FOOED, CLOTHES, TOYS NEEDS AT CHRISTMAS: BLOCKS, PUZZLE WOULD EASE 6-YEAR-OLD'S CHRISTMAS STRESS

A 6-year-old Cape Girardeau boy suffers from Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at a time when his father has just lost his job.

ADHD children typically receive a significant amount of negative reinforcement from their environment. As a result, they are victims of their temperament as well as learning history and become depressed.

At a recent seminar on childhood depression at the Show Me Center, Dr. Sam Goldstein said researchers are finding that by making tasks more interesting and providing more consistent rewards, ADHD children can learn to increase their attention span and performance in the classroom while reducing impulsive, restless behavior.

The 6-year-old boy has a chance to get a reward his parents would otherwise be unable to afford through the Toybox project, which is co-sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and Southeast Missourian.

Perhaps building blocks or a puzzle would capture the boy's imagination and enable him to begin coping with some of his problems during the holiday season and beyond.

Two children from another family, ages 2 and 7, are experiencing another kind of turmoil. Their parents are in the process of getting a divorce.

Any kind of toy would bring comfort to these children this Christmas.

Two more children are without all of their toys because someone stole some of them over the summer. The children have listed baseball cards and maybe a board game as gifts they would prefer.

New, unwrapped toys may be delivered to the Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, or to the following Toybox collection sites : West Park Mall, Boatmen's Bank, Capital Bank, Perry Travel Center, Gulliver's Travel Agency, AmeriFirst Bank, Commerce Bank, Roosevelt Bank and Mercantile Bank.

Gifts and contributions may be mailed to Toybox Trust, P.O. Box 4, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0004.