ADHD real or just bad parenting?

Originally posted by Neb: So, basically just the inability to concentrate on any one thing for long?

Umm actually in my opinion, from what I have observed (and it is just an opinion) it is more like an unwillingness to behave.

The kid knows he can get away with misbehaviour. When the worst punishment the kid can expect is a "Time Out" or being sent to his room (where he most likely has a computer, a video game, a TV and a stereo) why should he/she behave?

[Talthyr Malkaviel]

Yup, that's it.
I can't quite remember what the H stands for now, it's on the tip of my tongue... ah well.

[Neb]

Personally I think that it's just teachers and so on that lack the ability to capture people's attention. I can easily concentrate during class, but often my teachers are just too damn boring. They just drone on and on and on and on.... Now then one day we have a substitute teacher who teaches in a slightly different way, and suddenly I find myself having a much easier time paying attention.

Unwillingness to behave? In some children, possibly. But I think that for the most case it's just that teachers lack the skills to make kids pay attention.

Originally posted by Sir Michael: Everything you always wanted to know about ADD/ADHD, from the experts. As a prospective teacher, this is one of the many issues I will face in my classroom. BTW, ADD/ADHD IS recognized by the federal government, and is considered a disability covered under the Individuals With Disabilities Act and other special education laws. In a nutshell, it is a brain dysfunction that people tend to grow out of and/or cope with by the time they are young adults. It IS overdiagnosed, the treatment usually being Ritalin. One thing I've heard is that caffeine actually CALMS a hyperactive child down, because of differences in physiological functioning. BTW, Magik, the kids may look focused on the TV or a computer game, but think of how many moving images and different sounds they are being exposed to every second. And just because they are easily distractable doesn't mean they can't focus at all, on anything. Teaching strategies include helping students to regulate their own behavior in the classroom.

[img]smile.gif[/img] Ya know, I really have to hand it to you, I could never teach kids in this country with the way the lwas are now. My hats off to you.

Nice info there [img]smile.gif[/img] and from the educator side of things where the kids are in a class room. My experience (or lack of it) with ADD and ADHD has been in the realm of the rest of the world, where I see it being used as an excuse for misbehaviour by the children.

Attention Deficit....pretty much describes it self. If the kid can concentrate on things he wants to concentrate on, then he CAN concentrate on things he isnt quite so motivated about..its about a thing called discipline.

Im sure there are some cases where there are brain chemical imbalances but Id bet real money that some time spent with me would cure many cases of "ADD"...of course the kid would not like the training portion of that time.

You mention that video games have many images to focus on, it really doesnt matter, if the kid CAN concentrate then he can do it on less dynamic images too. Its a matter of will/behaviour or
discipline...call it what you want.

Good luck in teaching kids who know they have nothing to fear from you and who know you cannot discipline them....not an enviable position to be in, in my view.

[Sir Michael]

From Magik:

Good luck in teaching kids who know they have nothing to fear from you and who know you cannot discipline them....not an enviable position to be in, in my view.

Why can't I discipline them, Magik? Yeah, we're not allowed to touch (as in hit) them, but my parents didn't believe in that anyway. Punishment is effective only in very short term situations anyway. It undermines intrinsic motivation, and creates a sense of fear and hatred and desired revenge in the classroom, all of which are not conducive to an effective learning environment. The days of the teacher relying on an overbearing personality and domination of the classroom in a test of wills and carrying out threats with corporal punishment are long gone. They are replaced with new theories of classroom management and classroom discipline, based on structure, mutual respect, giving kids choice, and meeting their needs. Logical consequences (as in: a student writes on desks, he gets to clean them) of actions are used instead of punishments. My favorite system actually uses a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for students, and is called the SCORE system.

Success
Curiosity
Originality
Relationships
Energy

The important thing to remember is that the teacher is more intelligent and more educated than the students, and should act as such. Objective management and discipline in the classroom are the keys to successful learning. Besides, I don't believe in violence, and hitting kids to punish them is the easy way out for parents who are too lazy to figure out a better way to discipline them, IMHO.

[Sir Michael]

And I might add that most kids are not that bad anyway. I did two teacher and classroom observations in the last two semesters, one in high school, and one in junior high (both science classes). In both cases, the classes were very well behaved, with the biggest "problems" being gum chewing, talking too much, and inattention. These problems could have been easily dealt with by a change in teaching methods (and I said so in my observation reports), or by simply ignoring them (I don't think gum chewing is that big a deal, for instance). From my research, about 95% of classroom problems fall into this minor category. Occasionally a teacher will deal with something more serious, but an effective management plan in "The First Days of School" (according to Harry Wong) will alleviate most potential problems.

Not to sound like Magik in his diatribes about the environmental and other world problems aren't real, but the media has way overblown educational problems in this country. For the millions of kids and teachers in school every day, a few cases are bound to happen and get publicized. Research has also shown that test scores (as so recently emphasized by the President) are NOT way behind those of other countries. In fact, they are about equal.

[Azred]

TJ sometimes lacks the ability to concentrate for even a minute, is easily distracted, fidgits instead of sitting still, talks a lot, and thus has many of the possible symptoms of ADHD. On the other hand, he is only 6. Am I going to take him to the doctor and suspect ADHD? Absolutely not--nearly all 6-year olds act like this!
Personally, I don't believe that ADHD is a real medical disorder, just something that lets poor parents blame the child's actions on something other than themselves. Its easier to pump them full of Ritalin and have an excuse for poor behavior (honest! I can't help but act bad! I have ADHD, so there!) than to try and rear them better. The details surrounding it and the "symptoms" it has are far too vague to be a definable medical/neurological disorder.

[Ar-Cunin]

On a lighter note - have any of you seen the South Park episode, where the kids are all put on ritalin?

On a more serious note - In Denmark there ran a TV program about a 1st grade class and their teachers. I clear slowed how hard it is to get 6-7 year-olds to behave. Part of the problem comes from home, where the smaller families (1-2 children) tend to 'spoil' their children and let them get their way. The chieldren them take this behaviour to school and cause disruptions when they don't get the attention they are used to.

[khazadman]

my ex's youngest son was diagnosed with ad/hd,but all i saw was just a kid that needed discipline.everybody just found it easier to drug him than change his behavior.in less than a year he was like any other kid.
and face it,it shouldn't be the teachers job to teach a kid right from wrong,or how to behave.that is the parents responsibility.but more of them would rather abrogate their parental rights in favor of the state taking control.

[Sir Kenyth]

Originally posted by Azred: TJ sometimes lacks the ability to concentrate for even a minute, is easily distracted, fidgits instead of sitting still, talks a lot, and thus has many of the possible symptoms of ADHD. On the other hand, he is only 6. Am I going to take him to the doctor and suspect ADHD? Absolutely not--nearly all 6-year olds act like this! Personally, I don't believe that ADHD is a real medical disorder, just something that lets poor parents blame the child's actions on something other than themselves. Its easier to pump them full of Ritalin and have an excuse for poor behavior (honest! I can't help but act bad! I have ADHD, so there!) than to try and rear them better. The details surrounding it and the "symptoms" it has are far too vague to be a definable medical/neurological disorder.

It's real. It's just SERIOUSLY over diagnosed. ADD is the opposite of Autism. What scares me is how often people want to hop on this train. My son was doing poorly in school. The first thing all the grandparents say is, "I'll bet he has ADD! Better take him to the doctor." I said, "Bulls#1t!!" His "ADD" was a simple lack of motivation and discipline. A few months of keeping the leash tight and the rod handy stopped that behavior quick! Now that reading and spelling are getting easier for him, he doesn't have to study as much. He's happier and doing much better which makes learning even easier. He went from D's and F's up to B's with a couple A's and one C. I expect that by next year he'll be an A-B student with a little gentle pushing and proper supervision. Shows what a little effort can accomplish. I'll bet a prescription for Ridalin wouldn't have done as much as a little concerned parental care!