VOA慢速英語: 應對焦慮和過激行為

Dealing with Distractions and Overreactions

應對焦慮和過激行為

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

來自VOA英語學習，這里是健康報道。

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

500萬的美國兒童和青少年有注意力缺陷多動障礙，就是通常所說的注意力缺失過動癥(多動癥)。

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

注意力缺失過動癥——即使不是不可能——也很難讓他們能夠順利完成一項任務。

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.

凱瑟琳·艾莉森很了解這個問題。她是位母親，總是對他的孩子大喊，希望他安靜點，坐著不動完成他的任務。她不知道孩子有注意力缺失過動癥，而且不知道自己也有這個病癥。

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."

艾莉森寫了一本關(guān)于她兒子巴茲的問題的書，美國之音的法一扎·馬斯里與她談論到：“《巴茲，專注一年》。”

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.

在小學，巴茲·艾莉森是個有很多問題的孩子。他沒辦法坐著不動，在課堂上不停的跳上跳下。他不聽老師講課，也沒辦法完成手邊的作業(yè)。

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.

結(jié)果他媽媽說他總是處于困境中，也總被欺負。而且他老師給他很多消極負面的反饋信息。

"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."

“他對于學校的態(tài)度也發(fā)生了變化。我認為他是被同學和老師欺負，他們都認為他能做的事，在但他那個年紀有些事確實做不到的，沒辦法記憶一些東西，他們給了他很多負面、消極的反饋信息。”

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.

他的媽媽——凱瑟琳·艾莉森是個獲得普利策獎的記者。她不明白為什么他那樣表現(xiàn)。她承認自己的行為只是讓情況更糟糕。

"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."

“我總是焦慮或者沒有耐心，又或不理解他，這都讓情況更糟糕。我認識到一點：確實有段時間我沒擁抱過他了。他走進房間的時候，我都沒笑過，因為我們相處的確實不太愉快。”

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.

九名醫(yī)生對他進行了診斷，他們說他有注意力缺失過動癥。像許多有注意力缺失過動癥孩子的家長一樣，艾莉森了解到她也有問題，那時候她40多歲。

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.

她說許多有注意力缺陷多動障礙或注意力缺失過動癥的人：生活就像是過山車——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."

“我與很多患有注意力缺陷多動障礙的人一樣，生活起起落落。比如：我第一年做新聞記者的時候，因為一個報道錯誤被起訴1100萬美元的賠償。兩年后，我獲得普利策獎。你有這種缺陷障礙疾病，還會發(fā)生各種事情。你確實能夠處理一些奇妙的事情，也能處理一些讓你丟臉、讓人可怕的事情。”

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，媽媽和兒子決定一起合作寫一本關(guān)于他們經(jīng)歷的書。艾莉森女士說：“她很高興注意力缺失過動癥成為他們合作的一個項目而不是橫亙在他們中間的爭斗。”

"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."

“我兒子和我一起寫了一份協(xié)議，這很了不起。因為它改變了對于多動癥的看法，從一個讓人丟臉的問題變成一個合作的經(jīng)濟項目。我還知道他會跟我合作，他想從這本書中獲益。我也很樂意這樣做，因為突然我們變成搭檔而不是敵人。”

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

他們探索注意力缺失過動癥患者的世界已經(jīng)有一年了，調(diào)查研究了相關(guān)的治療以及詢問了醫(yī)生。

More Cases of ADHD Identified in Children

確認更多的兒童注意力缺失過動癥病例。

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.

注意力缺失過動癥病例的確診越來越多。但是關(guān)于這種病癥，很多還是未知的，包括它產(chǎn)生的原因。美國和瑞典的研究者已經(jīng)發(fā)布一項研究：年長的父親跟注意力缺失過動癥之間的聯(lián)系。44歲以上男性生育的嬰兒是44歲以下男性生育的嬰兒患這種病癥機率的13倍。美國醫(yī)學會精神病學期刊——美國醫(yī)學會的期刊發(fā)表了這一研究。

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·里維恩是加利福尼亞兒科醫(yī)生，這位兒科醫(yī)生強調(diào)對待患有注意力缺失過動癥的兒童方面，有很多誤解。

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

“最大的一個錯誤的觀念就是家長認為是他們的錯誤。”

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

他說別人也認為是那些家長的過錯。

"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."

“還有一些別的家長責備他們，因為他們看到孩子那樣表現(xiàn)的時候會說：“你怎么了?為什么你不能控制一下你的孩子?因此，家長也會責備他們自己。另一個錯誤的觀念是孩子沒有真正的嘗試，因為這些孩子比其他能夠控制自己行為的孩子，更10倍努力的控制自己的行為。這導致出現(xiàn)許多難題和挫折。”

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

里維恩說應對多動癥的第一步就是直面事實。

"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."

“在美國，兒童中多動癥的確診率占到兒童比例的3%到7%，在男孩子中更常見，比例大概是3:1.這是遺傳機率很高的疾病。他們沒辦法克服多動癥。我的意思是這種病不是你想擺脫就可以的。有多動癥的兒童，大概有三分之二的人與成人有同樣的問題。沒辦法治愈，你得找到一些方式來應對。”

Changing Parenting Styles for ADHD Kids

對于多動癥孩子來說，要改變家長的處理方式。

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

他說應對多動癥最有效的辦法就是改變父母的處理方式。

And that’s what Katherine Ellison did.

凱瑟琳·艾莉森就是這么做的。

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.

她說現(xiàn)在更加關(guān)心她的兒子，花更多的時間跟他待在一起，少一些批評，給他更多積極的回饋。

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.

對于這些改變，巴茲反應很好，無論在家還是在學校，他的情緒爆發(fā)都少了許多?，F(xiàn)在他能更加專心的做作業(yè)，而且，他還有一個新的興趣愛好：打網(wǎng)球。

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

這就是健康報道，我是安娜·馬特奧。

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