ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I found this to an engaging and thought provoking article. I think that those of us who teach this age, who individualize the education for each child, are doing what the speaker is discussing. It seems that later on in education when teachers have no choice but to teach in bulk and to (cliché saying but true.) teach the test. I loved it. Thank you for sharing.

Schools contribute by not allowing children to be actively engaged and enough movement breaks throughout the day. I too discourgae use of medications as the last resort. The forms of "STRESS" and what triggers the stress responses in children has other areas, which current research has often been unable to investigate in scientific studies, though. Yes, the child may be displaying symptoms of ADHD and schools with traditional expectations guiding curriculum and learning outcomes focused on high stake testing are going to usually create stress in most children-ADHD or not diagnosed the forms of ADHD. But, what about the children who are definitely stressed out due to home environments that can be defined as dysfunctional and have been from the child's birth? There is plenty of blame to go around on which environment is stressing children-school, family, lack of a nuturing environment created by care givers and even children that have been placed in fostor care. Before educators are painted with a broad brush of bad practices some of the paint of research needs to evalute the society. Some children by birth or lack of compassionate care before arriving at school are survivors of environments creating fight or flight behaviors. It is amazing that children who have meals, clean clothes, loving relationships with adult parent figures and been taught moral values through a variety of ways-church, community groups (E.G. scouts; 4-H; Boys and Girls club; etc) seem to function well in school and with peers. Those having to deal with environments that they have no control over where the adult caregivers are dealing with a spectrum of stress factors of life, tend to have children who are struggling to fit into school settings. The brain that is in the making has been impacted by 4 years of life prior to entering schools. Schools are places where the emotional and psychomotor behaviors are finally addressed, which have been influnced by 4 years of environments from the past and throughout the child/teens life. Schools cannot control-the HOME and the parents which reside within, who often create the stress triggers.

I agree that we need to change our child programs to individualize for how each child learns. There are classroom setups that can allow ADHD students to succeed. The drugs that are being given for ADHD are dangerous if abused. Children are regulated by their parents but as those children become adolescents they have more control of their medications. Many of these drugs are sold to friends who can abuse them as well. Adderall abuse is wide spread on our college campuses today. It is in the same amphetime family as meth amphetamine. If abused it is highly addictive and can cause schitzophrenic symptoms for the abuser. It frightens me that even though it is a controlled substance this drug is widely available from those it is prescribed.

ADHD/Real/Not/Forever/Temporary
The name game is really worth much more discussion. Here are some facts.....Manic depressant was dropped for being too stereotypical and replaced with Bi-Polar. Mental Retardation replaced by mentally handicapped. Hyperactive was often a non-medical term to describe what many now call ADHD.
The fact of the matter is that for every shink and family doctor that prescribe meds for ADHD there are a smaller list that don't believe that route is the way.
This is different than say Schizophenia where non medical compliance virtually guarantees multiple episodes ultimately resulting in major brain damage just like a stroke.
ADHD is not so cut and dry. Until society pushes for alternative treatments that do not discard medication but consider them along with alternative treatments....behavioral regiments, nutritional, environmental assessment etc. this debate will drag on.
In addition, these alternative strategies must work to attain the same level of clout owned by phamaceutical companies (just consider how Obama lost to these powers and their bought off lobbyists and political representatives), and you will start to really comprehend just how unlikely that people with ADHD (not just children but all of us) will ever get a fair chance at solving the medicate or not debate.

If brain scans prove the existence of the AD/HD for an individual, what can we do to ensure this diagnostic is available to every child, to ensure that every child receives optimal treatment?

I believe there is over diagnosis AND under diagnosis. I believe many individuals are well served by Ritalin, but many children remain medicated in lieu of other strategies. I believe AD/HD is a go-to diagnosis for some educators because it is an easily understood category, but the presentation often masks what is real: Anxiety Disorder, Tourette's, Celiac's disease, or just a kinesthetic learner deprived of recess.

The pendulum swing in either direction displaces too many children. We need open and honest dialogue and a well funded educational and health system that doesn't seek pat answers.

Ensuring the first hour of the day (and noon and afternoon) contains one full hour of active outdoor play would support all children, including those in a process of diagnosis. (And no fair counting soccer practice.)

In addition to my work as an Early Childhood Educator, I work with teens at a high school serving over 80% FRLP eligible population. When we take these urban students on overnights to the woods to "reclaim their work" (volunteer tutoring) it is miraculous how the quality of thought and depth of content improves. The overstimulation of contemporary life (traffic, tight schedules, deadlines, bells, text, cell, ipod) has much to answer for.