People have been expressing concern, indicating that kids are just naturally active and shouldn’t be diagnosed ADD or ADHD and given drugs for that.
I totally agree.
Let me tell you about Duane.
We were constantly being called to the school for conferences.
“Duane won’t stay in his seat; he keeps wandering about the room disturbing the other kids.”
“Duane just calls out the answers without raising his hand to be called on.”
Duane was brilliant in math, but often wasn’t given credit because he couldn’t show his work. He could read OK, but then couldn’t tell you anything about what he had just read. He was always losing his homework, or forgetting to take it to school, or not getting the assignment correctly down off the board. He seemed unable to organize enough to clean up his room. He would drive me crazy at the dinner table with his tapping and fiddling and fidgeting. Duane was not good at most sports, because he didn’t seem to quite grasp the concepts, like getting the ball into the other team’s goal for example, and he wasn’t able to keep his attention on what was going on on the field; later however, he was able to wrestle and run cross country.
Duane kept getting punished, a lot, but it seemed to have no effect on his behavior. He certainly had no lack of discipline, at school and at home.
Duane eventually was given ritalin, and it helped some. He eventually was sent to a special school where they understood these kind of problems, provided structure and taught him about using various strategies, and that helped some,too.
Duane grew up to become a hero.
Kids are just naturally active and should not be diagnosed and given drugs for that.
But there is a big difference between active and hyperactive.
doug
Duane
more about Duane clik
the New York Times Article clik
Quote o the Day: Man stays in the corner of darkness out of fear that the light of truth will allow him to see things that demolish his opinions. (J. J. Benítez)
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I completely agree! I have ADHD, and when I was 6, the docs wanted to put me on meds. My parents refused. I struggled through school. I still have some of my report cards from elementary school–some teachers wrote things like “she is very smart, but has trouble applying hersefl” or “Angie’s grades do not reflect her intelligence because she could never find her work and was often distracted in class”. My son’s teachers said the same about him. I debated for several years with my husband as to whether we should seek medical help for our son. Finally, when he was 12, my husband agreed. My son now has a B average, and is a happier child all around. As an adult, I tried meds, but because I have my whole life without them, I just could not adjust to the “new” me. I opt to stay off of the meds, but for my son, the meds are a God send that has helped him in school, at home, and with his social life.
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angelique
that is a pretty typical story i think. i’ve been on and off the meds as an adult, find them moderately helpful, had to find a way around the mild side effects.
thank you for commenting
dougu
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homey-right. i remember kids used to get tested and then the results filed and nothing done to help them.
thanks
doug
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And that’s another reason I homeschooled my kids. One had serious ADHD and the other had ADHD and Tourette’s. Homeschooling isn’t for everyone but it was perfect for us and allowed me to work with their issues.
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Exactly. Schools don’t have the resources to deal with kids who don’t fit the typical mold so those kids get labeled or put in a special class. I’m not criticizing the schools – they can only do so much with what they have. But if you’re not “normal”, it sure makes things tougher.
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