VOA慢速英语: 应对焦虑和过激行为

Dealing with Distractions and Overreactions

应对焦虑和过激行为

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

来自VOA英语学习，这里是健康报道。

Five million American children and teenagers have Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly known as ADHD.

500万的美国儿童和青少年有注意力缺陷多动障碍，就是通常所说的注意力缺失过动症(多动症)。

ADHD makes it difficult - if not impossible - to stay with a duty until it is complete.

注意力缺失过动症——即使不是不可能——也很难让他们能够顺利完成一项任务。

Katherine Ellison knows the problem well. She is a mother who was always yelling at her son to be quiet, to sit still, to stay on task. She did not know that he had ADHD. She also did not know that she had it too.

凯瑟琳·艾莉森很了解这个问题。她是位母亲，总是对他的孩子大喊，希望他安静点，坐着不动完成他的任务。她不知道孩子有注意力缺失过动症，而且不知道自己也有这个病症。

Ms. Ellison wrote a book about the issue with her son, Buzz. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry talked to her about, "Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention."

艾莉森写了一本关于她儿子巴兹的问题的书，美国之音的法一扎·马斯里与她谈论到：“《巴兹，专注一年》。”

Buzz Ellison is a child who had many problems in elementary school. He could not sit still. He was constantly jumping up and down in class. He did not pay attention to his teachers and could not focus on the task at hand.

在小学，巴兹·艾莉森是个有很多问题的孩子。他没办法坐着不动，在课堂上不停的跳上跳下。他不听老师讲课，也没办法完成手边的作业。

As a result, his mother says, he was always in trouble. He also got bullied. And his teachers gave him a lot of negative feedback.

结果他妈妈说他总是处于困境中，也总被欺负。而且他老师给他很多消极负面的反馈信息。

"His attitude towards school really changed. I think he got bullied both by his peers and his teachers who insisted that he could do things that he really wasn’t capable of doing at that age and remembering things and they gave him a lot of negative feedback."

“他对于学校的态度也发生了变化。我认为他是被同学和老师欺负，他们都认为他能做的事，在但他那个年纪有些事确实做不到的，没办法记忆一些东西，他们给了他很多负面、消极的反馈信息。”

His mother, Katherine Ellison, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. She did not understand why he behaved the way he did. And she admits that her behavior was only making the situation worse.

他的妈妈——凯瑟琳·艾莉森是个获得普利策奖的记者。她不明白为什么他那样表现。她承认自己的行为只是让情况更糟糕。

"I was making things worse often by being anxious or being impatient or not understanding him. And I realized at some point that I really hadn’t hugged him in a while. And I wasn’t smiling when he came into the room because we were just having such a hard time."

“我总是焦虑或者没有耐心，又或不理解他，这都让情况更糟糕。我认识到一点：确实有段时间我没拥抱过他了。他走进房间的时候，我都没笑过，因为我们相处的确实不太愉快。”

When Buzz was nine doctors identified his problem. They said he had ADHD. And, like many parents of children with ADHD, Ellison learned she had the disorder as well. She was in her late 40s.

九名医生对他进行了诊断，他们说他有注意力缺失过动症。像许多有注意力缺失过动症孩子的家长一样，艾莉森了解到她也有问题，那时候她40多岁。

She says that like many people with ADD or ADHD life can be a roller coaster ride – a life with many ups and downs, high points and low points.

她说许多有注意力缺陷多动障碍或注意力缺失过动症的人：生活就像是过山车——生活中有起有落，有高潮、有低谷。

​“I, like many people with ADD, had a roller coaster of a life. For instance, I got sued for 11-million dollars for a reporting error that I made in one of my first years as a newspaper reporter. And two years later, I won a Pulitzer Prize. So these are the kinds of things that often happen when you got this disorder; you’re capable of really amazing things and very humiliating, terrible things."

“我与很多患有注意力缺陷多动障碍的人一样，生活起起落落。比如：我第一年做新闻记者的时候，因为一个报道错误被起诉1100万美元的赔偿。两年后，我获得普利策奖。你有这种缺陷障碍疾病，还会发生各种事情。你确实能够处理一些奇妙的事情，也能处理一些让你丢脸、让人可怕的事情。”

So, the mother and son teamed to write a book about their experience. Ms. Ellison says she was happy that ADHD became a project for them instead of a fight between them.

所以，妈妈和儿子决定一起合作写一本关于他们经历的书。艾莉森女士说：“她很高兴注意力缺失过动症成为他们合作的一个项目而不是横亘在他们中间的争斗。”

"My son and I started out by writing a contract together, which was terrific because it changed the perspective from being a shameful problem that we had to a joint business project. And I also knew that he would cooperate with me. He wanted a percentage of the profits from the book. I was willing to do that because all of a sudden we’re partners rather than antagonists."

“我儿子和我一起写了一份协议，这很了不起。因为它改变了对于多动症的看法，从一个让人丢脸的问题变成一个合作的经济项目。我还知道他会跟我合作，他想从这本书中获益。我也很乐意这样做，因为突然我们变成搭档而不是敌人。”

They explored the world of ADHD for a year. They researched treatments and doctors.

他们探索注意力缺失过动症患者的世界已经有一年了，调查研究了相关的治疗以及询问了医生。

More Cases of ADHD Identified in Children

确认更多的儿童注意力缺失过动症病例。

ADHD is identified more and more. But much about the disorder remains unknown, including its cause or causes. American and Swedish researchers have released a study that links older fathers and ADHD. It found babies fathered by men over 44 years old are 13 times more likely to develop the disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, a journal of the American Medical Association, published the study.

注意力缺失过动症病例的确诊越来越多。但是关于这种病症，很多还是未知的，包括它产生的原因。美国和瑞典的研究者已经发布一项研究：年长的父亲跟注意力缺失过动症之间的联系。44岁以上男性生育的婴儿是44岁以下男性生育的婴儿患这种病症机率的13倍。美国医学会精神病学期刊——美国医学会的期刊发表了这一研究。

Peter Levine is a doctor of children’s medicine in California. The pediatrician specializes in treating children with ADHD. He says there are many misunderstandings about the disorder.

皮特·里维恩是加利福尼亚儿科医生，这位儿科医生强调对待患有注意力缺失过动症的儿童方面，有很多误解。

"One of the biggest misconceptions is parents think that this is their fault."

“最大的一个错误的观念就是家长认为是他们的错误。”

And, he says others find fault with these parents, too.

他说别人也认为是那些家长的过错。

"Other parents will blame them for it because they see the way these kids acting and they'll (will) say, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you control your child?' So parents will blame themselves. Another misconception is that the child is really not trying, because of ten times these kids are trying harder than other kids to control their behaviors. That leads to a lot of difficulties and frustrations."

“还有一些别的家长责备他们，因为他们看到孩子那样表现的时候会说：“你怎么了?为什么你不能控制一下你的孩子?因此，家长也会责备他们自己。另一个错误的观念是孩子没有真正的尝试，因为这些孩子比其他能够控制自己行为的孩子，更10倍努力的控制自己的行为。这导致出现许多难题和挫折。”

Mr. Levine says the first step in dealing with ADHD is getting the facts straight.

里维恩说应对多动症的第一步就是直面事实。

"In America, the diagnosis rate in children generally is quoted in the range of about 3 to 7 percent of children. It’s more common in boys, by about three to one. This is a highly inheritable disorder. They can’t get over ADHD. I mean it's not something that you can make go away. As many as two-third of the children who have problems with ADHD will have difficulties as adults. You can’t cure it. You have to find ways of coping with it."

“在美国，儿童中多动症的确诊率占到儿童比例的3%到7%，在男孩子中更常见，比例大概是3:1.这是遗传机率很高的疾病。他们没办法克服多动症。我的意思是这种病不是你想摆脱就可以的。有多动症的儿童，大概有三分之二的人与成人有同样的问题。没办法治愈，你得找到一些方式来应对。”

Changing Parenting Styles for ADHD Kids

对于多动症孩子来说，要改变家长的处理方式。

He says that one of the most effective ways to deal with ADHD is to change the way you parent.

他说应对多动症最有效的办法就是改变父母的处理方式。

And that’s what Katherine Ellison did.

凯瑟琳·艾莉森就是这么做的。

She says she is now paying more attention to her son, spending more time with him, being less judgmental and giving him more positive feedback.

她说现在更加关心她的儿子，花更多的时间跟他待在一起，少一些批评，给他更多积极的回馈。

And Buzz is reacting well to these changes. He has fewer outbursts at home and at school. He is more centered on school work. And he has a new interest– playing tennis.

对于这些改变，巴兹反应很好，无论在家还是在学校，他的情绪爆发都少了许多。现在他能更加专心的做作业，而且，他还有一个新的兴趣爱好：打网球。

And that’s the Health Report. I’m Anna Matteo.

这就是健康报道，我是安娜·马特奥。

Words in this Story

task – n a piece of work that has been given to someone : a job for someone to do

task at hand – idiom. a piece of work that someone is currently working on

negative – adj. expressing dislike or disapproval

feedback – n. helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance, product, etc.

bully – v. to use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone),typically to force him or her to do what one wants.

roller coaster - n. a situation or experience that involves sudden and extreme changes

prescription - n. a medicine or drug that a doctor officially tells someone to use