Nearly one in five high school boys have received a medical diagnosis for ADHD

[USAF JD]

All AHAD is not the same. My kids without the meds do not do well in school as it is structured. We tried with both kids and continue with trying to finds ways to go without the meds. We were just on spring break and we experimented with skipping a few days and they are in constant motion and have a hard time with focusing on the simplest directions. It would not be fair to the other 20 kids in the class for the teacher to keep my kids on track. Could we home school or find an alternate setting for them to succeed without the meds? Maybe, but they already read and write better than me and home school brings a whole new set of issues.

My hope is that as they age they can better control it and get off the meds sooner than later, we discuss this often with them that it is not a long term solution. I am fully prepared to help them get their medical later in life if they choose to fly.

 

[douglas393]

I don't want to derail this excellent discussion with details of parent discipline. I want to continue to focus on the ADHD explosion in diagnosis.

So Jeff - there's a case for medication. Do you think your kids could do as well, or nearly as well without the medication? I'm not say that the difference be significant, but is it possible that without medication they would get through, albeit at a somewhat lower standard?

Unfortunately, I think that is the issue. The ability of parents and the school systems to appropriately deal with behavior issues has been restricted so much in the US through government regulation, that behavior issues(many of which are just part of the normal process of maturing and growing) cannot be taken care of through the normal means of behavior modification(ie there are consequences to acting badly), and are either controlled through drugs(and to give a drug you need a diagnosis), or by making the lucky few famous in reality TV shows.

It is not only with the young but it happens in hospitals, nursing homes, and I daresay in the general public on a daily basis. It is a natural offshoot of the better living through chemicals mindset.

I would daresay that the vast majority of those diagnosed with ADHD would do quite well without the diagnosis. My daughter happens to be one. She was diagnosed with ADHD, autism spectrum, auditory perceptual disorder, and Asperger's when she was younger. She ws started on drugs and as a 9 year old asked to stop them because they changed who she was. We agreed to stop them. Is she a shining example of the A student? No, but she does as well as my siblings who were not diagnosed with any of those things and did quite well. I would not be surprised if I was told if I was born twenty years later I would be walking around with one of the "A diagnosis" as well, and a daresay if all of looked at our childhoods or even at our adult behaviors few of us could truthfully say we would also not be diagnosed as such.

Human behavior is a continuum, modern society does not accept variation, but instead tries to make everyone the same, and feel good about ourselves. Unfortunately, that is a fantasy, and as a result many people are losing out on their potential.

As for the pilot aspect of this, I think the vast majority of those with one of the "A diagnosis" will probably do quite well as pilots. Before the advent of these diagnosis I am sure many of those who would have been diagnosed with it if they were born in the "more civilized 21st century" did quite well as pilots, and some of our aviation heroes probably are included in this group.

 

[docmirror]

Thanks Jeff, I know there's value is some psychological drugs, but don't know much about it, so I'm at a loss in that respect.

One thing that I found helped my kids a lot is structured physical activities, and also some unstructured time on their own. Too many kids these days don't get to go out and just 'play'. With my kids, I gave them lots of time outside, and also let them do things on their own as much as possible, without reporting back to me all the time, or having another parent supervising. Of course, at a young age we kept track of them, but by the time they were in middle school they were both mature enough to do things on their own and I trusted them to go 'play' and not get in trouble.

I think this is a lot of what's missing today. So many kids are over-structured, and don't get that time to just be kids and make believe, or goof around without adults involved. In other respects, the structured time is non-competitive. How can a kid get excited about a game where no one keeps score, and there's no grading of capability? This is the essence of life, we are all graded all the time on what we contribute. No grading on level of contribution kinda leads to -- no one contributes anymore.

 

[bbchien]

We need to eliminate the title 9 (?IIRC) subsidy of ~$6,000 to the schools for every child in mainstreaming who has ADD diagnosed and is on meds. That will chop down the "willingness" to label the kid.

However, to the person who really really had ADD/ADHD, it will be a crushing blow.

 

[wsuffa]

My daughter was way ahead of the rest of the class. I spoke to the principal to skip her past 3rd grade. There was a lot of resistance. I asked him what was the problem, she tests way ahead of the program, and I want her to be challenged. I asked him point blank if that would affect his per-student state income. He never would give me a straight answer. I told him I was going to the school board next, and he finally relented.

So, she gets into 4th, aces that and then we get to another school district and she wants to skip 6th. More fighting, more emails, more BS from the district. I have her tested and she's testing at HS level reading and math. We finally get her past 6th and into 7th grade. She aces that, and graduates out of HS in 11th grade, and starts college at 15.

The education system is broken at the admin level. The teachers often do ok, but the admins who don't spend a minute in the classroom are where much of the problem lie.

Congrats to your daughter. Quite an accomplishment.

The problems you discuss are tied to 2 things: 1) Money (see Bruce's note) and 2) teacher/school performance ("No Child Left Behind and No Child Gets Ahead"). By blending the classes between low and high performers, the class average goes up & folks get more money. At the same time, it penalizes the high performers while the low performers can skate a bit. If the school can encourage drugging the kids, it's a win-win - scores may go up, and they get more money.

I'll leave it at that before we have to move this to Spin Zone.

 

[Alexb2000]

Could this ADHD epidemic have coincided with the notion that EVERY kid is very SPECIAL and MUST attend college (and grad school)? Instead of realizing that some kids (males especially) are physical and want to be doing something physical all day. Maybe they enjoy farming, mechanics, construction, etc.....WHAT! Not my kid he is destined for the ivy league and if not that, then at a minimum a long run of power drinking at the state university level.

One of my uncles hated school, couldn't sit still, and made his teachers miserable. He left school after the eighth grade. He started his own business and became a millionaire before 30. He had a huge amount of energy and worked 100 hours a week for a lot of his life. That's what we did with someone that had ADHD before the pharma solution. Oh yeah, no one told him one time in his whole life he was "special".

 

[douglas393]

Could this ADHD epidemic have coincided with the notion that EVERY kid is very SPECIAL and MUST attend college (and grad school)? Instead of realizing that some kids (males especially) are physical and want to be doing something physical all day. Maybe they enjoy farming, mechanics, construction, etc.....WHAT! Not my kid he is destined for the ivy league and if not that, then at a minimum a long run of power drinking at the state university level.

One of my uncles hated school, couldn't sit still, and made his teachers miserable. He left school after the eighth grade. He started his own business and became a millionaire before 30. He had a huge amount of energy and worked 100 hours a week for a lot of his life. That's what we did with someone that had ADHD before the pharma solution. Oh yeah, no one told him one time in his whole life he was "special".

Your uncle is not alone. Unfortunately as I said previously the solution today is drugs and to drug someone you need a diagnosis, and with the diagnosis the schools, the doctors, the pharmacies, and others all make out quite well. I think there is a small subset where the medications are quite appropriate, but I would assert that the vast majority of kids on ADHD drugs would probably do quite well with a little old fashion behavior modification.

 

[RV10flyer]

We need to eliminate the title 9 (?IIRC) subsidy of ~$6,000 to the schools for every child in mainstreaming who has ADD diagnosed and is on meds. That will chop down the "willingness" to label the kid.

However, to the person who really really had ADD/ADHD, it will be a crushing blow.

Most but not all ADHD cases fall under a 504 Plan and are in compliance with the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and is not funded to the school districts. Compliance and accountability is overseen by the Office of Civil Rights.

An IEP under IDEA is funded.

 

[Doggtyred]

One thing I can't figure out is this: What is the rationale for prescribing stimulants for someone who is hyperactive?

What you perceive as hyperactive is actually an underactive attention center. By stimulating the attention center, the subject can then focus, slow down and deal with the task at hand.

 

[ebykowsky]

I skipped 4th grade. Went from one side of a two-class room to the other side. I would never recommend and would never let my child skip a grade. Talented and gifted, advanced classes, extra-curricular, you name it, but the social, emotional and physical difference is too great.
Yes, I started on the basketball team when I was a senior and played lead in school plays, sang in the groups and all of that but putting one ahead of one's peers age-wise is fraught with peril. There are better alternatives. If the kid is really in that intellectual league, then home schooling or an elite private school would be better. Class mates can be the cruelest persons you will ever know.

I really have to disagree with you here, or at least put a little *your experiences may differ asterisk by your comment. While you may have had a rough time with the grade skip, I would say that most of the people I've talked to who have done this have been really happy with the decision. I would say that doing it at 4th grade is a bit extreme, but for me, I found that I ended up fitting in better in a higher grade. Sure, everyone knew I was almost 2 years younger than everyone else, but it didn't matter much, and I would have been bored to tears a grade behind. I'm the kind of person who just needs to keep going and taking on challenges and feeling that sense of achievement. Many can just sit down and say, "cool, I have it really easy, so I'm just gonna sit back and do nothing" but there are quite a few who can't. This is what made me want to skip a grade, and it was I who made this decision, not my parents (who didn't want me to do it as much as I did). I felt as though I needed to in order to stay engaged in school and continue learning since I'd already exhausted all of my advanced learning options. So, yeah, for some it clearly isn't the right decision, but you really have to gauge it on an individual basis--and quite honestly, I still ended up not feeling as challenged in high school as I should have been, so I said "Screw it, I'm gonna get my pilot's license!"

 

[Bill Watson]

The real problem behind all the over-diagnosing is (surprise, surprise) the government. You want to see these shenanigans stop? That's easy:

1. Stop subsidizing school districts for diagnosing and drugging these kids. This is not a situation in which schools actually incur additional instructional costs. Kids diagnosed with ADHD go to the same classes and are taught by the same teachers. The only difference is that they may be allowed additional time to take tests, may be allowed to take breaks and walk around in the middle of tests, etc.

2. Stop making these kids eligible for SSI. First of all, they're kids. They don't work, anyway. What economic hardship is their disability causing them? Secondly, the only additional costs are the medications, which usually are paid for by insurance or Medicaid. So unless the parents can prove significant additional costs as a result of the "condition," don't give them any money.

I have quite a bit of experience with school districts pushing parents to allow their kids to be diagnosed so they can get the subsidies, and I've come across some poor parents who seek the diagnoses because the SSI income would supplement whatever other income they receive. Stop those subsidies, and watch the number of cases take a tumble.

The attached is a screen shot of a Google search I just did on the phrase "get disability for adhd." Note the number of law firms advertising on the page, and the number of links to questions posted by people who want to do this or forums explaining how to do it. Getting a paycheck for for a dubious diagnosis of ADHD (or facilitating that process) has become a cottage industry.

SSI disability is being abused, abused a lot no doubt. But no one lives well on SSI disability. Our tendency to blame government support for the poor for every problem misses the mark on this one.

Walk the manicured grounds of any top university and you find more ADHD Rx products prescribed and for illegal sale than you'll find any where else. Those kids are our best possible future and there are very little if any SSI disability payments at the core of that.

It's an amphetamine drug addiction problem that will be maintained by the naive addicts and the private corporations that benefit from it.

Wait until you see it go bust.

 

[Skylane81E]

SSI disability sure doesn't let you live well, bro in law is slightly functional autistic and gets benefits. While they help my mother in law get by, it isn't making them rich (or even comfortable) by any means.

 

[bbchien]

Most but not all ADHD cases fall under a 504 Plan and are in compliance with the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and is not funded to the school districts. Compliance and accountability is overseen by the Office of Civil Rights.

An IEP under IDEA is funded.

Illinois' compliance plan for section 504, when they essentially ended "special ed" to the max amount allowed by the courts, does involve compensation, but IIRC it's all at the state level.....

It is a really hot topic in our district......

 

[wsuffa]

SSI disability is being abused, abused a lot no doubt. But no one lives well on SSI disability. Our tendency to blame government support for the poor for every problem misses the mark on this one.

Not necessarily true. There are circumstances where one can get SSI and corporate LTD. Folks that can get that can live quite well indeed.

 

[docmirror]

Someone mentioned that previous generations have likely under-diagnosed ADHD and various other psychological disorders. Well, I gotta say, for a generation that did things without the 'benefit' of ADHD, etc they did pretty darn good.

I look at the remarkable advancements of the past 150 years, and I am gobsmacked. In ag, we've got the thresher, the gin, and various other automated planting and harvesting machines that increased crop production by a factor of maybe 20 or better. In chemistry we've got plastics, advanced metals, ceramics, and various properties in between. In nuclear physics we've split the atom, then we've compressed it back together again(fusion). Transportation, health, longevity, etc.

All this was done by generations that had the wherewithal to just go out and do it - apologies to Nike. I look at what my parents generation did in warfare. In the span of 6 years, the allies defeated, nay - crushed the axis powers. Now - here we are 10+ years later, and we can't or won't clean up some 2nd century savages from a dirt poor scrub of poppy field. It's incredible when you sit down and take stock.

Hard work and the burning desire in your gut to survive and prosper is missing in so many young kids. They see their parents slacking around, doing only what is required to survive, whether they are on a disability, or have a job and the kids think the future is going to be rolled out and fed to them on a spoon! And yes, I'm aware of the parallels with previous civilizations that have said this, and look where they are now! The Greeks - gone to seed, Romans, defeated not on the battlefield but in their own country. The Norse, internecine strife and the middle countries many of them subjugated by the Euro-American expansion.

My generation was going to do it right. We weren't going to make the mistakes of our fathers, and now with all this largesse via debt we are making a catastrophic mistake, but it's going to take another 10 years before the truth is revealed, and the kids we're raising aren't going to be able to solve it. We're not giving them the tools, and we're coddling them far too much to be able to stand up to someone like Hitler or Stalin, or even Pol Pot and do what needs to be done.

Maybe a bit extreme when were talking about ADHD much of the youth coming out of the states like CA and NY have no clue how to survive. Diagnosing them, and then medicating them into good little automatons is going to be a large part of our eventual collapse. Anyone who hasn't read his Gibbon is living a lie, and foisting on their kids.

 

[koehn]

The issue with ADHD is that we’re trying to figure out what makes one kid learn while another kid doesn’t. When I was in school there were always a bunch of kids in every class who just didn’t “get it” (thankfully I wasn’t one). Those kids muddled through school, probably hating every minute of it, and probably don’t realize their potential as adults. That’s a gross under-utilization of resources for our nation.

Nowadays we’re trying to figure out why that happens and how to get more of those kids educated, because let’s face it, there are fewer and fewer jobs available to those who don’t have a solid education, and we need everybody working their tails off if we’re going to have a future.

The effort to try to “fix it” falls on our under-funded public education system, because that’s where the rubber meets the road for many of these kids. So educators coming out of school are trained in more diagnostic habits to try to tailor as much as they can the education they’re giving to twenty or thirty kids in an effort to get as much critical thinking into their heads as possible (there’s very little emphasis on rote memorization of facts in most teacher training these days because there’s so little value in memorizing facts in the age of the internet).

The vast majority teachers are women who haven’t had kids of their own yet, and have little experience at being or raising a boy. So guess what happens to kids who don’t fit in? Mostly they’re boys, and since there needs to be a reason that they’re not getting it, and the reason cannot be because the teachers don’t understand how to educate boys as much as they do girls (given that 90% of public school teachers were once girls themselves), and since NCLB gives them an easy out in the form of a 504, we have the mess we’re in now.

Now given that today’s problems are tomorrow’s solutions, and that by extension we’re creating tomorrow’s problems with today’s solutions, you should fully expect the education to react in its usual politics-driven, knee-jerk way by coming up with some half-assed overpriced “solution” to the “crisis” of ADHD in boys. When the reality probably is that you simply don’t educate boys in the same ways that you do girls, and that’s about it. But we’ll label them this way because that’s easy and it keep keeps the dollars flowing.

Getting some more male teachers into the system would go a long way for a whole lot less money. They will have the same innate understanding of male behavior that women teachers do of female behavior. But we’re in ‘Murica, and in ‘Murica education is based on politics, so we’ll find the way that’s most expensive while giving the least-valuable results.

 

[Skylane81E]

I do believe that ADHD and the like were under diagnosed in the past, but such a thing does not allow us to label every active inquisitive, and often board boy (and girls to a lesser extent) as ill and to pump them full of drugs.

It is similar to why I am not convicted that Autism is on the rise. The identification of it as a spectrum disorder has meant many more people are being diagnosed, people who would have had it 50 years ago but would have been given a different label.

 

[Alexb2000]

The issue with ADHD is that we’re trying to figure out what makes one kid learn while another kid doesn’t. When I was in school there were always a bunch of kids in every class who just didn’t “get it” (thankfully I wasn’t one). Those kids muddled through school, probably hating every minute of it, and probably don’t realize their potential as adults. That’s a gross under-utilization of resources for our nation.

Interesting paragraph. What do the kids that "get it" know how to do when they get out of college that makes them so valuable to society? They sure know how to drink and party, but they don't know squat about work or life responsibilities.

ADHD is just a sign that we are going against nature. Nature being that some young men are physical and want to work with their hands and actually accomplish something tangible in a day. Qualities that used to be considered good for society until we decided that formal education was the only way a young person could be of any value and reach their "potential".

Let's just hope we never run out of foreigners to machine our aircraft parts, grow our food, build our cars, and give us a never ending line of credit; while our "special kids" sit around trading emails and attending conference calls for the advancement of our society.

 

[docmirror]

Interesting paragraph. What do the kids that "get it" know how to do when they get out of college that makes them so valuable to society? They sure know how to drink and party, but they don't know squat about work or life responsibilities.

ADHD is just a sign that we are going against nature. Nature being that some young men are physical and want to work with their hands and actually accomplish something tangible in a day. Qualities that used to be considered good for society until we decided that formal education was the only way a young person could be of any value and reach their "potential".

Let's just hope we never run out of foreigners to machine our aircraft parts, grow our food, build our cars, and give us a never ending line of credit; while our "special kids" sit around trading emails and attending conference calls for the advancement of our society.

My kid will graduate knowing how to sequence a genome, and to modify them with some success. She can also make plasmids and carriers for various genetic transforms. She's worked in the lab as a summer intern at two well respected labs. This summer she is doing a lab internship with Phillips 66 and I've asked her to work with them on non-lead avgas, or a synthetic avgas replacement fuel. She doesn't drink, changes the oil in her car, is a student pilot, and all around a pretty likeable person. All is not lost, but there are a lot of kids coming out of college who have gotten or will get a very cold slap in the face once they graduate.

The ADHD kids do grow up. Are they going to stay on medication for the rest of their lives so that they can be more 'productive' in society? It scares me that this may be where we are headed. I can't for the life of me understand that 25% of the gen pop will be taking psycho drugs so that they can do their day to day jobs. It's just mind-boggling.

 

[Alexb2000]

My kid will graduate knowing how to sequence a genome, and to modify them with some success. She can also make plasmids and carriers for various genetic transforms. She's worked in the lab as a summer intern at two well respected labs. This summer she is doing a lab internship with Phillips 66 and I've asked her to work with them on non-lead avgas, or a synthetic avgas replacement fuel. She doesn't drink, changes the oil in her car, is a student pilot, and all around a pretty likeable person. All is not lost, but there are a lot of kids coming out of college who have gotten or will get a very cold slap in the face once they graduate.

The ADHD kids do grow up. Are they going to stay on medication for the rest of their lives so that they can be more 'productive' in society? It scares me that this may be where we are headed. I can't for the life of me understand that 25% of the gen pop will be taking psycho drugs so that they can do their day to day jobs. It's just mind-boggling.

I'm not suggesting there is one answer for everyone. If your daughter can do all that... Wonderful. We desperately need that kind of real world skill. "Trades" if you forgive the expression that require a college education to perform like medicine, engineering, etc. are not what I was talking about.

I'm referencing the notion that every kid MUST be able to regurgitate trivial points from Jane Eyre if they are going to amount to anything in life is just laughable to me. If that same kid acts up when asked to do so and we put them on psycho drugs; well that seems criminal.

 

[docmirror]

Yep, I agree with you Alex. We do need people to do 'normal' workday stuff. Imagine someone working in a factory that needs their meds to make them productive, just as they needed it to be productive in the classroom. Or, do people grow out of ADHD? Or, is there a latency product that changes from ADHD to the opposite spectrum? I sure don't know, but all the drugs being delivered to kids now is going to change who they are when they get older.

I guess I got a little defensive about the generalization of college kids. My two work their azzes off, and so do many of their peers. But there is a lot of BS going on in US univ.

 

[RV10flyer]

Getting some more male teachers into the system would go a long way for a whole lot less money. They will have the same innate understanding of male behavior that women teachers do of female behavior. But we’re in ‘Murica, and in ‘Murica education is based on politics, so we’ll find the way that’s most expensive while giving the least-valuable results.

I like this idea. Is it possible to get very many male teachers with 15 years of teaching experience and a Master's degree(required in Ky at ones own expense) to work for $3,000/month take-home pay?? I don't think so, but that is typical here with insurance for yourself and not your family. The average teacher spends $100/mo of personal money on their classroom.

It would be nice to see more solutions mentioned, but many of us(including me)on this site do not have training in the education field. Being a teacher today is not as easy as some may think. We don't want to pay anymore taxes, but we want more accomplished. It appears that this is what we are stuck with. If one decides to take them to a private school with ADHD, they can ask you to leave. If able to volunteer at your local school for a few days with an experienced teacher, it will make things much clearer.

Remember, we are spending an average of $10,600/yr on every child and $30,000/yr on every prisoner. "Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a main B bus undervolt."

 

[X3 Skier]

It is similar to why I am not convicted that Autism is on the rise. The identification of it as a spectrum disorder has meant many more people are being diagnosed, people who would have had it 50 years ago but would have been given a different label.

Cheers

 

[koehn]

I like this idea. Is it possible to get very many male teachers with 15 years of teaching experience and a Master’s degree(required in Ky at ones own expense) to work for $3,000/month take-home pay?? I don’t think so, but that is typical here with insurance for yourself and not your family. The average teacher spends $100/mo of personal money on their classroom.

It would be nice to see more solutions mentioned, but many of us(including me)on this site do not have training in the education field. Being a teacher today is not as easy as some may think. We don’t want to pay anymore taxes, but we want more accomplished. It appears that this is what we are stuck with. If one decides to take them to a private school with ADHD, they can ask you to leave. If able to volunteer at your local school for a few days with an experienced teacher, it will make things much clearer.

Remember, we are spending an average of $10,600/yr on every child and $30,000/yr on every prisoner. “Houston, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a main B bus undervolt.”

I’ve been watching my wife go through teacher certification and now her Masters degree. In Minnesota teachers are paid reasonably well (better than the figures you mention; although she could earn more in the private sector, this isn’t what she wants to do). It’s amazing how much the training has changed.

I think it’s a shame that so many kids are put on drugs for a disorder that probably is massively overdiagnosed and poorly understood. That’s not to say that there aren’t kids for whom drugs are a huge relief, but if the numbers are 20-25% then they’re no longer an aberration and the solution involves improving the system. Sadly that’s just not going to happen quickly.

 

[bbchien]

Maybe a bit extreme when were talking about ADHD much of the youth coming out of the states like CA and NY have no clue how to survive. Diagnosing them, and then medicating them into good little automatons is going to be a large part of our eventual collapse. Anyone who hasn't read his Gibbon is living a lie, and foisting on their kids.

Chapter 6. In which the Senate of Rome discovers it can vote itself wealth, from the common weal.

 

[ebykowsky]

Here's an online ADHD test; it's almost exactly the same as every other one online, and it's reviewed and endorsed by a doctor (whatever that means to you). Quite frankly, I'm sure this is what the majority of teachers, if not doctors are using to score students. I'd wager $.02 that every one of you scores at least "Moderate ADHD."
http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

 

[X3 Skier]

Here's an online ADHD test; it's almost exactly the same as every other one online, and it's reviewed and endorsed by a doctor (whatever that means to you). Quite frankly, I'm sure this is what the majority of teachers, if not doctors are using to score students. I'd wager $.02 that every one of you scores at least "Moderate ADHD."
http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

I rated Moderate.

How did I graduate Engineering School, collect two Graduate degrees, one Business, one Engineering, complete a 32 year career in aircraft development winding up as Chief Engineer of the F-22 and C-17, complete a second career as a Consultant to every USA major aircraft and engine company, return to flying after a 40 year break and remain married for 49 years to my wife. AND win an Academy Award and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Well maybe not the last two.

Cheers

 

[ebykowsky]

I would think we all answer often to this one:

How often are you easily distracted by something in your environment, like a noise or another conversation?

Also, isn't this a good characteristic??? :

How often do you feel like you're "on the go," compelled to do things, or feel like you're "driven by a motor?"

^^^That's a trait of many successful entrepreneurs and businessmen.

Gotta go; helicopter just flew overhead! Oh now I see 2 more!!!

 

[Skylane81E]

I surprised I scored low, as I sit here fighting in my chair watching TV and surfing 4 forums...

 

[Garthur]

ADHD is the biggest joke of the decade. Number 1 if you have it, you are not mentally deficient. The people who have ADHD are the survivors in a bad situation. As an example, if you are in the jungle, you need to be aware of everything going on around you so that lion doesn't tear your head off. Don't be concentrating on any one thing or you will miss that one thing that could kill you.

Several articles have been written from "experts" that ADHD is the most important quality for the man living in the wild or in the military, or a pilot. Yes, a pilot!

Modern society has declared the ability to be aware of and react to a given situation quickly as a bad thing. It is just easier to declare this a disease and medicate for this. The education system just needs to adjust their system to teach students with this. The people that run the schools are not smart enough to see this.

I just realized why Zombies are such a part or are culture now. If someone is medicated for ADHD they appear to be out of it (Zombies).

 

[docmirror]

The people who have ADHD are the survivors in a bad situation. As an example, if you are in the jungle, you need to be aware of everything going on around you so that lion doesn't tear your head off. Don't be concentrating on any one thing or you will miss that one thing that could kill you.

Several articles have been written from "experts" that ADHD is the most important quality for the man living in the wild or in the military, or a pilot. Yes, a pilot!

When I confronted my kid's teacher I used some of the same arguments. I told her being a pilot is about managing many different systems and keeping all the balls in the air without dropping one. ADHD is almost a requirement for good pilotage and it is definitely a benefit in a combat flying role. She moved on to something else, and I brought her back to it, and she didn't have any answer. I recall asking her if the medication of ADHD was going to make my kid better, or her environment better? She passed on that answer too.

 

[Becky]

ADHD is the biggest joke of the decade. Number 1 if you have it, you are not mentally deficient. The people who have ADHD are the survivors in a bad situation. As an example, if you are in the jungle, you need to be aware of everything going on around you so that lion doesn't tear your head off. Don't be concentrating on any one thing or you will miss that one thing that could kill you.

Several articles have been written from "experts" that ADHD is the most important quality for the man living in the wild or in the military, or a pilot. Yes, a pilot!

Modern society has declared the ability to be aware of and react to a given situation quickly as a bad thing. It is just easier to declare this a disease and medicate for this. The education system just needs to adjust their system to teach students with this. The people that run the schools are not smart enough to see this.

I just realized why Zombies are such a part or are culture now. If someone is medicated for ADHD they appear to be out of it (Zombies).

Yes. ADHD exists, but has been misused and co-opted by the dysfunctional society-shaping forces that do that so well. We're relegating a very capable, gifted strata of our young people to the sidelines, 'til they wake up and get themselves off the meds. Many do. Part of our job as parents is to do a little shunting around of trajectories to make the best application outcomes of our kids' strengths and interests.

A family member of mine was diagnosed (brain scan, evaluation, medication, etc. etc.) with ADHD. Many of you with some kind of ADHD observation or experience will probably agree when I say that some persons with ADHD often can focus perfectly well, and even better than most, WHEN THE SUBJECT INTERESTS THEM.

Happily, said family member took themselves off Adderall and proceeded to achieve stellar educational/career goals. The comment was made the other day that they now have "Attention Surplus Disorder."

Once a focus-challenged individual has an interest take hold, there's no stopping 'em. Provided we don't drug them into oblivion.

 

[Daveroo]

ok..about ADD/ADHD..i saw something in the posts about the fact that they changed ADD to ADHD,but over all im confused about the entire thing...when i was in school,my teachers sent home report cards telling my parents i didnt apply myself,,i didnt try hard enough,i didnt enteract well with the other students..but instead of trying to find out why i was shy around the other kids and why i was struggling with my studdies,they just called me lasy and appathetic..i barely made it through high school,College wasnt even on my radar because i knew i couldnt do it,but im not stupid,i became a plumber at age 18 (offically,id accaully went to work age 12),on my 18th birthday i joined the local Volunteer fire department,which became a part time paid possition,and i also began racing cars at 17..i was very good with engines,and even better with race car chassis,i even was asked to join a busch series team in 1983 in NC as a future nascar driver..but that fell through due to money...

my point to all of this....i did not learn any of my plumbing skills,firefighting (i was an engineer,ran the pumps) skills,and my skills of working on race cars..and driving..did not come from books or from a school teacher talking his/her head to oblivion...i had to accualy do it hands on to learn,its been the only way ive ever been able to learn anything really..i love to read and watch movies...but i retain almost none of it...so i can enjoy them over and over...lol..so..i was told by a shrink that i am adhd..but i was not treated for it......so..since i was not medically treated...nor am i prone to hyperactivity,its strictly a learning thing....MSflight sim has taught me alot...but would that stop me from being a pilot?

 

[AuntPeggy]

I also found myself as Moderate in your little quiz. My teachers never quite knew what to do with me 50+ years ago. I was often considered slightly retarded. That made it hard for me to stay enrolled in science and math classes--but I loved those subjects, so persisted in demanding those classes. In fact, my first husband reminded me often that he needed to have the say in all family matters because I was "damaged." Eventually, a friend angrily enrolled me in an independent proctored IQ test. That is how I ended up a member of Mensa.

I have a son who had problems throughout all his school years, but he would always test in the 97 percentile on standardized tests. His teachers tried to get him put on drugs. I believed that they did not know how to handle him properly and offered to teach them or to attend classes to do it. No, instead, he simply went through years of being told he just couldn't do well in school. Finally, he went to college and totally failed the first year. Then, he figured out that college required him to take charge of his own education and he spent the rest of his college years on the Deans list.

I think that teacher colleges don't know how to help children learn. Especially those who are smart.

 

[Jaybird180]

Here's an online ADHD test; it's almost exactly the same as every other one online, and it's reviewed and endorsed by a doctor (whatever that means to you). Quite frankly, I'm sure this is what the majority of teachers, if not doctors are using to score students. I'd wager $.02 that every one of you scores at least "Moderate ADHD."
http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

I thought I did well. Then I paid enough attention to realize I didn't do so well as I thought. Do I need a ..... Will you stop touching me!

 

[bbchien]

When I confronted my kid's teacher I used some of the same arguments. I told her being a pilot is about managing many different systems and keeping all the balls in the air without dropping one. ADHD is almost a requirement for good pilotage and it is definitely a benefit in a combat flying role. She moved on to something else, and I brought her back to it, and she didn't have any answer. I recall asking her if the medication of ADHD was going to make my kid better, or her environment better? She passed on that answer too.

You should have asked her about subsidies that the school district may be able to get "per child" when the child is "special".

Push them pills.

 

[douglas393]

Here's an online ADHD test; it's almost exactly the same as every other one online, and it's reviewed and endorsed by a doctor (whatever that means to you). Quite frankly, I'm sure this is what the majority of teachers, if not doctors are using to score students. I'd wager $.02 that every one of you scores at least "Moderate ADHD."
http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm

Probably because the second half of the test also describes a type A personality, which also probably describes most pilots.

 

[Tristar]

When I was real young I had a teacher tell my mom that I had ADHD. (No official diagnosis or anything). Apparently he was very good at convincing with my bad grades and inattention in class that I was held back. I aced my next year of that grade. Turns out I just really hated that teacher and was at a point that I was discouraged and thought I couldn't learn. He disciplined me constantly and was extremely boring. It was like trying to learn math from Ben Stein and then being punished for stacking erasers. I was very lucky that nothing went any further than that and the rest of my school went fine and deans list in college. Many aren't so lucky.

 

[Tristar]

That test doesn't look like an ADHD test, it looks like a laziness test!!


....oh look!! A squirrel!!

 

[Jeff Oslick]

....oh look!! A squirrel!!

Where??