Tom Scott is surrounded by chaos. Dennis wants to talk, almost to the exclusion of others. Joel can't sit still and keeps folding his mat around himself. Marisa keeps standing up and wants to leave. Amidst all these distractions, Scott patiently speaks to the group.

These children all have either Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or its more severe variation, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Both neurological conditions seem to be the childhood plague of the '90s. At least one child in every U.S. classroom has an attention disorder, according to a recent report by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md.

Scott's group is seated on floor mats at the HealthPlus fitness center in Overland Park, Kans. He frequently halts the discussion to have the children stretch or do other exercises before the day's main activity: a run in nearby Roe Park. Scott theorizes that running and other forms of exercise work as well as the oft-prescribed drug Ritalin in calming kids with attention deficit disorders.

But Scott, 44, isn't just a theorist; he's a practicing therapist who counsels ADD children and their parents. He offers sessions twice a week that feature running as their focus. Not that Scott promotes running to the exclusion of drug therapy. "I'm not saying to forgo Ritalin," he cautions. "I'm just saying there are other ways to treat kids with ADD, and running is one of them." And according to parents, his program is making a real difference in kids' lives.

Scott himself suffered from ADD while growing up. "School was never easy for me because my ADD went undiagnosed until after college," he recalls. "I was impulsive, distracted, had low self-esteem and a huge overflow of energy. I spent a lot of time in the hall and had a lot of teachers say, 'Why don't you just . . .' That's the worst thing to tell an ADD kid, because he can't just . . ."

Scott's second-grade teacher once stuck masking tape over his mouth and stood him in front of the class for an hour. "It was humiliating, shameful," recalls Scott. "I tried to act like it was funny, even though I was dying inside."

At the end of the school year, the teacher wrote a rhyme about each of the children in her class. Scott still remembers the poem she wrote for him:

He talks an awful lot, And sometimes like a bomb, Nevertheless, you must confess, There's no one else like Tom.

Scott's older brother Jim was a state champion high school runner, so Scott decided to go out for the track team when he reached high school. Unfortunately it was tough to stay academically eligible because he couldn't concentrate long enough to study. "There are 20 symptoms for ADD," claims Scott, "and I had 16 of them." Despite the judgment of one high-school counselor that he was "not college material," Scott eventually made it into Washburn University in Topeka, Kans. Training twice a day for the Washburn track team, Scott realized he could retain information much better in the hour or two after his workouts. He managed to graduate and then earn a master's degree in psychology at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kans.

He worked for several years at a mental health center, then entered private practice, directing much of his attention to children who suffered from ADD. Kids with ADD consume a disproportionate share of resources and attention from schools, social service agencies and unfortunately from the criminal justice system, according to a recent report by the National Institutes of Health. Nationwide public school funds spent on those with ADD come to about $3 billion annually, says the report.

These ADD children obviously need help, and Scott has found his life's work in extending a hand. "You can't take kids places you've never been," says Scott. "Kids have great sensory acuity and know when you're faking it, aren't being sincere, or don't know what you're talking about." With Scott, it was definitely a case of "been there, done that."

Scott realized years ago that ADD children don't need a fact finder or a fact dispenser--they need a feeling releaser. One way to relax and release feelings is through exercise, and the form of exercise he knew best was running. Soon he began to run with children in his therapy sessions. He discovered that running calmed them just as it once had calmed him. "Another thing these kids need is a chance to channel their immense stores of energy," says Scott. "Running sure can help with that."

In Roe Park on this day, everyone seems to run off in a different direction and at a different pace. Some sprint ahead as though desperately trying to "win" the workout. Others run a few hundred yards and then start brisk walking, unable to maintain a steady pace. Two kids dodge across the middle of a field, unwilling to follow the prescribed course. Scott gently encourages everyone. In their different ways, they're all into it. They're all happy.

After the run, Scott takes the group to Dairy Queen as a reward for their efforts. The kids seem calm--a marked contrast to how they acted at the fitness center 30 minutes before. Exercise seems to help them, though there's no research to back this up. Previous studies have proven only three approaches to ADD to be effective: (1) medication; (2) behavior therapy (in which parents and teachers are taught how to work with children); and (3) a combination of the two.

But Scott isn't waiting for the research. "Running helps their faith in themselves," he says. "And as happens to all of us, these kids feel their bodies change when they start running. They grow stronger."

One parent says he saw improvement in his daughter after just five weeks in Scott's program. She'd been seen previously by two other therapists, without success. "Running improved her self-confidence," says the father. "It calmed her down, and the result was better grades and better relationships at school."

Says Scott: "Many physicians want a child to ride the pill [Ritalin] to competency--and it can help. But there's a lot to be said for taking an active role in your own journey to wellness. For these children, that's what their running is all about."

Hal Higdon is a senior writer for Runner's World. Visit his Web site at www.halhigdon.com.