Don't Dull Superpowers

Teach children to harness their energy rather than stifle it with medication.

My older sister has always been somewhat of a superhero to me. Growing up, she was the tall, outgoing, athletic, beautiful one. She seemed fearless in trying new things and rarely backed down from challenges. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized she had a real superpower. 

My sister was diagnosed with hyperactivity and attention issues before it was the popular trend to diagnose nearly everyone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She struggled to sit still in school, church, and anywhere else that required staying upright in a chair. She often watched cartoons upside down on the couch and continued moving in her sleep. (I have bruises from sharing a bed with her throughout childhood.) One of the funniest memories I can recall happened during a typical family dinner. We were all sitting around the table enjoying our meat and potatoes when she suddenly burst out in song with, “The winner takes it all!” and fell out of her chair. The rest of us were left in stitches. 

Unfortunately, her hyperactivity and attention deficit did not translate well in the classroom. Teachers, who loved having her in class but were running out of patience, recommended having her tested, which my mother did. She was diagnosed with ADHD. While there were medications for it at the time, doctors were not as quick to prescribe them to children then as they are today. Instead, the focus was on her diet and habits, and she was taught how to manage her hyperactivity and maintain focus. 

As my sister matured and developed more control over her impulses, she thrived. She tried every sport she could and usually excelled on the field (or in the water) as an athlete and on the sidelines as a team leader. She pursued leadership roles throughout high school and college and quickly moved up to management or supervisor positions in her workplaces. She was a class officer, prom coordinator, team captain, sorority vice president, community liaison, and a stranger to no one. The busier she was, the happier and more successful she was.

Today, she and I both have four children. It is just a typical day for her to attend several ball games, lead a Zoom call for the department she heads within her children’s school district, take a meal to a sick friend in need, and return home to host a graduation party with 150 guests that would put the professionals to shame. Not only has she learned to focus, but she has also learned to harness her boundless energy in positive ways that make the world around her a better place. As someone who gets tired just watching her, I consider her bottomless well of energy a superpower.

Imagine if, instead of teaching her how to use her superpower, doctors had recommended numbing or stifling it. Imagine if she was taught, it was a defect rather than just a difference. Imagine if she was told to be anything other than the perfect person God created her to be. It’s not hard to imagine because that is what is currently happening across the country.

As of 2023, 6.1 million children were diagnosed with ADHD. Of those diagnosed, 62 percent are currently taking ADHD medication. There is such an overwhelming dependency on medication rather than therapy to treat attention issues that there was panic as the country experienced an Adderall shortage this past year. There is no question that the medication helps patients focus, but we should be questioning what the trade-off is and if there isn’t a better way to help people manage and capitalize on their different approaches to life.

I am confident I will receive comments from people who think this is meant to negate the impact of ADHD on their lives or the reality of the challenges it creates. That is not my intention at all. I know all too well the struggles that come from learning to live with ADHD. I only hope this plants a seed of doubt in the parent's minds looking for a quick and easy solution to their child’s high energy level, inattentiveness, or lack of focus. I hope it causes parents to seek medication only as a last resort after exhausting all other options. 

When I meet children with overwhelming energy and apparent attention issues, I always think about my sister, the superhero. I try to imagine how they will harness their superpowers as they mature and develop into the person they were perfectly created to be. I pray those superpowers aren’t dulled by medication but strengthened by patient and loving adults in their lives who teach them to use them for good.