Troubled Teens Resources

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder therapies have advanced greatly since the days when professionals could offer parents little more than Ritalin. And indeed, for some troubled teenagers, that is the best solution. A new book out by child psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell, however, has some of the best advice I’ve read on the topic.

“Dr. Hallowell is a positive psychologist… In his talk he talked about how he is in the business of helping people “unwrap their gifts.” He explained that he often uses a metaphor with kids when explaining ADD. “You have a Ferrari brain; a really terrific and speedy brain,” he said, “the only thing is that you have Chevy breaks. We have to work on improving the breaks.”

Teen crisis intervention often comes by way of simple tools and Dr. Hallowell’s new book, The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness, is one of those tools parents will be rewarded in using. If it gets your children and teens feeling like a “Ferrari”, it is well worth the effort. Here are some of his pointers on happiness.

1. Connect: create layers of social connections for kids, starting at home, then at school and in the neighborhood.
2. Play: allow kids to use their creativity to explore, create and ask questions. Children need to have their humor and, more importantly, their imaginations, fostered and supported.
3. Practice: once children have found an area to explore, they must learn the discipline from practicing and wanting to do well at the things that interest them.
4. Achieve Mastery: from practice children learn that they want to master something. Mastery is a powerful motivator that teaches confidence and a sense of “getting hooked on life.”
5. Recognition: once a child has achieved mastery, it takes social recognition to close the loop again to connections. Also, recognition teaches a child that they are part of a larger social group, so it teaches a sense of a social morality of being “part of something.”

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