By James Donahue

Since the 1960s the problems of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children have almost become household phrases. The number of youngsters diagnosed with this disease has been so massive schools across the United States have been forced to deal with it. Most of us know of at least one family with a child that suffers from some level of ADD or ADHD.

A national survey, based on 1997-98 data from the Center For Disease Control (CDC), indicates that 1.6 million elementary school-aged children were diagnosed with the disorder. Many believe the numbers have been exploding since that study and that attention deficit disorder is now reaching epidemic proportions.

There are varying forms of symptoms among children. ADD is a learning disability that effects one or more of the processes involved in understanding and applying language skills, either spoken or written. Victims may exhibit an inability to focus, to think clearly, speak, write, read, spell, or understand other forms of communication such as music or mathematics.

In some cases, the child may exhibit dyslexia, or a reversal of letters, words or even drawn images. It is as if the world is perceived as backwards or even upside down to the ADD child.

Children diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder also exhibit emotional instability. They appear incapable of controlling emotions ranging from excitement to extreme anger, thus becoming a challenge for parents and counselors attempting to work with them. Physicians have found that prescribing drugs like Ritalin, which ironically is a stimulant for normal adults, helps control the explosive behavior in ADHD children and even increases their ability to learn.

The cause of this contemporary problem that now affects an estimated seven percent of the children and young adults in America has not been told, although a sociologist might find enough information available within our social behavior to draw interesting correlations between what has been going on in our homes and the rise in numbers of ADD children.

For example specific learning disabilities have emerged in children who live in developed countries.

People in these so-called "developed countries" are holding jobs and receiving regular paychecks that allow them to buy modern electronic devices like televisions, computers, cell phones and microwave ovens. All of these devices emit microwave signals that are known to damage brain cells and in some cases, even cause cancers.

While the manufacturers of these devices promise that the amount of low frequency radioactive microwaves leaking from these machines is safe, it is known that a steady barrage of them may be damaging. There has been an ongoing debate over the safety of cell phones because of a growing number of cases of brain tumors occurring among cell phone users.

We remember when the microwave ovens first went on the market in the 1960s, and critics warned that they were unsafe because they used radioactive charges to heat food placed in them. The concern was that the microwaves would leak into the room and hurt anyone standing or working nearby while the machine was operating. The industry was quick to assure us that proper safeguards were installed in the microwave ovens to prevent leaks and that they were perfectly safe. Eventually we bought them. Now most homes have microwaves. The use of complete microwave meals, especially prepared and available in every grocery store, has skyrocketed. We believe many young couples with children consume a large quantity of food prepared in microwaves.

This same generation also uses cell phones. It is common to see young mothers with their children either tagging along or strapped to their backs, chatting on their cell phone while walking in public places.

Should we dismiss the possibility that there may be a direct link between this extensive bombardment of microwaves from these devices, as well as from the cell phone towers erected in almost every neighborhood in America, and the mental problems being exhibited by our children?

Notice that the microwave oven, first demonstrated by Raytheon in 1947, was marketed by Tappan in the early 1950s. The first countertop, domestic microwave oven was introduced by Amana in 1967. By 1975 sales of microwave ovens exceeded that of gas ranges. Everybody wanted one.

It was in the 1980s that we first started hearing about children suffering from a strange new mental disease that was eventually identified by doctors and educators as Attention Deficit Disorder.

While all this was going on, Russian scientists were developing electromagnetic weapons that used low frequency microwave transmissions as a form of mind control. They said the technique, called Acoustic Psycho-correction, brought encouraging results after less than a minute of exposure.

The Russians claimed low-frequency microwave transmissions produced "the ability to alter behavior on willing and unwilling subjects and that they could even transmit specific commands by way of static or white noise bands into the human subconscious. The technique was considered useful for crowd control and weapons against terrorists. It also was believed to have been developed as a weapon to demoralize or disable opposing forces in battle.

Sources say one big problem with this weapon, which is not made public, was that is caused permanent brain damage. People affected by this bombardment of low frequency microwaves had their behavior permanently altered.

That such weapons have been developed and used on protest groups, even in the United States, has been suspected. Kim Besley, of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, reported a list of effects she believed low frequency signals produced during a demonstration that she was involved with. They included vertigo, retinal bleeding, a burning sensation of the face, nausea, sleep disturbances, heart palpitation, loss of concentration, loss of memory, disorientation, severe headache, temporary paralysis, faulty speech coordination, irritability and a sense of panic.

Compare that list with the following list of problems believed linked to extended exposure to microwaves from cell phones and towers, cordless phones, satellites, broadcast antennas, military and aviation radar, televisions, computers, the wireless Internet and microwave ovens.

This includes severe headaches, sleep disturbances, memory loss, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorder. In the long run, cancers can show up in the form of brain tumors, leukemia and lymphoma

.Consider the way microwaves work within the microwave oven. The radiation waves go through and heat the food, but then the radiation remains in the food long after the oven turns off and the food appears cooked and ready to eat. While the ovens may be sealed to keep the radiation inside during the cooking process, when the food is eaten, the active radiation is still in it. This it becomes absorbed in our bodies.

While the amounts of radiation ingested with each microwave produced meal may be very small, people who eat a lot of microwave food may be slowly damaging their internal organs as well as their brains.

For the overall health and safety of our children and ourselves. we should discard all microwave ovens, cell phones and possibly our television sets. In their place we should find better ways of preparing our food and communicating.