Posted on 08/16/2013 11:40:14 AM PDT by BruceDeitrickPrice
At a private school, his teacher was all concerned that he wasn’t reading as well as others in kindergarten.
He also had a 2nd grade teacher who thought he was cheating because he always got 100% on spelling tests.
They were both wrong.
He learned to read summer before 2nd grade. Once he was ready, he picked it up really quickly, and never had any problems.
When he took the ACT for college, he got 34 out of 36 on the reading portion of the test.
He’s never liked school, and I think it’s because teachers made the kids anxious.
Talking about my son. Something got deleted.
I thought Ritalin was a stimulant. In the MS community (I have MS) people who are taking it are those having problems with fatigue. As a side effect, it can cause anxiety type issues, or edginess. I wasn’t aware that it was ever used for anxiety...but that’s what this article implies. I’ll have to do some more reading on the med.
RE: “kids have no where to go to safely spend their energy.”
I agree with you. We need sports and exercise. Children used to have a lot of chores, some of which were hard work. I’ve always thought that martial arts would be a better remedy than psychiatry.
But these two problems are on parallel tracks. A child could have enough exercise and still be taught to read it in a way that doesn’t work. At the risk of being simplistic, I’ll say the best prescription for almost every child is: phonics + exercise.
(I often have this fantasy that the best thing a teacher can do in many situations is to take the kids outside and say, “See that fence way over there? Run over there and touch it and then run back to me.” Those kids will be grateful to sit in a classroom.)
A few years ago I sent my homeschooled son to an early morning high school class.
He would bus in and I would pick him up about 80 min later.
First two weeks that he was sitting out front waiting for me he said every adult in the building came out to ask him what he was doing outside.
Why do they do that mom, he asked.
They want to make sure you’re not an escapee, I said.
He agreed.
Reminds me of a tv ad in the 1990s:
“I need to do coke. So I can work harder. So I can earn more money. So I can do more coke. So I can work harder. So I can earn more money. So...”
with the song “I’m always chasing rainbows” playing in the background.
I remember being on Ritalin as a kid. I am in my 30’s now and I still suffer from ADHD. I could into detail but I will likely get distracted and never finish this post. That is literally the story of my life and my biggest struggle.
For all of you parents with ADD or ADHD kids, have you ever had your child’s IQ tested or done any form of intelligence or aptitude testing? Im curious how they score and would like to predict that a majority of them will test above average.
The U.S. public education system is not built for the mentally gifted or even the above average. It is crafted and built around the lowest common denominator and getting THAT child through, while silencing and stifling anyone different. Im guessing your kids tend to challenge authority, ask many questions, and likely overly critically think everything. School was boring and I missed massive amounts of it because that was the only way it could be challenging. I hated the monotiny and loathed the boredom, often getting in trouble for falling asleep in class. (I still have that problem to this day, despite full rest, at work when I am not challeneged) I missed 43 days my first semester of my senior year of highschool and 34 the second. I still passed all of my courses like they were a joke, except maybe Algebra. College was much more challenging, I attended class more, and made far better grades.
I really empathize with you parents of kids dealing with this. You know your children are capable of so much yet they cant seem to focus on any one thing long enough to reach the success. Nobody really knows why but some kids are just different and that’s a good thing. Structure and stability are what helped me the most.
those who prefer a “Child Free” world.....thereby get the “next best” thing
Not buying it one bit. When my daughter was 4 months old her pediatrician told me to save for private school because she was on track for an ADHD diagnosis and Ritalin if we put her in public school. He was right. She is 20 now, skipped a grade, was a National Merit scholar and is still happiest when she has to do 100 hours of work in 40, or even happier when she has to do 200 hour of work in 100. It has nothing to do with reading and never has.
The boy on my street who was diagnosed is 14 and has no trouble reading but there is just not enough world to keep him busy and his teachers don’t know how to cope with that ... super smart kid. Just needs more to keep him busy ... and that is a challenge. Nothing to do with reading.
Many kids these days get put on Ritalin before they are ever expected to read. It is sad ... it kills their personalities and dampens true curiosity and energy.
I ran into this very problem with my son. He’s active and bright, proven above average IQ. He entered first grade at the same level as the other kids, though one of the youngest in his class. Did you know that the youngest children in a class are 30% more likely to be diagnosed as ADD?
By mid-year, his grades in reading and reading-heavy subjects were near failing. He didn’t want to read assigned readers at home, but a mixture of bribery, punishment and rote made some progress. Interestingly, math and memorization topics were fine. But he kept getting singled out for “acting out”.
I asked his teacher what to do. His teacher announced he had ADD and needed to be medicated. I asked how she came up with that answer. She said his behavior was classic, and the school psychologist agreed - based on her assessment and a kindergarten teacher who wouldn’t disagree with the current teacher and psychologist who made up his mind.
I asked if we could see the reading specialist at the school, since his reading comprehension was lagging. She calmly stated the reading specialist agreed with the assessment. No one told me until later that SHE WAS the reading specialist.
I paid over $1,000 out of pocket for three independent assessments, a reading comprehension test and IQ test. Came back with the results to the school to prove she was wrong.
The teacher from then on “passed” him on the reading intensive subjects, just wanting to get him out of the school. I had to work with him on reading nights and weekends, because she didn’t. I later found out she was rationing him to three questions a day because he asked so many, which is part of why he did so bad on daily work.
He caught up in second grade, mostly to the credit of Wimpy Kid books.
What galls me is that the ADD diagnosis was slapped on to cover up a teacher who couldn’t slap reading. And it was my responsibility to fight the school and then work on improving his skills. If I’d just gone along with it all, he’d fall further behind in school and the ADD - not poor literacy instruction in first grade - would be to blame.
So, when the energy inevitably comes out in class, they're called ADD and disruptive, and drugged into submission.
-PJ
I was blessed with a Mom who took an active role in our lives and early education. My grandparents bought us “Hooked on Phonics” and worked with both my brother and I. As a result, we both exceeded the standards for reading and writing. The teachers, at that time (80’s), hated the phonics program and corrected the way we sounded out words. That we were so far ahead drove them crazy.
Many parents dont take an active role in their children’s education. They simply leave it to the “educators” (mostly ex sorority, party girl, alcoholics, and borderlines). It is the goal of the U.S. education system to produce workers who are obedient, dont ask too many questions, and simply “do what they are told”. Concepts like critical thinking and individuality are a threat to conformity and uniformity. Diversity is only important in regards to skin color. It sounds like ADHD, a real condition, is being used as a way to categorize students they arent equipped to deal.
My highschool actually tried to get me labeled as a special education student (more bucks for them) without informing my parents or lettings us know the ramifications. You carry that label with you to college and there is no benefit for the student to get labeled as such.
“Many kids these days get put on Ritalin before they are ever expected to read. It is sad ... it kills their personalities and dampens true curiosity and energy.”
You are exactly right. Our son s right on the ADHD borderline and we chose a private school who works WITH us. We’ve chosen, and I know it’s not for everyone, to handle his issues through diet. He didn’t have formula, I made all his baby food, and we were already eating a diet close to a whole foods diet. We eliminated dairy from his diet and saw a pretty amazing improvement in his irrational meltdowns. We had to come down pretty hard on the grandparents who didn’t agree with our approach. That was tough, until my FIL gave my son McDonalds fries and he was literally bouncing off of the walls.
My son has a wonderful imagination and we, and his school, do not want to stifle that. They help us get in extra movement time and allow him his snacks when he needs them, which of course is more often than students who aren’t as active. We’ve discovered it’s just a matter of finding what he’s interested in and taking advantage of that.
So much ignorance about ADD in so short an article.
Yep. Most people get hyper on Ritalin or Adderall. But a large dose of caffeine will help a kid with ADHD focus and settle.
Do either of you have personal experience with the caffeine/ADHD thing? I mentioned in a previous post that we’re working on our son’s issues through diet, and I’d like to know how that worked for you if you’ve tried it.
Oh, it works. But it’s a short term solution. My sons burned through it in no time. Of course, they are kinda off-the-scale ADHD.
Lol! When do you caffeinate them? First thing in the morning? Small doses throughout the day? Right before heavy concentration is required?
As needed.
BTW, if you find it makes your kid hyper, you’re probably not dealing with ADHD.
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