Sept. 17, 2007 — She speaks from first-hand experience.
The mother of a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or AD/HD, first lady Cecile deJongh wants other parents to avoid the pitfalls she had to encounter over the years. She’s has not only undergone intensive training to help council other concerned parents, she’s also managed to gain the attention of the national organization, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or CHADD.
On the heels of National AD/HD Day Wednesday, deJongh is bringing the CHADD president to the Virgin Islands to speak with parents on St. Croix and St. Thomas. Anne Teeter-Ellison will hold workshops and discussions on St. Croix on Sept. 26 and on St. Thomas on Sept. 27.
A newly retired professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ellison has published numerous articles and books and is the co-editor of the “CHADD Educator’s Manual on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: An In-Depth Look from an Educational Perspective.” Her visit is intended to help pave the way for the founding of a local CHADD Chapter by instituting support groups for parents.
“The idea is to teach other parents how to deal with mild to moderate learning disabilities,” said deJongh, who has received certification as a parent-to-parent counselor for AD/HD through specialized training she received in Florida.
Her efforts are applauded by a local AD/HD expert Beth Marshall, the former director of the J. Epstein Foundation’s Enhanced Education Center, dedicated to raising awareness about AD/HD. Marshall is currently director of the Early Childhood Initiative, a program funded through The Family Connection of the Community Foundation
of the Virgin Islands. Marshall is also a certified AD/HD coach and the parent of a child with the disorder.
“I think what the first lady is doing — establishing a support group for parents — is very exciting,” she said. “When you have parents going through things they don’t understand with their own children, if they can get together, talk about it and share, then learn how to talk to teachers, learn what books to read, where to go for help — it provides invaluable support — and it’s free. CHADD is built on that — parents started CHADD.”
DeJongh is appealing to all parents or guardians whose children suffer from attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder or those who simply want to learn more about AD/HD to participate in the upcoming workshops. They’ll begin at 6 p.m. each night at Government House on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
CHADD defines attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as a condition affecting children and adults characterized by problems with attention, impulsivity, and overactivity. It affects between three to seven percent of school-age children, and between two to four percent of adults, according to CHADD.
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