Dr. Thomas Armstrong’s Blog

Three times as many boys are diagnosed with ADHD than girls. One of the reasons for this imbalance is that we may be pathologizing normal boy behavior as ADHD symptoms. In this video I compare normal gender differences in free play situations. Boys prefer changing activities more often than girls, they gravitate toward playing with...Read More

This is video 5 in my 12-part video series on The Myth of the ADHD Child.  In this video I focus on the impact that our changing media landscape has had on the increase in the ADHD diagnoses of children and teens over the past many years.  First, I talk about media stimulation, how it’s...Read More

This is video #4 in my 12-part video series on The Myth of the ADHD Child, based on my book of the same name. This video suggests that ADHD symptoms can be better explained by looking at our educational system than by positing a specific medical disorder. ADHD teacher fact sheets typically list recommendations for...Read More

This video, part of a multi-video series on my book The Myth of the ADHD Child, suggests that there are different types of attention, and kids diagnosed with ADHD, while often having difficulty with central task attention, actually excel in other forms of attention such as diffused or incidental attention, hyperfocus (flow), novelty-seeking, and creative...Read More

In this video, part 2 of my series of videos on my book The Myth of the ADHD Child, I look at how we can use a developmental perspective to make sense of ADHD symptoms (rather than explaining them by seeing them as due to a medical disorder).  I’ve included the transcript to the video...Read More

I’m kicking off a new 12-part video series based on my book The Myth of the ADHD Child:  101 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion.  In this first video, I explain why I used the word ”myth” in the title of the book.  Some people think that...Read More

Everybody wants to find their dream job.  Yet most people, it seems, find themselves in careers that are less than satisfying, and often even pure drudgery.  This shouldn’t be happening.  Everyone deserves to work at an occupation that makes the most of who they are.  In this video, I talk about how knowing your multiple...Read More

Everybody knows that ADHD is a big phenomenon in our culture.  Rates of ADHD in children, teens, and adults have skyrocketed over the past few years.  But there’s problem if you think about it.  ADHD as a diagnostic term has three negatives in it (deficit, hyperactivity, disorder).  Having been an educator for the past fifty...Read More

According to Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard University, we need to go beyond the ”IQ” as a measure of intelligence. He suggests that there are at least eight intelligences (possibly nine), including: Word Smart, Number/Logic Smart, Picture Smart, Music Smart, Body Smart, Nature Smart, People Smart, and Self Smart. At ninth intelligence might...Read More