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Quoted message said:"Mark ProbertJanuary 31, 2004" <[email hidden]> wrote
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Quoted message said:Eric Bohlman <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:> [email hidden] ([email hidden]) wrote in
> news:[email hidden]:
>
> > The increase of Ritalin use among children in our society has
bothered
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:> > me for a long time. It seems to me to be another symptom of the
mass
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:> > desire for a quick fix and to absolve oneself of parental
> > responsibility. The overcrowding of classrooms and the burden of
the
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:> > teacher to cope with children who have not been socialized before
> > starting school is a major factor. By this I mean that children
start
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:> > school without proper preparation: basic manners, respect for
> > authority figures (teachers), understanding what parents expect of
> > them as students, such as preparing for each day, getting homework
> > done, clothes picked out, lunch ready, etc. 25 unprepared first
> > graders are bound to create a chaotic environment which once
> > established, feeds on itself.
>
> Your conjecture is quite easy to disprove: if ADD were really the
result
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:of
Quoted message said:> bad parenting and lack of discipline, you wouldn't see all the cases
where
Quoted message said:> one child shows the clear symptoms of ADD but his/her siblings who
share
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:> the same home environment don't.
>
> Kids with ADD *do* understand the importance of what's expected for
them,
Quoted message said:> they just have an extremely difficult time putting it into practice
(just
Quoted message said:> as a kid with poor eyesight can understand the importance of reading
what's
Quoted message said:> on the blackboard, but can't always do it).
I'm not disputing the existence of ADD, only what I see as a blanket
diagnosis for any kid who is having problems in school.
The good news is that it is not a blanket diagnosis as you claim. Kids
who
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:are not learning are being carefully examined since it was mandated in
1991
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:and are being diagnosed with ASD, AD/HD, PDD and all sorts of learning
problems. The simple fact is that we are now looking to see why kids do
not
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:learn, and are doing soemthing about it.
Quoted message said:I also think that most kids would claim that they understand the
importance of good behavior. You don't have to have ADD to be unable
to practice good behavior.
Correct. Many AD/HD kids have great behavior, when they can control
their
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:impulses, which requires medication.
Also, many kids have bad behavior, do not have clearcut ADD, and are
given meds anyway.
You have made a specific claim, i.e. "that many kids have bad behavior, do
not have clearcut ADD, and are given meds anyway."
Please provde verfiable references for that claim. You see, I contend that
there is a problem with mis-diagnosis, where kids with AD/HD are not being
diagnosed and that some kids who do not have it are being diagnosed with it.
On balance, I beleive that they cancel each other. Note, this is consistent
with the US Surgeon General's mental health reports 1999 & 2000.
Early socialization, as taught by parents from
Quoted message said:birth to school-age, is when the skills to control impulses should be
learned by kids.
That is assuming that they have a funtioning biological mechanism to control
impulses. With AD/HD, that mechanism is not working.
Doctors can't very well tell the mothers of their
Quoted message said:young, rambunctious patients that they have to spend more time with
them and sometimes have to learn special ways of coping with difficult
children.
Why can't they tell parents that? That is the doctors job.
Quoted message said:Parents want the quick fix that comes with a medical
diagnosis and prescription.
That is utter [censored]. After dealing with my son's AD/HD for over 15 years,
and having met hundreds, if not thousands of parents, I have yet to find one
seeking a quick fix. Not only is it utter [censored], it is incredibly
insulting and points out that you have a holier than thou attitude.
