In reality, when you see a kid staring at a book, all you really know is that “he is not reading.” There can be many reasons why “he is not…,” only one of which is “He can’t…” Further, “can’t” does not necessarily mean that he has some underlying neurological or intellectual defect, as is usually implied by “he can’t…”

There is a huge flaw in the “can’t” logic that we need to dissect to understand what is really going on.

ADHD as a Defense Mechanism

The Conditioned Attentional Avoidance Loop Model, (link to 24-4)appears to be radically different, but in actuality it is a logical extension of traditional theories of psychopathology.

Traditional theories, despite their differences, embrace Sigmund Freud’s notion that psychopathology is the result of an earlier emotional trauma. The adaptation to that trauma results in the psychopathology.

ADHD works by the same processes and serves the same function as traditional psychological defense mechanisms. In fact, it is best thought of as a defense mechanism favored by children.

Freud talked about how repression, suppression, or denial, are ways of keeping noxious thoughts and memories out of one’s consciousness. That is, they are attentional avoidance mechanisms that work just like ADHD.

Freud saw defenses as the patient’s active efforts to adapt, but that ultimately, if overused, backfired. So too, it is with ADHD. Framed in terms of Conditioned Attentional Avoidance Loop Model, the patient is as an active, skilled adapter to the environmental stimuli, just as Freud saw his patients. However, in both cases, defense mechanisms have gone awry.

Like all defense mechanisms, avoidance behavior functions as a way to spare the ADHD child the unpleasant emotions — whether they are triggered by internal or external experiences. It does this by keeping annoyances out of consciousness. But the defense strategy suggested by the Conditioned Attentional Avoidance Loop Model is more obvious than traditional defenses since:

1) The behavior of children is less sophisticated and thus more obvious.

2) The noxious stimuli (parents, teachers, and school-work) are usually here and now a opposed to in the past or far away.

3) Adults are actively engaged in keeping the child from physically escaping.

4) Much to the chagrin of the observing or diagnosing adult, the defense mechanisms of the ADHD child are often a reaction to the adult.

5) ADHD is Felt as an Insult by Adults.

This last point deserves further discussion.

My perspective using the Conditioned Attentional Avoidance Loop Model allows me to focus not only on the ADHD child but also on the adults who play an important role in his environment.

Failure to consider the role of adults in the child’s world has made it difficult to observe accurately and understand ADHD. That’s because the role of the controlling and evaluating adult, whether teacher or parent, is crucial to filling out our picture of the child. The adult is part of the Conditioned Attentional Avoidance Loop and the adult is the one responsible for triggering the attentional avoidance.

The child, simply, is always maneuvering to stay out of reach, and he does this by directing his attention elsewhere. No matter what you ask him, you get evasive, escapist responses — “I don’t know,” “Doesn’t bother me,” “Sure, I have lots of friends,” or “I don’t care.”

These responses occur between bouts of looking away, fiddling with things, wandering off mid-conversation, outpouring emotionally, grimacing, or glowering. These responses are an efficient smokescreen that is both difficult and frustrating for the adult to comprehend and respond to rationally.

Seeing the role of the adult as causal to ADHD behavior may at first feel upsetting and disorienting. We do not like to think of ourselves as the target of someone else’s defense system. The message received is that the ADHD child is defining you as the enemy whether you like it or not.

This differs from traditional psychology that deals with patients who are defending against some internal or historical experience. The latter is much less aversive than when someone is defending against you. Despite his most caring and benevolent efforts, the ADHD child blots the therapist, parent or teacher out of his or her reality.

In fact, it is the nature of the ADHD child to refuse to connect interpersonally with you or conform to your demands. He does not seem to understand that you are trying to act in his best interests. Instead, suddenly, the adult is on the receiving end of rudeness, rejection, or insults. Since the adult feels helpless and frustrated in controlling the child’s behavior, he or she feels personally affronted. It is as if your well-meant offer of friendship is being rebuffed.

Because of this affront to you and your reality, it’s easy to see ADHD children as more defective than they are. Thus, it becomes even more tempting to categorize ADHD children in an unbecoming fashion — as we are likely to do to anyone who rejects us. If the ADHD child does not like us, he must have something wrong with his brain. So we come up with labels like “Minimal Brain Dysfunction” or “neurotransmitter hypothesis,” depending on what is in vogue.

While teachers and counselors insist that they are professionals and thereby do not react emotionally to the antics of children, inevitably they do respond. Not to acknowledge this emotional reaction is to blind ourselves to a major piece of the dynamics driving ADHD. We have been seduced into focusing on only one part of the feedback loop—the child.

As a social species, humans spend much energy trying to change the behavior of other people in their lives: children, spouses, students, employees, etc. However, for all this effort, people seldom consider how their models of behavior may be inaccurate and thus lead to very ineffective strategies to effect this change.

As the family has degenerated, schools, media, peers, the legal system and government have taken over parental roles. And, specifically, criticizing the educational system — teachers, curriculum, funding, etc. — has been a current national pastime.

ADHD, LD and BD children manipulate the world to adapt to the environment. How each “disability” reframes the aversive situation is its defining characteristic.

The ADHD child attempts to both avoid conflict and avoid being thought of as stupid. He attentionally checks out of the whole scene. Behavior Disabilities and Learning Disabilities children manipulate how the world reacts to them with behavioral strategies. The Learning Disabilities child would rather be thought dumb than deal with confrontation. The Behavior Disabilities child would rather provoke uproar and confrontation than to be thought dumb.

Which adaptation pattern develops probably depends on the child’s broader learning history and current reinforcement contingencies. The following examples illustrate the difference in the style and focus of the child’s attentional avoidance strategy.

Children hear stories from their families about who they are. These stories may be positive or negative. Children diagnosed with ADHD, LD or HFA(high functioning Asperger's) hear many stories that reinforce these labels. These stories may be about his problems, diagnosis, disabilities, conflicts, and failures. They also might be telling jokes about his clumsiness, criticizing him for not getting his homework done, or on the positive side, applauding his getting a good grade on a test, or praising his athletic ability.

You’re a bug on the ceiling of Mrs. Reed’s 3rd grade class. You watch as she tells the children to open their books. Then your eye catches Jason. He is poking a pencil at Melissa to which she is frowning as she hisses under her breath, “get outta here!” She swings her hand and knocks the pencil out of his hand. He smirks. Mrs. Reed hears the commotion and walks briskly toward Jason’s desk. All eyes rivet on Jason. He sits up straight and has a glint in his eye. Mrs. Reed bends over his desk and starts talking to him about his choices with a mild threat that if he does this again he would have to go to the principal’s office. You observe some of the other children snickering or giggling. Jason glances at them, appearing to feign a serious demeanor as Mrs. Reed gets closer. You can tell by his attitude and her irritated voice, this scenario has happened before, probably many times. His diagnosis…