There is a new terror that has seemingly risen from a dark boggy swamp somewhere. If you’ve ever sat before the teacher or doctor’s desk and heard “your child has ADHD”, you know the monster I’m talking about. Suddenly you are thrust into a world of testing, IEP’s, lifestyle changes and worst of all guilt: Where did I fail my child?

What if this simple collection of the letters a,d,& h were really nothing more than a harsh mis-label for what is in fact, a legitimate, God - given personality and learning style? What if the problem lies not with the child, but with the system they are inhabiting? For the sake of the children, can we at least be open to the possibility?

I love this quote from Dr. Paul Steinberg as he comments in an article in the New York Times March 6 ‘06: “in essence, attention-deficit disorder is context driven. In many situations of hands-on activities or activities that reward spontaneity, A.D.H.D. is not a disorder. ” he goes on to say, “Essentially, A.D.H.D. is a problem dealing with the menial work of daily life, the tedium involved in many school situations and 9-to-5 jobs.” Exactly! How can it be a clinical disorder if the behaviors are only a problem in certain situations? ADHD is a harmful label for what is sometimes a Sanguine personality type.

Before I explain “sanguine” let’s pause for a brief disclaimer: Before those of you with truly attention deficit children pelt me with rotten tomatoes, I will admit I have had experience with a handful of children who do have control, focus, and impulsiveness problems. They don’t have an “off” switch. However, in the 4 educational settings I have worked in over the past 20 years, I have seen only one child who I could honestly say needed a tremendous amount of help and possibly medication to function. I am not saying some form of ADHD does not exist. I am saying it is way over diagnosed. There, that’s my disclaimer so put the smelly produce away.

Many people are familiar with the idea of personality types. One of the most popular tests is based on the Myers-Briggs model. You might have seen designations like ENFP, or INSJ to describe the various types. This model has 16 different possible combinations. Some people enjoy that much detail. Another model, originally described by the ancient Greek Hippocrates, uses just four basic types, Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy, and Phlegmatic. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll use the Greek model.

The best way to get a handle on these types is to think of a large plus sign +. The horizontal cross bar represents a continuum of people orientated on the left to task orientated on the right. The vertical bar represents general energy level from laid-back people on the bottom to super high energy folks on the top. By answering a series of questions you can plot your place on the grid and pinpoint your general personality type. Most people are a combination of at least two types and don’t necessarily exhibit all the characteristics of their type all the time. There are many, many factors that make up each individual including gifts, talents, interests, environment and motivations. Learning about personalities is only one piece of the puzzle, but it’s a good place to start.

Sanguines fall in the upper left hand quadrant of that grid; normally people orientated and high to extremely high energy. Sanguines are defined as someone who tends to day-dream, get off track easily, act on whims, and be unpredictable, almost manic in behavior. They are also enthusiastic, emotional, curious, flexible, make friends easily, and are full of fun and energy. A world without Sanguines would be dull and boring. They follow a life plan that is all about people. Nowhere in that life plan is there any chapter on sitting still, keeping quiet, and attending to minor details.

Sanguine can exhibit most or all of these characteristics to varying degrees depending on exactly where they fall in the grid. Some are very high energy but not overly social. Others will happily spend hours text messaging friends while sitting quietly on the couch.

Now look at the symptoms of ADHD from the Center for Disease Control: Careless about details, doesn’t stay on one task for long, disorganized, avoids menial tasks, often distracted, fidgets in seat, has trouble playing quietly, impulsive, interrupts. All the negative aspects of a sanguine personality without mentioning the positives. Lets focus on the positive and recognize that this is a God-given, unique and wonderful personality that is a vital part of the whole community of mankind.

Unfortunately public school is not an optimal setting for these kids. The most efficient way to process the largest number of children through a series of grades is one teacher, a couple of dozen desks, 25 - 30 kids, (yes I know, more kids than desks, my point exactly) dry, boring text books and 6 hours in a classroom. The public school model works well for kids that fall on the opposite corner of the grid, the Melancholy personality; lower energy, task orientated, more interested in perfection than people, good at details and filling in the blanks on standardized tests. Neither personality is better than the other, they are just different. And schools are set up for the Melancholy type.

It’s no secret we don’t all think or learn the same way. So why do schools insist on using one method to teach everyone and punish those who don’t fit their mold? It’s not because lecture/textbook/test is the best way to teach everyone, that’s for sure. John Taylor Gatto does a very thorough job uncovering what really goes on behind the scenes in the public school system in his book: “The Underground History of American Education”. You can check out his web site here: http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/

So how do we help our Sanguine kids? Ideally, bring them home and homeschool them. No one knows a child better than his parents. Homeschooling moms can uniquely customize the childs education to take advantage of their strengths and give extra attention to their weak areas without resorting to damaging labels or worse, drugs. If homeschooling is not an option, look for alternative schools, also known as charter schools, that encourage free exploration and group learning activities. In some states charter schools are free, funded by the state department of education but run by private contractors. Be sure to look for one with a good track record and a history of excellent educational results! For others, private school may be an option.

If none of those options work for you, there is an emerging population of “after schoolers”; Parents who can not be at home all day, making the commitment to take their evenings and weekends to work with their children on strategies to support them in the classroom.This might take the form of drilling your 8 year old on her math facts while letting her do jumping jacks, or reading a historical fiction aloud and discussing the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story together. There is so much you can do to work with your child and build up their strengths and support their weak areas.

This blog is dedicated to helping all of us recognize and appreciate our uniqueness. Be sure to check back next week as I’ll continue to cover topics on personality types, parenting and homeschooling.