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By Kalynn Amadio

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.

Conversely, this same child is a challenge to parents because they can often be aggressive, hyper, distractible and impulsive. The world views these children as "hard to handle" which can permanently harm self-esteem.

All children are impulsive, inattentive and easily distracted from time to time, but the ADHD child lives with these attributes frequently. You can aid your ADHD child by showing her how these character traits are an advantage, not a disadvantage.

Regardless of the name, ADHD is not just a lack of the ability to be attentive, but it is the ability to deeply focus on a topic of choice. The ADHD child doesn't lack focus but tends to apply that focus in inappropriate ways. She has a low tolerance for idleness and gets bored easily.

A sport can be either a positive or non-constructive experience for all children, but for the ADHD child even more so. Spending excess energy is always good for the ADHD child; however, playing on a team can be difficult for her if she can't learn the rules of play or fulfill the role the team needs.
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.

And martial arts training focuses on respect and tolerance for others while receiving the same regardless of what label may have been given in other environments.

ADHD is not a boy problem. An equal number of girls are diagnosed with ADD the counterpart lacking the hyperactivity component. It is a genetically passed difference in character. In fact, a large study found that 25% of children with Attention Deficit had a parent with the problem.

You can never outgrow ADHD, so you must help your child find ways to work with the negative aspects to build success. Give her the chance to learn how to change negative traits into advantages to take into adulthood.

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.

Article Source: http://www.articlemap.com

To find out more on how tae kwon do instruction can benefit your ADHD child, visit Kalynn Amadio's great website Taekwondo-Network and read more about the types of classes a good school offers for kids tae kwon do lessons. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory


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