"ADHD is not real" - such an annoying and ignorant woman!

[Hulababy]

I can't believe people can be so ignorant :here

It has really annoyed me so much. How can anyone in this day and age not now that ADHD is a real dx. So ignornat - argh!!!

Did you know there are in fact several kinds of ADD/ADHD and they present differently? There are also genetic tests that can be done, so I doubt it is all in the parenting.

I think some of the confusion arises from this not being properly understood.

However IMO sophisticated parenting skills really do help kids with these conditions, and if people got better professional support, I think many people's home lives could be improved. I see it like managing diabetes, in the sense that clearly there is an underlying condition, but regulated and appropriate discipline can ensure a degree of stability that helps the child adapt to more useful ways of behaving at home and school. But it cannot be 'cured' and even the most perfect parenting will not make it 'go away'.

I am what you would call a 'mature' mum. I have 2 sons. One is 13 and the other is 6.5. My 13 yo is bright, funny and bloody brilliant. My 6.5 yo is bright, funny and also bloody brilliant. They are my children, loved equally and I would say bought up pretty much the same with equal discipline and attention. My 6.5 yo is dx ADHD - what did I do wrong? I listen to him, talk to him and love him, as does his big brother and his dad.

I agree to a certain extent that ADHD and a few other disorders are over diagnosed and I suspect many kids are incorrectly dx .... but, whether you want to call it a disorder or another term, it is real. I would describe my child as normal, but with a vale over him (the vale being ADHD) not allowing him to control or express himself as you would expect from a child of his age. Apart from that I am not pulling my hair out, we are not an unhappy family and he is not medicated. Thankfully, we live in a country that supports the non-medication of children unless absolutely necessary, which I support.

I look at my son's 'disorder' and embrace it because it does not define him as the person he is ... it is only a part of him IYSWIM. When I asked his big brother the other day if he 'liked' his little bro, he replied "Of course I do, what is there not to like about him" .... if only his teachers felt the same way - but that's another story

So Mumnnanny, when you have a family of 2 or 3 children, none of which are exposed to any inappropriate adult literature or television, and two of those children are completely normal- what is your conclusion then?

Because I have come across this scenario more than once.

Just because you may have seen a limited number of children whose parents wrongly diagnose them as ADHD, does not mean the condition does not exist in other children. I have known parents who diagnose ordinary tummy aches as appendicitis: does that prove that appendicitis is a made-up condition?

Mummynanny,
What do you mean by "study" when you say you studied this child?
I agree this child sounds like she has had a bad time at school which she has dealt with badly rather than suffering from ADHD, but that sort of behaviour isn't what would normally lead to a diagnosis IME.
My sister used to scream and throw herself from one wall to another for half an hour or so like a lunatic. I, on the other hand was a calm child. No parental issues involved - she had a medical imbalance.
There is a BIG difference.

correction: "and two of those children are completely normal in their behaviour and the third displays clearly abnormal behaviour, what is your conclusion then?"

A friend of mine once mistook chicken pox for meningitis- that disposes of meningitis then?

(will just add that I have no personal stakes in this as neither of my children is on the ADHD spectrum; they just have ordinary tantrums. But I can tell the difference)

Is there any good reason why a five year old thread was opened again.....

Do we not have any more contemporary that are likely to cause arguements and polarise people than this one.

I'm sorry I don't think you have much experience of ADHD Mumnnanny (is this the child you nanny?)

As I said i do not beleive that children can not have emotional and behavioural difficulties. But labelling a child percifically with ADHD I dont feel is right.

I have studies over 300 children. In schools, nurseries and homes. From 6 months of age to 16 years of age.

I am qualified in childcare and child psychology.

I am not meaning to be offensive to those parents who's children have been diagnosed by a doctor with ADD/ADHD.

I simply feel there are more underlying causes to a childs behaviour.

"I am only 21, and as a 21 year old you would expect me to take in what 'experts' say and be nieve. But no... i see the big picture."

Well, no, I would more expect a 21 year old to know better with her bit of experience than all the experts that have ever been, despite their years of knowledge. But enjoy being young ...

No it isnt and do not be such a bully and try to make me feel like I know nothing. I ama mother myself and know how confusing raising children can be. Dont judge me, Im not judging any of you. Simply expressing my beleifs just like you.

Age discrimination I see here.

Yes, there are : diet, environment, schooling, genetics etc etc. But, when a set of behaviours manifest and affect a child's life to the extent that some are, we have to help them and to help them they are assessed and dx. Mainly this help is in the learning environment (I know this is where my son struggles most). If it had not been for school, I would have never bothered having him dx as I truly beleive that even ADHD is another diversity of human nature.

Bink, i take it your over the age of 40. Jealous that I may know more than you. That I spend everyday caring for other peoples children aswell as my own.

And as you see on the news. The amount of doctors and nurses being described as murderers or perverts.

I have been at the hand of peadiatricians and consultants who have mis-diagnosed. My daughter nearly lost her life due to a stupid ped. I was nearly made to terminate my baby by a idiotic consultant. But I chose not to listen and I have a gorgeous DS.

Now you tell me to trust a doctor who tells someone their child suffers from ADHD. As I said earlier

ATTENTION DEFICIT
HYPERACTIVITY
DISORDER.

ITS ALL IN THE TITLE.

oh fgs.

I am with ICANDOTHAT. Nature prevails and will show the way to dealing with illnesses and problems.

I neither agree not disagree with your pov hulababy but the ADHD issue continues to intrigue me.

I am largely ignorant of many of the facts, but I have done a bit of research on the subject.

Have you read the pampered child syndrome by Maggie Mamen? I read that and was even more confused but it does raise the question of how many genuine cases of ADHD actually exist.

Thing is, the diagnostic criteria will validate many a child's diagnosis for ADHD from a symptomatic perspective but what of the conditions that created the condition.

One could argue that certain parenting styles create a propensity toward ADHD - does this make the diagnosis less genuine, and is the condition less real if it can be avoided?

I suppose it's like saying that a man who smokes 40 a day, and drinks with his steak and chips every night whilst watching the football has less genuine coronary failure than the footballer teetotaller with the same condition. That doesn't make sense to me, but I do struggle with the prevalence issue around ADHD because I believe that a large number of children could be spared the condition if we could tackle issues such as self esteem which I believe are at the very heart of our national (perhaps Western worldwide) emotional and behavioural health.

However, I also believe that once ADHD ebhaviours are expressed by the child, then diagnosis can be very positive for many. I also believe that you can treat such a condition without specific diagnosis by focusing on support. Sometimes the diagnosis medicalises to the extent that real support becomes even harder to obtain.

I'm not sure, what do you think of my thinking?

Mumnnanny- you obviously haven't studied ADHD though. Or do you know about the sensory issues that are found in ADHD (along with many other disorders). Do you know about the brain differences found in children with ADHD? Do you know about the problems with impulse control and other executive functions found in ADHD?

I'd go away and read a bit more before you start offending people tbh.

at Mrsturnips beautiful understatement.

Mumnnanny on Thu 05-Mar-09 13:55:58
"Nature prevails and will show the way to dealing with illnesses and problems."

Really? So if your child gets meningitis, you'll just leave nature to deal with it?

And nature will cure my disabled daughter?

As far as I can see, her sufferings are part of Nature: or what would you call a genetic condition if not Nature? That's part of natural selection, isn't it, that mutations happen and the successful ones survive and change the species. Nature, unlike parents, has no interest in every individual being successful.

Nature's way is for the less fit variants to be deselected. In my dd's case, in anything like a natural environment, she would almost certainly not survive to adulthood. Personally, I am rather keen on keeping her alive and integrated in society. I have known a few shit doctors in my life- but from my horizon they still look like a better alternative than Nature.

Boffinmum what is this genetic test . Never heard of anything like it in all the meetings I've had with pro's involved with my ds's dx - am interest!!