POST #1
WHAT IS NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER? I did not coin the phrase: Nature Deficit Disorder, and it is not a diagnosed medical condition, but rather it is a description of the human costs of alienation from nature. In his book Last Child in the Woods, author Richard Louv describes in detail how we have come to this place in our human history. Among other things, this wise and highly acclaimed expert in child advocacy is also the founder of Connect for Kids, the largest child-advocacy site on the Internet. I will draw from some of the data he collected for the publication of his book in this presentation as well as from numerous other sources. One of the most poignant quotes in his book, which broke my heart, comes from a fourth-grader who says “I like to play indoors better ‘cause that’s where the electrical outlets are.” How frightening a thought: that some of our children prefer to be “plugged in” and “tuned out” than connected with what happens outdoors. Even more frightening is the fact that there is now credible evidence that disconnection from nature contributes to the popular diagnosis of ADD and ADHD (which is a label tagged onto many of our creative and precocious youngsters). Additionally, of course, lack of outdoor activity leads to obesity and, potentially, depression and other mental health diagnoses.
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