child because it allows aggressive behavior in a safely controlled environment. Directions are given by an instructor and immediately acted upon so there is a sense of relevance and immediate satisfaction.
Tae kwon do emphasizes self-control, self-confidence and self-esteem as an inherent part of its instruction for all students. For the ADHD student, this emphasis can be crucial to turning negative character traits into positives.
Part of tae kwon do instruction is the philosophy of "right action" which is to reach a point where you inherently know how to react in a situation with no thought. This teaching helps the impulsive ADHD child curb those impulses. Classes are exciting with lots of jumping, kicking, spinning and punching so boredom is never an issue. Hyperactivity doesn't exist in a tae kwon do class. Action is rewarded.
An important quality of tae kwon do instruction is respect and acceptance of all people despite the labels society has placed on them.
ADHD is not exclusive to boys. Girls are more often diagnosed with ADD which is the same issue without the hyperactivity in equal numbers to boys with ADHD. This "difference", because it's not exactly a disorder, is genetic. A rather large study discovered that 25% of ADHD children have one parent with Attention Deficit.
You can't outgrow Attention Deficit, so it becomes crucial to find ways to lessen the burdens of the disadvantages. Help your child learn to see the constructive aspects of their character and turn those traits into successes.
There have been many successful people in history who most probably suffered from ADHD. The common traits to all these businesspeople, athletes, politicians, artists and entrepreneurs can be pared down to what some would consider negative traits. Tenacity, fast thinking, spontaneity, intense concentration and creativity were the characteristics of Mozart, Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill. Not bad company to keep.
About the Author
To find out more about how tae kwon do instruction can help your ADHD child, visit Kalynn Amadio's great website Taekwondo-Network and read more about the types of classes a reputable school provides for kids tae kwon do lessons. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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