Via The Daily Bell
Some children are better at paying attention than others. Some can cope with, or even enjoy, a school classroom setting. Some kids have more energy than others. Some are good at following directions, and some are easily distracted.
But just because a classroom is not a good environment for many children does not mean they have a disorder. They may have an Attention Deficit because they are bored. They may he Hyperactive because they are cooped up and forced to sit still at a desk. But this does not constitute a Disorder.
What happened to the belief in the uniqueness of a child? Aren’t they told they don’t have to fit in? And then if the factory school system doesn’t work for them, they have a disorder.
Instead of treating children like individuals, schools and parents act like they have no other choice but to let drugs make the behavioral adjustments. How sad that there is more willingness to drug kids to make them fit in, instead of changing the system, or being attentive to individual needs.
The Tragicomedy of ADHD
An article about ADHD from Healthline would be funny if it weren’t tragic.
Who gets ADHD, a graphic asks? Children living below 2x the poverty line are at an increased risk. Boys are 3x more likely to be afflicted than girls. Children with mild ADHD are usually diagnosed at 8 years old, while children with severe ADHD are diagnosed at 5 years old.
Wow! What genius did this research? Boys run around more than girls? You can tell which kids have more energy at a younger age? Kids with a less stable upbringing are less well behaved? Somebody deserves a Nobel prize.
Girls symptoms are less obvious, the article says. To act withdrawn or have a tendency to daydream constitutes a disorder. Of course, this couldn’t have anything to do with the system! Surely being force-fed boring and irrelevant lessons couldn’t have anything to do with a tendency to daydream.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says 4% of children have ADHD, while the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims the number is closer to 11%.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised the government almost triples the estimate for ADHD affliction compared to a private organization.
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ADHD is NOT a fake disease.
ReplyDeleteMy father, who must've been way ahead of his time, diagnosed and even had a cure for this illness way back in the 60's.
He didn't call it ADHD though. His name for it was "bad kid".
His cure was a dose of a good spanking and maybe a slap on the back of my head. It only took a couple of doses to cure me completely.
I will NEVER forget the day my foster parent wasn't big enough to beat me anymore. THEY got it back until I DECIDED when it was enough.
DeleteADHD is real but treating with drugs seems like the Big Pharma solution. The body gets used to the drug so they increase the dosage. What happens when you reach the max dosage. You either look to other substances or crash. To put children on this path is the road to perdition. Learning coping skills requires time and effort but would be the safer approach, but why do that when you can just take a pill.
ReplyDeleteHey, selling ADHD drugs is easier than making class time fun and interesting. Teachers are forced to teach to the test, and kids want to learn new out of the box things.
ReplyDeleteSo, medicate all and drone on with dumbness.
Then wonder why Johnny's in jail...
Society has given every group that is different in any way an excuse for their behavior. If you become a thug you're misunderstood, if you don't fit in your a racist, we all need to appreciate one anothers differences and just get over it not make an issue just get along. When I got older I realized people I didn't like when I was young I just hadn't put the time in getting to know them, and some became really the most trusted friends. Give all people a chance and don't look for society to get a clue, it's up to each of us. This is not original but just give peace a chance.
ReplyDeleteKids were not suppose to have lots of scripts when young during my heyday. When did this change? Oh yeah, right after Vietnam. Hmmmmm big Government, big HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Indeed!
ReplyDeleteSad.
The structure in the class room is one size fits all which doesn't work for all plus student teacher ratio is another factor.
ReplyDelete10:13:
ReplyDeleteRespectfully, I reject that "class size" theory.
Growing up in a large city in the 60's, fifty students in each class was the norm - and that was from Grade 1 through high school. All public schools.
I can pretty much assure you that we received a better education then than most do today with a much smaller class size.
It is totally a fake disease as well as the new condition du jour "the spectrum" they call it. The bottom line kids are different and the US "education" system wants them to be all alike. They don't like kids that prefer to think. They want them to memorize what they tell them. Some kids are more active then others. Many are extremely active and they get labeled as ADD/ADHD. What they need instead of being drugged into submission is more physical activities.
ReplyDeleteYou guys act like the Pharma and Government care about you or your children.
ReplyDeleteClue: They don't.
Time to wake up.
They are poisoning you!
Want more?
They are also SPRAYING you everyday.
Look up!
Tin foil on sale at Foodlion.
ReplyDelete445
ReplyDeleteYou are on the wrong thread.
Maybe you need a few clues?
Wake up pal.