The Truth About ADHD and Public Schools

Originally posted by smyleegrl


The students with ADD have it the hardest, in my opinion. They aren't behavior problems, instead they are extremely quiet and can easily get lost in the classroom. Because of this, these children are much harder to diagnose correctly. Often they get labeled as "learning disabled," when in fact they are quite intelligent, just have trouble focusing.

I wasn't disruptive enough, so my wheel did not squeek, and I got no grease.
I was too smart for special ed, other than that I don't know why I did not get help when all my report cards always said 'needs to pay more attention', 'needs to apply himself' ,etc.

But honestly, I don't know if I should be glad I wasn't medicated through childhood or not, but I really wish I was medicated through high school, maybe I would have had a normal high school life, like good grades, a GIRLFRIEND (girls have ADDar (ADD radar) ) and all that other stuff.

Everything I ever did, I had to try 2-3x as hard as everyone else, and did half as good (with some exceptions of course)
Now that I am medicated (trial run on Strattera (atomoxetine) a non-stimulant medication, at the age of 43, just maybe I can keep a job now?

reply to post by Toadmund

Nobody has ADD/ADHD by definition.

You may have just said the most ridiculous thing in the entire history of the universe.

ADD and ADHD *ARE* definitions, and thus by fulfilling the conditions of what is "Defined" as ADD and ADHD, you would "Have" it, by *DEFINITION*

The problem is, that all children have every single one of the symptoms of ADD and ADHD.

My cousin's son... has every single symptom of ADHD, he's flighty, can't pay attention, always moving, can't focus on one task for very long....

All of the definitions of ADHD apply to him, unquestioningly...


Of course, he is only 2 years old.

reply to post by ErtaiNaGia


I was responding to this post in all it's ignorant glory:

Originally posted by GoldenVoyager
This all sounds like normal behavior for kids and adults so when did this behavior become a problem. We are a fast twiching society with comercials, media, radio, Internet, Iphones, Tablets etc...

Too bad by definition everyone has ADD, ADHD... so we might as well all get medictaed. We all have problems and must take our pills or whatever med is prescribed so we can function in this manmade system.

Personally, I choose to be a human being flaws and all... haven't had or needed meds, age 44 and don't need the doctor, give me a good dose of the Holy Spirt and Love for Jesus Christ and my path is more than satisfying...

I have two young children whom both have plenty of those personal chacteristics and yet I have had for a moment thought they had problems. I think of them as kids just exploring the world and trying to live within the box that society forces down our throats.

reply to post by smyleegrl


You seem to be misunderstanding what I'm saying.

I'm well aware that they are wired differently. So what? Must every child do the same tasks to be effective learners, and contributors in society? The evidence clearly shows this not to be the case.

Yes, they are EXTROVERTS. An extreme variant. They need more stimulus from the environment to create the neural activity needed to focus on certain activities. You can either push speed through their whole bodies, else adapt the environment to their needs. I see no reason why most of these kids must be drugged up.

The language in the report should give you clear red flags. They're assumptions, not science.

The problem is, that all children have every single one of the symptoms of ADD and ADHD.

My cousin's son... has every single symptom of ADHD, he's flighty, can't pay attention, always moving, can't focus on one task for very long....

All of the definitions of ADHD apply to him, unquestioningly...


Of course, he is only 2 years old.

Yes! This is another side of the issue that I only touched on.

Children cannot, developmentally speaking, sustain attention for long periods of time. Yet, too often we expect children to do just that. On average, you can get a good fifteen minutes with a six year old before they start to get twitchy. It's just how kids are. Which is why PE and recess are so important.

reply to post by smyleegrl


All those symptoms you described fit the exact profile of a kid that is bored Blame the kids, not the teacher or the curriculum. Sounds like I felt in history class in school. ninety percent of the kids were like that when I went to school.....but not me

Thanks for drawing attention to this. I'm not sure if I was correctly diagnosed with ADHD but I was prescribed Ritalin from kindergarten all the way up till I was a senior in high school at which point I recognized some issues I was having seemed to directly correlate with the Ritalin I was taking and chose to stop taking it. I think long term effects of drugs used to treat ADHD should be far more significantly researched.

In my experience I think I may have been correctly diagnosed or perhaps It just took me a long time to learn to focus but when I was youger I do recall having difficult focusing on things although this usually pertained to things I wasn't terribly interested in but moving on... I stopped taking Ritalin because I started to experience more and more anger issues. I'm sort of crazy in general and it took me awhile to notice a direct correlation but it was impossible to ignore once I recognized it. I was homicidal at the time and hated most people around me daily. Fortunetly I didn't have a psychotic break like one of friends did but I think I came pretty close. However, for the longest time I thought my feelings were the result of the stupidity surrounding highshool coupled with hormones but once I elected to stop taking Ritalin my anger issues began to subside and now that I haven't been on Ritalin for years; I am generally a much happier person now.

Using stimulants to treat ADHD long term has a similar effect that stronger stimulants like Meth have on meth users only in the case of Meth aggression is much more quickly onset and obvious whereas with stimulants used to treat ADHD the aggression can take years to become an obvious influence. After doing some research I found only one non-stimulant used to treat ADHD and the rest seem to be stimulants that are chemically similar to meth. These are my observations, take them as you will.

reply to post by unityemissions


Let me give you an example of a student I once taught.

This child, I'll call him Bob, had severe attention issues. He could not write his name on his paper without having to run around the room at least twice. That's not an exaggeration, either. He rarely spent any time in his seat; I moved his desk to the side so that he didn't distract the other students as much.

Bob would be in the middle of a sentence and suddenly just switch topics. I would ask him to get his folder out, and have to repeat myself several times because he couldn't remember what I'd asked him to do. His impulsivity was extreme; he'd do very disruptive things like breaking crayons and pencils at his desk. He'd constantly have something in his mouth to chew on, including erasers and magnetic tiles we used.

Bob could not read, could not count to 100, could not recite the alphabet. Why? Because he could not focus.

His parents noticed the same behavior at home, and asked me about it. I did the only thing I can do, which is to suggest they see a doctor. The doctor diagnosed Bob with ADHD and put him on medicine.

With the medicine, Bob became a different child. For the first time, he could actually sit still long enough to write his name. His reading improved drastically, as did his math skills. And he was happier. Why? Because he was finally performing at almost the same level as his peers. He no longer called himself "stupid" or "dumb."

Bob has ADHD. What would have happened to him if it had gone untreated? My guess is he would have fallen further and further behind, perhaps even become so frustrated he'd eventually drop out of school.

Originally posted by rickymouse
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

All those symptoms you described fit the exact profile of a kid that is bored

Blame the kids, not the teacher or the curriculum.

Sounds like I felt in history class in school. ninety percent of the kids were like that when I went to school.....but not me

edit on 28-1-2013 by rickymouse because: (no reason given)

it's easy to generalise but multiply that by ten and remove the merest hint of impulse control and you'd be closer to how it is for a kid who really has adhd, i know kids who quite literally climb the walls and just cant help what they do at first when they come to where i work - this can be devastating to their lives and their ability to build trust and form relationships, as well as preventing them fulfilling their potential and finding happiness.

reply to post by GrimReaper86


From my research into the topic, ideally children are medicated only long enough to learn coping skills and strategies. As the child matures, he will gain a better grasp on his particular issues and learn ways to compensate. Then the medication is reduced and eventually discontinued.

That's the ideal, but it takes hard work to teach coping strategies. Maybe some people think medication for life is appropriate, but I agree with your sentiments.

reply to post by sixswornsermon


I agree comepletely... I think the overstimulation of society has driven up the ADD/ADHD phenomenom.

"For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has urged parents to eliminate all TV viewing for tots under age 2 and to limit screen time (including computer use) for older kids to no more than an hour or two a day. Too much TV can negatively affect brain development, AAP doctors fear, especially in babies, whose brains are growing rapidly. Still, researchers have never established a causal link between TV viewing and attention span.

Until now."

www.additudemag.com...

What about SODAs... these ADD kids, do they drink soda or other sugary substances? If so, why? I give my 6 and 9 year old sugar and they go zonkers... I see have a direct affect on hyperactivity.

But for those of us with ADHD, there is, for some reason, a shortage of electrical activity in these portions of the brain. For us, it takes a great deal more willpower to do things we find tedious or unpleasant. Our emotions distract us hugely, and we have more trouble setting them aside. Daily chores and tasks slip our minds because our brains are reluctant to think about things we don't have a high emotional stake in.

Are you grasping what is said here? Seriously?

EVERYONE is wired differently. EVERYONE has an innate propensity towards easily activating certain brain regions, and difficulty with others. These individuals are wired to like certain activities, and dislike others. This is their nature. You think it's wise to mess with someone's nature, that would have them emotionally disinterested in something? They're bored. End of story. Put them with something that doesn't bore them. Freaking ridiculous.

This same deficiency is what causes our brains to generate more creative ideas than we know what to do with, and to be constantly carried away with excitement about each new one (while forgetting all the old ones). This is why stimulant drugs help. With any form of stimulant, the brain's electrical impulses are kicked up in all areas, including these.

You see that? They think outside the box. This "deficiency" is EXACTLY as they were designed.

reply to post by smyleegrl


So you transformed someone with creative potential, into a mindless troglodyte.

Congrats.



The state approves of your obedience.

Originally posted by unityemissions
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

So you transformed someone with creative potential, into a mindless troglodyte.

Congrats.

The state approves of your obedience.

No. We gave a struggling child the help he needed to learn.

Honestly, how do you go from a child with attention problems to mindless troglodyte? Simply because he can now learn more effectively?

I'm sure that if you asked that child, who's now enjoying middle school, he'd disagree that he's a mindless anything. As for his creativity, I know he's in the school band, plays sports, and works on the student newspaper.

Originally posted by smyleegrl

Honestly, how do you go from a child with attention problems to mindless troglodyte? Simply because he can now learn more effectively?

Apparently, you tell him he's defunct, and needs speed to be "normal".

You don't try to understand that what he's interested in is valid.

You try to make him understand that what is "normal" is best for him, and if isn't "normal" he should feel ashamed.

That's how.

reply to post by unityemissions

EVERYONE is wired differently. EVERYONE has an innate propensity towards easily activating certain brain regions, and difficulty with others. These individuals are wired to like certain activities, and dislike others. This is their nature. You think it's wise to mess with someone's nature, that would have them emotionally disinterested in something? They're bored. End of story. Put them with something that doesn't bore them. Freaking ridiculous.

We are discussing a medical condition. Diabetics are wired differently. Should we deny them treatment because that's the way they were born?

ADHD has nothing to do with what a person likes or dislikes. If someone can focus on things that interest him, then he DOES NOT HAVE ADHD. his behavior during other subjects probably is boredom or lack of understanding.

S&F!

A few weeks ago my sons teacher told me how my son was the brightest in the class, finishes his work before everyone else, then gets talkative and bouncy. She did say he was well behaved at one point. Then she kept going on and on, implying that my son may have hyperactivity disorder......I then asked how often they had recess. ONCE A DAY for less than 30 minutes!!

I then proceeded to tell her that when I was a child, we had THREE! One in the morning, at lunch and one before school was out. She appeared to be in disbelief and shock!

I then told her that my son was always active at home; always playing, he is after all only 7 years old!!! I have no problems getting him to concentrate and focus as long as he has adequate physical activity. I then wished her luck. And gave her the idea to give him something else to do so that he isn't so bored.....so if she was fishing for me to tell her I would take him to a doctor, it failed!!!!!!

Schools need to BRING BACK RECESS!!!

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by unityemissions

 

ADHD has nothing to do with what a person likes or dislikes. If someone can focus on things that interest him, then he DOES NOT HAVE ADHD. his behavior during other subjects probably is boredom or lack of understanding.

Reading comprehension fail. Teacher gets F.

Please reread. It most definitely has to do with what a person likes or dislikes.

It's in the document you presented. I highlighted the relevant information.

Originally posted by unityemissions

Originally posted by smyleegrl

Honestly, how do you go from a child with attention problems to mindless troglodyte? Simply because he can now learn more effectively?

Apparently, you tell him he's defunct, and needs speed to be "normal".

You don't try to understand that what he's interested in is valid.

You try to make him understand that what is "normal" is best for him, and if isn't "normal" he should feel ashamed.

That's how.

What you fail to understand is he couldn't express his interests. And when his parents told me he liked drawing, we used that. I'd let him draw his writing assignments and dictate his sentences to me.

He loved to draw. But he never finished a single picture. He couldn't.

And at no time did I ever tell him, or any other child, they weren't normal and should be ashamed.

The doctor diagnosed him, not me. And I trust his judgement over my own....and over yours. As they say, he proof is in the pudding. In this case, it's a happy, well-adjusted student.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Exercise May Lead to Better School Performance for Kids With ADHD

The study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, shows for the first time that kids with ADHD can better drown out distractions and focus on a task after a single bout of exercise.

Pontifex said the findings support calls for more physical activity during the school day. Other researchers have found that children with ADHD are less likely to be physically active or play organized sports. Meanwhile, many schools have cut recess and physical education programs in response to shrinking budgets. "To date there really isn't a whole lot of evidence that schools can pull from to justify why these physical education programs should be in existence," he said. "So what we're trying to do is target our research to provide that type of evidence."

Science Daily

It certainly seemed intuitive that a little periodic activity would be benifical for waning young minds - now the science is beginning to support this.

I really liked your 5 minute YouTube class Disco idea smyleegrl - I can imagine the kids loving it !



Have you examined any International trends with relation to decreased school-based physical activity and ADHD figures ?

Those with add/adhd have higher intuition than others. They are gifts if they know how to use them properly..