Daily Mail take on ADHD - 'badly behaved boys need discipline not drugs'

[tortoiseshell]

Article here - I'm posting the link a little tentatively, as it is not a good article - typical DM bile I think!

apologies I misread!

I typed physiological, not psychological, didn't I, jimjams?

cross-posted. I'm on YOUR side of this one!

Couldn't too much Tv damage your fromtal lobes, or affect thier responses?

fio, i dont think its being judgemental of the parents when you know what you are speaking of to be fact
she is a teacher in a special needs school
there are some days some of the kids are sent in so obviously doped out of their heads that she calls in the school nurse, it turns out that the kid was a little hyper or whatever through the nite that the parents decided to give them extra tablets?
now im no doctor, and no i havent a clue about ritalin or whatever drug..but surely its a dosage that shouldnt be messed with?

Neurologial research has come a long way in recent years due to new scanning technology and also to the growing understanding of how genes interact and also about the interaction between genes and environment. One thing that most researchers in these areas agree is that this interaction is extremely complicated and works both ways in that your genes can effect your behaviour and vice versa. Thats why its pointless trying to look at disorders like ADHD from a purely environmental perspective. The only way we have a hope in ehll of understanding is if we look at all the factors involved on every level from the micro genetic level all the way to the macro sociological level.

Sorry, Harleyd but if the people working with children with SN are being so judgemental about the parents, then what hope is there for the rest of society? If your sister genuinely believes that so much of the SN she sees each day is caused by parents wanting a quiet life then she probably isn't that well suited to the job.

It's kind of the equivalent of me working at a centre for people with anorexia and then going home to tell my sister that it's their own fault for not eating, or the parents' fault for not making them eat.

i dont think its breach of confidentiality unless she is giving me details, names?
and actually, she is very well suited to her job, she genuinely cares about these kids, she worries about them, i am not saying anywhere that she is judging the parents, im saying she knows it does happen

harleyd she has no right to discuss the kids at all..... actually she doesn't post here does she? 5candles? another sn teacher that feels its ok to make judgements waaaay abover her remit!

Lord help me, if I ever manage to arranfle my life enough to do the lasy year to qual as a teacher, I guarantee not to make judgements known, and to try to fight thinking them at all.

pmsl that kids get into special ed that easily- i have begged for mine

know whats funny dp? almost all the adhd kids I know, I know through sn sports- which of course they dont attend

fiofio...i know a few teachers. you would be suprised at what gets said in the privacy of the staff room.

Harleyd - The part of your post where you said:

"she tells me that many parents choose to drug their kids for a quiet life" certainly sounds judgemental to me.

Is it not also just as likely that the parents used the extra medication out of sheer desperation? "A little hyper" is an understatement when it comes to something like ADHD.

Fio about your friend.

thats even worse- complete breac!

they need me

do wnder if i might be a bit too

you know

nice

You will need to toughen up, Peachy, if you want to cut it in the teaching world!!

one problem is that brain scans that show abnormailities don't always corrospond to outcome. dd has massive brain damage but is intellectually fine. My friends lad had even worse and has no apparent disabilities at all.
See a abnormaility or damage can only suggest a link.
Thats makes ADHD and ASD type disorders hard to esrtablish on an MRI. Personally I think they are more signal/chemical disorders rather than structural abnormalities. But the PET scanner that would help with that research - there's only 2 in the whole country.
Right now we're either getting doctors refusing to listen to parents or some over-prescribing. The whole thing is a shambles. There's very little support for behaviourlaly challenenged children whatever the cause, ADHD or crappy homelife.
My son has aspergers but it took years to get a dx and even then there was no help. Children's services are a mess. I don't get much help with a child with full quadraplegic CP so parents with kids with ADHD, half of them are barely getting any help. Drugs should be last resort but its easier and cheaper than behavioural management therapy.

If it was to do with the kids at night are you sure they weren't giving extra melatonin? This is something you won't get that clear advice on.

sorry bythesea- I was scanning- and have ds3 talking at the same time

I do believe that ADHD exists, my younger brother was dx as 'hyperactive' in the 80's. He was wild and dangerous and my mum and dad were at their wits end. He wasn't medicated but one thing that did help was when they cut out sugar. I do think that in milder cases of hyperactivity that monitoring the diet can help. Sugary blue drinks packed full of caffeine and additives logically must aggravate hyperactivity.

Hang on. Are we now saying that forming an opinion (judging) is wrong in itself? There may be times that expressing it is inappropriate, but not having opinions would be abnormal.

she is not discussing the kids in question, she is saying that this happens in the school where she works
you know what the problem on here is, people have no interest in listening, just shouting their opinions off
some of you have made a snap decision that my sister is judgemental, when probably she is the least judgemental person i know..but hey thats by the by
you get so defensive about s/n, fair enough maybe you feel that you have to defend and justify every decision made about your childs life..im not judging anything to do with you or your kids, why would i?

i personally dont think that medication should be the first and only option, but thats just my opinion. and no i havent walked in anyones shoes, so i dont know
im not out to offend, so i would appreciate the same in return

and, no she doesnt post on mn

How can SN be caused by parents? DD has massive brain damage and can't move. Its notmy parenting.

thank gawd she's not at a SN school.