"TikTok trends or the pandemic? What’s behind the rise in ADHD diagnoses"

[flashbac]

"The striking overlap between ADHD symptoms and garden variety “pandemic brain” only compounds common misunderstandings of the former. Simply, ADHD symptoms can look and sound a whole lot like the struggles that define many people’s everyday workflows, which are so often fragmented by push notifications and digital dopamine hits. Who doesn’t have trouble multitasking or following through with tasks? And who isn’t fighting the urge to impulse-scroll social media during the particularly dull moments of any given afternoon? In the past two years, these difficulties have only become more pronounced."

www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/02/tiktok-trends-or-the-pandemic-whats-behind-the-rise-in-adhd-diagnoses

What do you think?

I found out recently NTs don’t consciously think about things like brushing their teeth, or getting dressed, or showering, they’re just habits to them. I always thought a habit was something you remembered and NTs were just better at remembering than me but apparently they just DO IT ON AUTOPILOT?! My mind was blown when I realised and it also explains why they can’t conceptualise just how much stuff and how many steps we “forget”.

@deckthewall which medication helped you? I'm in exactly that position.

I think it is possible to have a mature respectful debate about cognitive disability and it's perception by society

Whilst acknowledging that these conditions are very real and cause great suffering I think we should be careful about over diagnosis

Many schools are now saying that there are significant proportions of neurodiverse children in class and it may be difficult for teaching staff to accommodate a range of needs in an educational environment

I think for some parents a diagnosis of ADHD may be a sought for explanation for poor academic performance or difficult behaviour. I am not if course saying that there are genuine diagnoses but I think it is easier for some parents to use labels as a defence for their children (quite a natural understandable human trait) than to admit a child is poorly behaved or non academic.

This reaching out for ADHD diagnoses doesn't serve the neurodivergent CV immunity well as the general public may lose sympathy and become cynical about such disorders

What are you basing this very ill informed opinion on?

Seems like their own perspectives, rather than concrete evidence, but on the face of it, it is one possible analysis to explain some parents using the adhd, as a cover.

Apparently Ritalin is a commonly used one,

@ForestFae

Why is there not room for saying overdiagnosis or self diagnosis can be problematic? Obviously conditions such as ADHD are very real and as I said cause suffering but I have knowledge of some parents with poorly behaved children who are 'awaiting' a diagnosis and this forms a basis of the dialogue with school when discussing problems (instead of mutual assistance between the school and parents). If ADHD is actually present then obviously people could and should work with it if there is a clinical diagnosis. The problem can be that parents self diagnose and will criticise clinical staff if they feel to agree with to the parent's view.

It is in no one's interest to let a clinical condition be used widely to excuse certain behaviours and undermines deserved sympathy with those that are genuinely neurodivergent.

Ha funnily enough I was neither terribly behaved or non academic. A lot of girls will have had school reports featuring "chatterbox, daydreamer, slow to complete work even though they're capable, must try harder"

The symptoms may be expressed in 'behaviour', but it is not a 'behavioural condition'.

The person most affected is often just the person with ADHD. Head buzzing with thoughts and constantly ashamed of failing again.

Yes I'm sure there are parents who decide their children might have a condition. Every statistic I've read however (and having ADHD my research rabbit hole is enormous and I'm lost for weeks 😅) points to it being under diagnosed, largely due to the years of association with 'badly behaved hyperactive small boy'.

Girls and women in particular are benefiting from the wider knowledge about ADHD as they were the most likely to be missed as children (again due to above stereotype and almost all the original studies featured predominantly young white males).

Maybe do some research yourself, @mids2019 . Maybe start with looking up Dr Russell Barkley's explanations, his lectures are even on YouTube.

Here's a good explanation from Thomas Brown as well:

You can't just tell a psychiatrist to diagnose someone with ADHD, child or adult. 🙄

Because there’s no evidence to support your view. “Naughty” children don’t exist by the way, children do the best they can with the tools they have. While it may not be ADHD, a “poorly behaved” child will have a reason for their behaviour. And before they’re diagnosed, adhd people still have adhd. I was born with adhd, my kids were born with adhd, prior to diagnosis we still had adhd. I find your opinion ignorant and unless you’ve got evidence to support it, not worth listening to.

@Galvantula

I absolutely sympathise with the conditions described and I entirely take your point that certain behaviours may be instigated by conditions such as ADHD.

However could we reach a stage where all poor (or relatively poor) academic performance has to be based on a clinical condition? Indeed will all poor behaviour in schools be attributed to ADHD in the future?

There was a case in my daughter's school where a teacher had to rebuke a girl for disruptive behaviour and she angrily replied that her mother had told her she had 'anger issues' as way if an explanation for her behaviour. The teacher replied that this was not an excuse and asked her to leave the classroom. I wonder how teachers in such situations should react?

@ForestFae

There could be an underlying psychological reason for all poor behaviour but isn't that part of the human condition

Independent of clinical diagnosis how should schools and society in general respond to poor behaviour? I get the impression some would like schools to limit discipline (e.g. detentions) to accommodate nerodivergence but is this a practical or desirable approach?

What do you mean about poor behaviour?

@mids2019 - I think it should be left to appropriate medical professionals to diagnose, don’t you?

also, were you present for the incident at the daughter’s school? Do you know the child’s medical and psychological history, if she is under CAMHS, for example?

Also, are you a qualified teacher? I am and I have worked as a SEN tutor.

I can tell you that during general teacher training, SEN needs are barely covered at all. Teachers who don’t know how to respond to best to neurodivergent pupils should ask for more training, educate themselves, ask for advice from people who do know - other neurodivergent would be a good start.

You spend a lot of time “wondering” for someone who has no specialist knowledge and is woefully ill informed. I’m not responding to you again, as you seem to be deliberately “misunderstanding” and seeking attention on this thread.

*other neurodivergent teachers

@IdontWanna

There is poor behaviour in schools and there always will be. I was wondering whether it was helpful to blame all such behaviour on cognitive make up or do we have to accept there is an element of free will involved as well?

I think it is a challenge for schools to work with ADHD if a compromise in school discipline is suggested.

Are detentions, exclusions etc a necessary part of maintaining a functioning school or are they a failure to successfully accomodate SEND?

@ChilliAndParsley

I was a a school governor of a school with excellent SEND policies but also obviously a disciplinary policy.

The challenge for teachers was to accommodate SEND and also ensure a safe educational environment. A child with a catalogue of extremely poor behaviour was allowed to stay in school for a very long time prior to expulsion and school executive teams need to make such decisions. I was simply making the point ultimately SEND can't always be accommodated by limiting disciplinary action.

Behaviourism in general is a poor approach, especially for neurodivergent children but it’s not great for neurotypical ones either. If punishment worked, prisoners would never reoffend for example.

All behaviour is communication. Poor behaviour as you call it should be dealt with by meeting the underlying need. I don’t actually think mainstream schools can do this very well, for anyone, which is why I home educate, but that’s a whole other can of worms.

Naughty children do exist. I remember in one particular lesson at school, groups of people playing up but they were fine in other subjects. I find it hard to believe that they all had a condition.

I didn’t say they all have a condition, I said behaviour exists to communicate something. There will be a reason for the behaviour - maybe they struggled with the subject and were embarrassed, maybe they didn’t like it, maybe they felt stupid, maybe they felt picked on by a teacher, maybe they were trying to fit in…that’s just off the top of my head.

What I actually asked was what you mean about poor behaviour, not whether it exists or not.

Do you count as poor behaviour (when coming from a child with SEND) rocking on a chair or not sitting still, sitting under a table , refusing to sit on the carpet, moving around the classroom, shouting out , fiddling with things, not using equipment appropriately i.e. touching it too early, or using it for a different purpose, or using it in the wrong way?

I used to get bollocked for doodling in class. Doodling actually helps me concentrate as I physically can’t sit still, but I guess that’s “poor behaviour”

Fuck me what do you think the average kid with ADHD is doing? in class

You're not listening to the fact that it's not 'badly behaved child' disorder.

A few parents being arses and expecting their wee snowflake to get away with crap behaviour is nothing to do with kids struggling due to developmental conditions.

I've lost count of how much time I've spent already trying to work with teachers to help my child get on better. He's not been disruptive but they can see he's struggling. At no point did I rock up saying let him do what he wants and not finish his work.

Most parents I know who have a child who is struggling are trying everything they can.

People think adhd is just the “disruptive behaviour”, they don’t know or care to know about the internal experience of it that they’ll never see. They define us by how much we inconvenience them. It’s so frustrating

Also fun times having ADHD yourself and keeping on top of letters and 30 page forms to fill in to get the help for your child. 🫤