Michelle Barton is an Ultra Runner, who has over 70 race wins, two dozen course records and has raced Badwater 135 miler (the worlds toughest footrace) in 2010. She continues to break female records across ultra races and is now racing in Badwater 135 through the support of Hope So Bright.
Hope so bright is a Non Profit Organization that helps raise awareness for many causes across the nation. Currently, HSB is launching a campaign to raise awareness for Attention-Deficit-Hyper Activity-Disorder (ADHD) and the truth behind this epidemic in adolescents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 11 percent of American children, ages 4 to 17, have the attention disorder. Because there’s no test that can detect ADHD, a diagnosis depends on a complete evaluation. Many kids will often fall under the radar and be labeled as “acting out”, “bad child”, “problem child” and go without the ADHD diagnoses. Educating ourselves and others with this knowledge can help these children get the proper diagnoses and treatment so that they can learn to successfully live with ADHD and manage their symptoms.
But we have to be smart about the label as well. All too often, when a child is given the diagnoses the first, and quickest remediation to control the child’s behavior is by medicating these young children with Ritalin and Adderall. HSB encourages the public to become aware of other treatments before accepting pharmaceuticals as the only validated treatment.
ADHD can’t be cured, but it can be successfully managed. Research has shown that behavioral therapy as well as parents actively participate in their child’s treatment plan is also an important part of ADHD management.
**ABA-Applied behavior analysis is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968; Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991).
In other words, behavior therapy attempts to change behavior patterns by helping a child in their home and school environment in setting up organized systems, providing clear, concise, directions and commands with follow through. Positive behavior support systems also include setting up a system of reinforcement or rewards for appropriate behaviors, as well as making clear consequences for inappropriate behaviors. With BadWater, we hope to bring awareness to the public and educate about alternative therapies (ie, ABA therapy- Applied Behavioral Analysis) before loading up our children with medication.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN
Help us make Michelle’s Badwater Mission to race a success! By donating, you’ll be helping our Hope So Bright team spread the vision that affects so many.
100 % of our donations goes directly to organizations that employ services for kids in the USA.
FOLLOW Michelle here. http://badwater.com
