"Chris Kaman Retrains His Brain"

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:39 am

Outside the Lines

Apparently, Chris was misdiagnosed with ADD. Last July he found out he never had it and went through a process to correct the real problem.

Post #2 » by **mkwest** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:45 am

Clippers center Chris Kaman revealed an intimate secret Sunday on the origins of his remarkably improved play this season.

Kaman, diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder at 2 1/2 , found out the classification was wrong this summer.

Instead, his brain was in overdrive, working too fast. Tim Royer, the neurosurgeon who discovered the misdiagnosis in July, worked on a daily training program with Kaman to slow down his thought process throughout the summer.

Kaman, often chastised for forgetting plays early in his career, was cautious about going forward with his story.

LA Times

mj_shoefanatic · Post #3 » by **mj_shoefanatic** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:10 am

Kaveman = Rainman

:nod:

adiedanny · Post #4 » by **adiedanny** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:15 pm

mj_shoefanatic wrote:Kaveman = Rainman

Nice to see you aboard, since that other forum is dead.

mj_shoefanatic · Post #5 » by **mj_shoefanatic** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:12 am

^ Thx you know I love our Clipz!! :clap:

ClipperDomination · Post #6 » by **ClipperDomination** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:13 am

mj_shoefanatic wrote:^ Thx you know I love our Clipz!!

Welcome. Sure nice to have another Clipps fan on this board.

ClipperDomination · Post #7 » by **ClipperDomination** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:46 am

EDIT: Double post. My bad.

illastrate · Post #8 » by **illastrate** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:59 am

mj_shoefanatic wrote:^ Thx you know I love our Clipz!!

another Clippertalk head...welcome aboard, man.

Post #9 » by **mkwest** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:38 am

Welcome to the board MJ_Shoefanatic :clap:

I give Chris props for coming public and wanting to be a spokesman for people dealing with similar challenges. It's awful that he was misdiagnosed at such a young age and had to deal with 20 some odd years of improper treatment. This season we witnessed a change in Chris. He's more focused. Everything has finally clicked. Now we know why.

mj_shoefanatic · Post #10 » by **mkwest** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:22 am

Kaman's brain was already working in overdrive, and the medication provided an added stimulus. The dosage was increased to the point that Kaman's mind became overloaded and he became less animated. "He stopped being a behavioral problem, but he got too much medicine and it shut him down," Royer said.

Kaman stopped taking medication once he entered college at Central Michigan because he no longer had to sit in one place for more than a couple of hours.

But his concentration in college, and once he signed with the Clippers, was still lacking. He could focus on the man he was guarding but not on weak-side defense, or as Royer put it, "He could see the tree in front of him, but not the forest."

Said Kaman: "I would come out of a huddle that [Coach] Mike [Dunleavy] just drew [of] two plays and I would literally forget both those plays in a matter of 10 seconds or less."

LA Times