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

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

Well from what you've said its clear you know about as much about ADHD as you do about autism DP.

As do the writers of that bloody article

My husband was diagnosed with ADD (by a psychologist and 2 psychiatrists)at the age of 45, having suffered since childhood.

I'll tell him to go out and climb a tree IMMEDIATELY.

I wish drugging him with ritalin DID mean an easy life.

(And the reason why all these conditions have only been diagnosed in the last few years is due to advances in MRI scans of the brain.)

There is an obvious difference between autism and ADHD. I don't think the article mentioned autism.

I know two autistic boys, one is severe, bless him and the other is very mild, a lovely boy but it doesn't take long too realise that he has the condition when you chat to him.

'There is an obvious difference between autism and ADHD.'

No, a lot of times, there really isn't. And many people have both disorders, just as many have dyspraxia and autism.

If that were true abouteve then the paediatricians, SALTS and EPs involved with ds wouldn't have taken so long to dx ds. Its precisely becuase it isn't always that clear because all children are different and some, like ds, have both AS and ADHD, that it can take so long to get a dx or help for your child.

What daftpunk is saying is not what was said on the news last night, nor is it what was said by the authors of the report. Their recommendations were that parents of children with ADHD should be offered specialist parenting classes as well - with ritalin as a second line of treatment. This kind of comes under the heading of 'no shit sherlock' but is a criticism of PCT's and LA's who offer no support.

"it's more about controlling behaviour than treating a medical condition." Many people would disagree with you. Which is why people use special diets etc (often to good effect).

"I know two autistic boys, one is severe, bless him and the other is very mild, a lovely boy but it doesn't take long too realise that he has the condition when you chat to him."

I thought the 'bless him' bit was done to death yesterday.

OK, I'm no expert just speaking from observation.

I thought the 'bless him' bit was done to death yesterday

How come? Sorry if it sounded patronising.

Stewie I agree with you- although all the children I know on ritalin have it prescribed by specialists rather than GP's. They're probably not seen enough though and there's little other support.

In response to daftpunk, I trust DDs pre-school, and they are only confirming things that are apparent to me already. I wish I could have been surprised at what they were saying. The only thing I was surprised, and worried, about was that they thought rather than me being a rubbish parent (which I was beginning to believe), they think DD needs funded 1:1.

Having read MN for some time, I know that children with severe SN are denied blatantly needed 1:1, so it did worry me that they obviously feel it is worth persuing for her.

What sort of parent would I be if I denied my daughter the assessment for help that she may really need (regardless of label)? Especially when there are children like Peachy's ds who are denied 1:1, despite clear need. An insult, to say the least.

How can ADHD be diagnosed by a MRI scan? Brain damage doesn't always correlate with symptoms seen.

I don't think anyone was saying it could be riven. There was some confusion when jimjams and i mentioned that brain scan research had shown distinctive brain activity patterns in people with ADHD.

"I know how children behave"

What an utterly ridiculous statement. You know how NT children generally behave. You clearly know f-all about any other kind of child.

Well, my son's learning problems were flagged up when he was three and thank fuck that they were.

Initially the school helped us to sort out his communication problems, which in turn helped his incipient behavioural problems.

at 6 they flagged up his dyspraxia (one of those made up things again I suppose) and gave him the structured help that he needs. He is now a well integrated, happy boy, who's reading is now at the age expected. We still have some work to do on his writing, but do you know what, he'll get there too, because he has the help he needs.

But doubtless we should have ignored all of this and watched him go off the rails and become unhappy

agree with MB and others re:early identification. 36 months is quite a common age to get taken seriously when kids have delayed speech/communication.

Oh, and there are often significant amounts of overlap between ADHD and ASD and dyspraxia as they are very often co-morbid conditions.

it was quite clear from my Ds that he was inattentive from the age of 2. I know that lots of toddlers are but in some cases its a sign of things to come. I was concerned about it from an early age and my suspicions have been proved correct. Of course he wasnt or shouldnt have been diagnosed at 2 but it was quite clear something was going on with him at that stage that had nothing to do with my parenting skills or nothing to do with not controlling his behaviour which didnt need controlling anyway as his main symptoms are inattentiveness and not hyperactivity. This inattentive subtype is also treated successfully with Ritalin

Paranoid, the 'inattentive' type of child with ADHD is often missed and no diagnosed, since they are seldom any 'trouble' in the class.

This leads to them massivly under performing

Stewie- GP's shouldn't be diagnosing anything of this nature- preferably any assessment should be multidisciplinary.

Yes , no trouble in class but underperforming is a key factor. However since beginning yr3 and since taking medication he seems to doing better. His reading is more fluent and he is getting to the end of books without becoming exhausted,he is quicker at maths and the standard of writing and copying from the board is a lot better. He does have some gross motor issues and although the medication doesnt help them as such he is not as fidgety, squirmy or impulsive and it seems to have had a knock on effect on his motor skills

dp

I'm also a Mum of 4.

If anyone had picked up ds3's issues at 2 he'd have been much better off. In fact his problems (not yet dx but we know its asd) were missed until 3, when we were then placed on long waiting lists.

I acknowledge his major regression was at almost 3 but I am certain with hindsight there were indicators before, sadly dh and I were too busy coping ith the immediate aftermath of ds1's dx to see this.

If a child is flagged early spport can be ploughed ion. That is never imo harmful, and might just be the difference between independence and dependence for a child.

That support can always be pulled if found to be not needed, but you can never get those opportunities iof the early days back.