Aa
EXPLAIN THIS !
I work in a European school with 1, 400 children. Aged 3 - 18. We do very well with the kids, they do well.
2 take ritalin they are very sever, aspergers/autistic spectrum. One has depression and takes medicaiton for that.
We recently had student teachers from USA, i asked "how come 5 kids in every class take ADHD medication?". She told me, on her last teaching practice , she worked with a difficult group and out of 25 only 3 WERE NOT on medication ????? some were taking up to 3 types of psychiatric medication.
WHO CAN EXPLAIN THIS TO ME??? the United Nations drug control program should look into this, what are some AMERICANS doing to their children???
2 take ritalin they are very sever, aspergers/autistic spectrum. One has depression and takes medicaiton for that.
We recently had student teachers from USA, i asked "how come 5 kids in every class take ADHD medication?". She told me, on her last teaching practice , she worked with a difficult group and out of 25 only 3 WERE NOT on medication ????? some were taking up to 3 types of psychiatric medication.
WHO CAN EXPLAIN THIS TO ME??? the United Nations drug control program should look into this, what are some AMERICANS doing to their children???
I agree with your post and want to say I am so sorry for what happened to you when you were growing up.
There is such a bias regarding mental illness...would the original poster be shocked if 5 kids in a class were diagnosed with type I diabetes and receiving medication for it? Perhaps that is a large number of kids to have that Dx but who could reasonably argue that they should not receive medication?
There is no difference between the two except in the minds of people who do not understand that ADHD or any other mental illness are real illnesses that need to be treated!
There is such a bias regarding mental illness...would the original poster be shocked if 5 kids in a class were diagnosed with type I diabetes and receiving medication for it? Perhaps that is a large number of kids to have that Dx but who could reasonably argue that they should not receive medication?
There is no difference between the two except in the minds of people who do not understand that ADHD or any other mental illness are real illnesses that need to be treated!
I have ADD/ADHD mostly the ADD. I was given your so called "Behavior Modification" when I was a child!
I was constantly in the office getting the strap!! I did NOT deserve to be punished!
I did NOT need to sit in a corner! I did not need to be pointed at by the teachers when they told the rest of the class that they would get what I got if I didn't pay attention and follow along in the reader.
You would think that (even back then) that if a child didn't "learn" from frequent punsihments that they had to "sit still", "focus", etc that there is something seriously wrong .
I had one doctor tell me that the problem with people (esp kids) nowadays, is that no one goes to church anymore. He said that if we all went to church that our children would learn to sit still.
I didn't sit still...and I went to church. I have permanent "ants in my pants."
I cannot be beaten to make me sit still.
The only way to make us sit still is to kill us...or give us all sorts of nasty drugs.
Perhaps there are too many children/adults that are on meds that don't need to be.
Perhaps too many teachers/parents/doctors label kids as having ADD/ADHD because it's much easier to "sedate them" than it is to figure out what their "real" problem is.
Or perhaps there are many more people in this world that have ADD/ADHD than what can be imagined.
Regardless of any answer, if someone can be helped by medicating them, then they should be medicated...just don't medicate those people that aren't really suffering from anything.
I was constantly in the office getting the strap!! I did NOT deserve to be punished!
I did NOT need to sit in a corner! I did not need to be pointed at by the teachers when they told the rest of the class that they would get what I got if I didn't pay attention and follow along in the reader.
You would think that (even back then) that if a child didn't "learn" from frequent punsihments that they had to "sit still", "focus", etc that there is something seriously wrong .
I had one doctor tell me that the problem with people (esp kids) nowadays, is that no one goes to church anymore. He said that if we all went to church that our children would learn to sit still.
I didn't sit still...and I went to church. I have permanent "ants in my pants."
I cannot be beaten to make me sit still.
The only way to make us sit still is to kill us...or give us all sorts of nasty drugs.
Perhaps there are too many children/adults that are on meds that don't need to be.
Perhaps too many teachers/parents/doctors label kids as having ADD/ADHD because it's much easier to "sedate them" than it is to figure out what their "real" problem is.
Or perhaps there are many more people in this world that have ADD/ADHD than what can be imagined.
Regardless of any answer, if someone can be helped by medicating them, then they should be medicated...just don't medicate those people that aren't really suffering from anything.
It's not about if it's acceptable or not. There is no correct number when it comes to how many kids out of whatever number have ADHD. There is no known cause for ADHD. It is believed that it is genetic. I know mine is. My mother has it. ADHD is also more prevalent in the US than in other parts of the world.
It sounds to me that you are saying that it's not possible for this many kids to have ADHD. And you also think that it should be treated with behavior modification instead of medication. In so cases that may be true. But in other cases, medication is needed.
I've had ADHD for 20 years (diagnosed) and I can tell you that while I've learned to cope with what I have to go through, I could not do it without medication. It sounds to me like you do not fully understand this disorder and perhaps you should research it and fully be aware of what these kids go through before you say they just need a few behavior lessons.
It sounds to me that you are saying that it's not possible for this many kids to have ADHD. And you also think that it should be treated with behavior modification instead of medication. In so cases that may be true. But in other cases, medication is needed.
I've had ADHD for 20 years (diagnosed) and I can tell you that while I've learned to cope with what I have to go through, I could not do it without medication. It sounds to me like you do not fully understand this disorder and perhaps you should research it and fully be aware of what these kids go through before you say they just need a few behavior lessons.
Ok , I got the info about the 2 on Ritalin, here all teachers are informed of the learning support information.
Out of 1,400, where are our ADHD kids, hasnt there got to be something wrong in America?
"Certainly not 5 in every class but 2 or 3" What the heck, you find that acceptable??
Are you listening to yourself, they need to learn from behaviour modification. There must be a reason, why they all live there and not here dont you think?
Out of 1,400, where are our ADHD kids, hasnt there got to be something wrong in America?
"Certainly not 5 in every class but 2 or 3" What the heck, you find that acceptable??
Are you listening to yourself, they need to learn from behaviour modification. There must be a reason, why they all live there and not here dont you think?
I'm thinking that is was also a special needs class. I'm from the US and when I was growing up in the 80's, ADHD/ADD was being diagnosed a lot. I was on meds when I was 7 or 8.
At all of my schools they had the special ed classes which were kids that had things like Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and the like. They also had classes for what were considered the trouble makers, like me. Those were all the ADHD kids who disrupted their classrooms and the teachers did not want to deal with them.
At all of my schools they had the special ed classes which were kids that had things like Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and the like. They also had classes for what were considered the trouble makers, like me. Those were all the ADHD kids who disrupted their classrooms and the teachers did not want to deal with them.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Agree with Christine. The student teacher had to have been working with a "special ed" class. Many schools will group their special ed kids together. Those 25 kids could easily have been all the kids on meds in that age group, at that school.
Also wonder how you know that only 2 kids out of 1400 at your school are on Ritalin? In America, that is private information and only the school nurse could have that information, if it even was disclosed by the parents. With the longer acting meds these days, many times a teacher will not even know if a child is taking medication.
And yes, the 5 kids in every class is ridiculous. Perhaps two or three, which still is a lot, but not 5.
Also wonder how you know that only 2 kids out of 1400 at your school are on Ritalin? In America, that is private information and only the school nurse could have that information, if it even was disclosed by the parents. With the longer acting meds these days, many times a teacher will not even know if a child is taking medication.
And yes, the 5 kids in every class is ridiculous. Perhaps two or three, which still is a lot, but not 5.
That sounds more like a political accusation than a medical question.
What did the student teacher mean by "a difficult group"? Perhaps the 25 children she worked with were diagnosed with a disorder that is being treated by a MEDICAL DOCTOR with medication. Some mental illnesses HAVE to be treated with medication (schizophrenia or bipolar disorder for example) because the brain chemistry is abnormal and the medications help restore balance.
By no means are MOST children in America being treated with medication (though many would argue that in the U.S. ADHD is over diagnosed and Ritalin is over prescribed) still the majority of school age children in the US are NOT medicated.
What did the student teacher mean by "a difficult group"? Perhaps the 25 children she worked with were diagnosed with a disorder that is being treated by a MEDICAL DOCTOR with medication. Some mental illnesses HAVE to be treated with medication (schizophrenia or bipolar disorder for example) because the brain chemistry is abnormal and the medications help restore balance.
By no means are MOST children in America being treated with medication (though many would argue that in the U.S. ADHD is over diagnosed and Ritalin is over prescribed) still the majority of school age children in the US are NOT medicated.
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