Rant about Kids.

Labels are the new hip scape goat for shi!!y parenting. If you look up the San Antonio area foster service website and look at almost all the discriptions of those kids, they have ADD, ADHD, and a new one: Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
If you're wondering like me what that last one is, it is a label that say's that this kid has first been screwed and neglected by sorry parents, and now he is being screwed and neglected by an even sorryer State, and he's mad as hell about it. That- my friends is what Oppositional Defiant Disorder is.
Yes my cousin is also labeled with that. It is that lable that entitles the kiddy farm to keep him on sedatives, anti-depressants, and almost every other chemical mood altering drug around.
About six months ago I posted my opinion on all of this stuff. In a nut-shell:

These kids are neglected from birth. Not just foster kids, but almost all American kids. As soon as momma's maternity leave is up, she puts him in a daycare center where the only adult influence is when he throws a temper tantrum, and is sent to "time out". Other than that the kid doesn't receive any one on one time with a responsible caring adult. How much could those workers care for your kid when they each have 12 kids to look after, and they're only getting minimum wage?
About the only thing you'll be guaranteed is that when you pick him up, he'll be alive. Socialization is the buzz word to keep the parents from feeling guilty about this abandonment, but socialization is way over-rated. This type of socialization tends to allow the kid to grow older, but not grow up. He is more bent on impressing his peers than impressing an adult.
Anyway, when mom shows up to pick him up, they go home where she is too tired to spend much time with him, and so she sits him in front of the TV, and his REAL education takes place. He plays video games, and other mindless things, but loses any hope of being a true social member of the family. Of course all of this is for a good cause because mom and dad need a new suburban every year, along with a lexus, and a nice house in a nice neighborhood.
So little Johnny goes through his formative years being denied the social interaction that all social animals need. He becomes SUPRISE: ANTI-SOCIAL.
His anti-social ways earn him all the appropriate lables and he is given the Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs to cope with his outbursts.
What is pathetic is that we don't treat animals as badly as we treat our own kids. Neglect is the worst form of child abuse going, and it is also the most prevalent.
Funny how all (100% verified)the little monsters who have gone on shooting rampages in the past ten years have been on some sort of psychotropic chemical (prescibed), and with the exception of two of the monsters, they were all on Ritalin. Funny how nobody wants to blame the drugs, but the guns are fair play.
I would almost have to agree with WestVirginia. I believe that the Psychiatric profession has made an ass of themselves by not prescibing the appropriate levels of Human interaction instead of sedatives. I know a lady with 3 very normal kids, and two are already on Ritalin, and the other one she is already talking about getting a prescription before he starts school as he is too rambunctious. Can you believe it?

They aught to throw her in prison. When one of her kids finally loses it and shoots somebody, everyone will be on TV talking about what good parents he had.

Anyway, I'm going to ease into this. I'll be picking him up for the first time in September, and I'm going to take him fishing where I work. I think I'm going to make a difference.
 
I had to include this:
I just got back from buying some bushes to plant in the front yard (prickly holly bushes right under the windows - it discourages intruders :) ) and the woman who runs the place had her daughter with her. When I came in the girl was doing little chores around the place.
The daughter, cute little bug probably six or seven years old, was sitting behind the register when I paid. The mom let her daughter figure out the change. It took a little longer for her to work it through but that didn't bother me. I made sure to praise/encourage her.
Okay, maybe it was trivial but it did my heart good.
Again, kjm, I wish you the best.

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Those who use arms well cultivate the Way and keep the rules.Thus they can govern in such a way as to prevail over the corrupt- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
 
My main problem with ADD, ADHD and Defiant Disorder is one that someone mentioned above, but it looked like it got missed.

The problem is that ADD, ADHD and Defiant Disorder are NOT actual disorders as far as anyone can tell. They are ONLY sets of symptoms.

See, if you have a runny nose, a cough, and watery eyes, you have the SYMPTOMS of a cold. So the doctor checks and if he finds evidence of the virus that causes a cold, THEN he prescribes medicines to control the symptoms until the virus goes away. That's because the doctor knows you might not have a cold; you might have allergies, or you might just have rubbed your face with something you shouldn't have. He looks for the CAUSE.

With ADD and ADHD, he can't do that. There IS no known cause or definite indicator to look for--only the symptoms. So your kid might be defiant because he has some kind of "disorder" but he might just be a defiant kid who doesn't like authority. Your kid might be unable to pay attention or he might be choosing not to do so. The doctor can't tell, so he prescribes drugs that mask the symptoms. Well, masking the symptoms is NOT a treatment of the disorder! Morphine isn't considered a treatment of cancer, for God's sake.

I'm ranting now so I'll let this one go. But I've seen this a lot in my very very very short career as a teacher and I expect it to get worse before it gets better.
 
I guess the idea is to get them started on soma early. This way they'll want it all their lives.

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"Get yourself a Lorcin and lose that nickel plated sissy pistol."
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Don Gwinn:
So your kid might be defiant because he has some kind of "disorder" but he might just be a defiant kid who doesn't like authority.[/quote]

"Yes, unusually intelligent children can sometimes appear to be stupid. However, stupid children can appear to be stupid as well. Yes, I know it's painful to consider." -- Dr. Standish, "The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul."

Sorry, just had to inject a bit of humo(u)r into a really depressing subject. :-/
 
It's not completely depressing. :)
The kid has someone who cares about him and that's more than many have.

I wish you the best of luck, K. You'll need it, but hopefully, it will be worth it all.
 
Ok here is there real Problem. ADD and ADHD are a real problem for some kids. But not that many kids actually have it. I have it, or should say had. And let me tell you that if you really have it you are not just figity or a bit out there. You can NOT concentrate on anything. You will set there and tell yourself to concentrate on something and then completely forget what you were trying to remember.

Now we all have this happen occasionaly but with ADD it is constant. I tried Drugs. They F-ed me up bad. I could not sit still. My mind was going faster than I could proccess information. They tried a couple meds withing about 3 months. I finally had my Mother drive me to the Doc who prescribed them. I dumped them on his desk and told him if they were so great then he should take them cause I sure wasn't going to anymore.

I used mind exercises and meditation to control the way I thought and acted. And guess what! I did a hell of a lot better. The meds made it worse. for some people they do help. I have seen it... But they were not for me. Oh I still have some problems with it. I have trouble keeping on something for long periods of time and have some problems with organazation. But I would say I am at 85%-90% of what a "normal" person would be.

Ahh the Counselor who sent me to the doctor? She now reviews every case herself that comes back from the doctor. (she has a PHD herself) and she recommends meds as a LAST resort only. Of course this was a private school and that kind of action would get her fired in Public schools.
 
WestVirginia....welcome to TFL! :)

A few more points: School districts can't diagnose ADHD or prescribe medication. That can only be done by a doctor. School Psychologists (not psychiatrists) will do observational checklists and/or standardized testing and write up their findings as to what behaviors may be "statistically significant" (abnormal to one degree or another). But those reports are to be taken to the child's doctor and the child should be given a thorough work up (not just a 15 minute office visit). As I mentioned before, there are many causes for "hyper" behavior (and yes, that is a relative term) and short attention spans: becoming a "sound bite" society, faster technology, video game babysitters, less family time, neglect, allergies etc. And like Gwinny said, the behaviors we see are symptoms of a bigger problem. Also, not all kids are with attention problems are hyper. Many have an inability to concentrate but don't act up at all. It is up to the doctor and the parents to do *everything* in their power to figure out what that problem is. And if a parent chooses to administer medication without looking into all the facts and options...well, they need a giant dope slap!

Also, while a full educational evaluation may indicate that the child has a learning disability or special needs, the school can only make recommendations as to how to help the child. The parent is in the driver seat with full control. That is federal law. No child is placed in special education without parent consent. We would much rather try less invasive means of helping the child. Trust me, while the school district does get some money for special education students, we would much rather they stay in regular ed! And we don't get more money if the student has more than one disability. School districts are losing much more money for special ed students than they are gaining. The reason why? We are battling lawsuit after lawsuit from parents determined to get their kids labeled as special ed. I was involved in 2 last year, and already at least 2 this year. And the kicker? Even if our findings show that the child does have a learning disorder, or is ED or whatever, the parents want to choose the label and services (usually every service possible whether or not it is needed), they don't want our professional opinions. What's up with that? What happened to the "stigma" of having a "handicapped" child? They have become the SUV's of the education world...everyone's gotta have one....custom ordered at that. Parents are raking in the dough for having a "handicapped" child: SSI, Medi-Cal, extra services provided by professionals and para professionals, computers, materials...the list goes on and on.

If you want to complain about something it should be about the good kids who are being robbed of their education by these other students and their parents. Our meetings in the above mentioned cases often are 8 hours long with no resolution. That is time taken away from kids who need us....time that we can't get back. And it is not unusual to have at least 10 teachers/administrators at these meetings...along with all the other people brought by the parents and lawyers, so the effect is widespread. Too bad we can't put as much effort into helping all the good kids.

No, I don't advocate the use of medication, but I think we need to look at each child on a case by case basis and get all the facts and exhaust all avenues for diagnosing what is wrong. Then, when all else has failed, we *try* medication if it is indicated...and monitor if there truly is a benefit. I agree that we are overmedicating our children (rather than parenting in many cases), but I stand by what I said about knowing children who have benefited from it when all else has failed. And those parents are continuing to explore options, as they should be.

Oh, and even though this is way too long (sorry Dennis ;) ), here is the obligatory gun reference. My autistic (ha!) student (who is one of the most verbal children I have ever worked with) threatened to get a gun and kill me. He did this more than once. I documented it and told my Administrator, but because we are in litigation over this case nothing is being done about these threats. I take them seriously...he is very disturbed...but no one is watching my back but me. :(
 
Ottergal,

Thank you for your congenial response. In retrospect I came on a bit strong and for that I apologize. You didn't have to be so nice in your response but I appreciate that you were.

Now, as I said, I was five at the time and have never sat down w/Mom to get the details. And as to the psychologist vs psychiatrist, I'm an accountant. I haven't a clue the exact title. I do think it was a psychiatrist though, because he prescribed the drug. You also have to remember that this was around '77 or '78, and in West Virginia. In West Virginia there is this little law (as should be everywhere) that says to the effect "Any student who cannot or will not decist from being disruptive to others MUST be removed from the classroom". This is how the teacher "strong-armed" my Mother into putting me on the drugs, by saying she would make my parents pay for private school if "something wasn't done". As it says in my profile, I'm a bean counter, and know little about the administration of government schools other than my 8-week old daughter will probably never see one.

Still, no one has even addressed the underlying question - How do you tell if someone has ADD? If I have a sinus infection, the doctor can prove that by demonstrating the bacteria in my sinus cavities. Cancer, he can prove it by showing the differences in the cells. Kidney stones? You can't argue with the pictures showing rocks in the bladder. Prove to me someone has ADD! Show me an objective criteria! Until then, I am assuming that anyone who agrees with giving Ritalin to a child has not looked at all the facts and hasn't thought this through.

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Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
 
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