Stupid GP on Jeremy Vine show says ADHD is poor parenting

[Jimjams]

Aaaggggghh stupid woman! Apparently parents all want their kids on ritalin because they can't control them as they have no parenting skills. Also they want their kids to be "labelled" as that will make them feel better about being such crap parents. And children don't need labelling.

I was incensed. And my son doesn't even have ADHD/take ritalin

I have sent a stinking email to [email protected]

tell that to my friend with 5 kids all fine except one with very bad adhd...

well yes I do wonder how ds2 has managed to learn language etc when due to my obviously extremely poor parenting skills ds1 still can't speak.

why is it so difficult for the media to properly research something and have someone on with informed views, mind you guess that doesn't make for good tv so wheel out the 'mouths for hire' who talk rubbish.

Can't stand that GP anyway, her actressy voice gets on my nerves. The trouble with radio doctors is that they feel obliged to come up with a snappy diagnosis - once the caller says, 'Well, no actually, it's not that' or 'I've tried that' the call gets wound up quickly.

I have always thought that the Jeremy Vine show, like JY before him, is the Daily Mail on the radio...

Oh JV is not that bad!

I didn't see this, but I wonder if it's a more American viewpoint. I want to emphasise, I really really don't think ADHD is because of poor parenting. But I think in the states, children who are victims of poor parenting have been labelled ADHD and put on ritalin. And in their cases, it would be better if the parents were re-educated, as it must be better for a non-ADHD child to not be on ritalin, iyswim.

But I didn't see this, so can't really comment.

That was my point in the email dinosaur. Just before the stupid radio show I had been to Sainsburys- ds1- 5 years old- in a m/s school uniform- sat in the trolley seat (won't walk- that's not the routine) screamed his way round. When I got fed up with the tut tut brigade at the checkout I said "he can't talk, and he's getting frustrated so he's shouting". I don't use the work autism now because there have been so many ignorant articles written about autism vs bad parenting that I think the dx has been devalued.

The GP's comments arose after a chat with Mathew Parris who had been to an area of Newcastle (??- somewhere like that??) and had lived on benefits. Apparently all the mothers said they're kids had ADHD, and they all wanted their children on ritalin, and that's all they talked about at coffee mornings. Now that may or may not be true- and they also said we were creating a generation of children who couldn't be exuberant (completely missing the point the school system may be more to blame- along with govt obsessions on targets),they then cut to the GP who basically said that ADHD was just poor parenting blah de blah- whislt completely missing the opportunity to explain that ADHD does exist and is completely different from exuberance (a word they used a lot). She certainly gave the impression that she doesn't believe it exists.

And so thanks to some ignorant comments from a GP who doesn't know her developmental disorder arse from her developmental disorder elbow life out and about has just got that much harder. Amd any Radio 2 listeners will be tut tutting that much louder grrrrrrr

Again, I missed this, but would have been very interested to see it.

Perhaps we should all follow Jimjams lead and send emails to the same effect?

For the stupid GPs information, my son (AS/ADHD) is THE most exuberant child on earth...and that is on or off his Ritalin! (although I know it doesn't work as well for others)

I am often praised for the way my ds behaves as he speaks and behaves so well (when on his Ritalin), but I dare that stupid GP or doubters of ADHD (and there are many) to try and care for my son for 24hrs and cope without having a nervous breakdown.

As I have said on a previous thread, one consultant told me she would not diagnose ADHD if I wouldn't give my ds Ritalin. I had words with her and told her what I thought of her "17 years in the NHS"....I will leave this to your imagination, but I wasn't polite.

Sorry jimjams, but the other side of the story is that there ARE parents who want their kids on ritalin because they can't control them. And in addition they get major extra benefits if they have a child with a disability like ADHD. My dh's ex is one of them. She has just had their son diagnosed as adhd and put on ritalin. He has dyslexia and learning difficulties, but he most certainly is not adhd. He is sweet, and well behaved and has no behavioral problems in our home where the parenting is appropriate. He is a nightmare in his mother's home as she has let him get away with murder forever.
What you should be angry about is that parents like her are taking away financial resources from parents like you who really need them. My stepson needs extra help at school (which he gets) and a stable loving mother (which he doesn't get); he doesn't need ritalin. By the way, it was prescribed despite my dh's (who has parental authority) telling the doctor that he objects to it.
Ex has called dh to tell him that ritalin is working really well, stepson now sits in front of tv all day staring at it.

Boy, your dh's ex sounds an absolute horror. It must be awful seeing that happen to your son/stepson.

Sadly it is true that a few parents seek inappropriate diagnosis for healthy children. My ex-step-mother had my youngest sister on inhalers for asthma. Sis had never so much as wheezed! Luckily didn't last very long but I was horrified that a GP would hand out inhalers so casually.

yes dh's ex has thought up that one too. She's had their daughter diagnosed as asthmatic (I am one myself and know the symptoms and have never even seen this child so much as wheeze). Of course the gp seems to ignored the fact that the mother chainsmokes 2 packs a day in the house. Funnily enough you get extra benefits for having an asthmatic child.

I have also come across cases where mothers have claimed a lactose intolerence for their babies because Wysoy is prescribed, and is free. And others who have got diagnoses of non-existant asthma so that they get attendance allowance.

It makes me mad because it is taking money from those who need it, and credibility from those people who do have these conditions. And also these people know just which buttons to press to get benefits that it takes the real people months and months of stress to get.

In NZ you only get a subsidy for special formulas so they are they same price as normal formula, which is fair. I do get a disability allowance (don't get excited its about 10 pounds a week) which is because dh's eczema creams or special food, wet wrap bandages etc. are not free under the healthcare system. Again this seems fair. It's terrible that those that abuse the system take away from those that need it.

My point is though (and I did say in the later post that it may or may not happen)- that a GP lumping every child who is dxed with ADHD as being a victim of poor parenting is unhelpful in the extreme. Of course there are benefit cheats. Of course there are crap parents. I've just ordered my motability car today and had a chat with the salesman about it. Also had a chat with a friend who said "how on earth do they have the time?" the reply being of course that they have the time because they don't have a disabled child to look after.

However a GP spouting off about ADHD when she clearly has no clue (she also said ME was totally made up- depsite the fact that people with ME have neurological signs that can be measured- see yesterdays Indie for more) is not helpful. Of course I'm pissed off with people like your dh's ex. It makes me scared to use my blue badge (which ds1 is entitled to - but he doesn't look disabled so no doubt we will run into trouble when we do use it).

I personally think that "experts" passing off ill considered opinions on national radio do more damage than scumbag benefit cheats.

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