What is especially worthy of note is that in other industrially developed nations (excluding obviously Canada which is basically a semblance of the US) 'diseases' like ADHD are virtually non-existent and having kids getting prescriptions of Ritalin is harder than spotting a Siamese White Elephant smack in the middle of Trafalgar square!
This is purely an American manifestation, and chances are there is such a great propensity to immediately 'identify' a problem and 'treat' it that any kid who shuffles in class is suddenly attention deficient. American schools and psychologists seem to possess an insatiable penchant for intermingling whatever they see with some ailment, syndrome or malady!
Actually I have two examples. Recently there was a case overseas (either in Britain or the Netherlands) where this American kid was attending an 'American system' grade school over there for expatriates. Due to his learning difficulties the school suggested he was ADHD afflicted and Ritalin was prescribed. However the mom 'rebelled' and took the kid to an indigenous school, which tried different tutoring techniques on the kid, and the child became 'normal.' Nevertheless the American school would have been willing to pump the kid full of drugs because they believed he was ADHD and required ‘therapy.’
The second example concerns my childhood. Up to the end of Standard 3 (third grade to those without an international decoder) i had been told i was in possession of what was the equivalent of ADHD then! This was in Kenya and i used to go to one of the local schools there (which by the way have such a tough education system that when it pertains to the level of technical knowledge and intellectual acumen required it is ranked 3rd hardest in the world after India and Taiwan). Anyway i was attending this private Kenyan school and i was, in all regards, a total incoherent imprudent idiotic drooling sot!
Hence the school said i was 'learning disabled' and all that mumbo jumbo, and at least one paper was written of 'my case.'
However after my 3rd Grade scholar year concluded I went to stay with my Granny for 3 weeks (she used to be a teacher …although personally I prefer the title educator), and she taught me the Alphabet and everything is those three weeks. What she did is she discovered my particular learning style, and focused on it instead of just feeding me the daily sop that was dished out as education.
When I went to commence my Standard 4 I was ‘suddenly’ above average, and as the years progressed I just got better. Today I am in college in the states, final semester in finance, with a 4.0 GPA (with membership is virtually all the honor societies, as well as establishing a myriad of things like co-creating an Investment club and being in charge of student finances and campus budgets for the campus , as well as other functions……meaning I just do not chill with my nose in some tome or manuscript. Although to be honest with ya’ll I find the education task load in the States so simple in comparison to what I went through that I really do not study much for my exams yet still clock straight A’s. I remember my shock when I first came here to be doing things in my Sophomore class …I jumped Freshman…..that I was doing back home in form 2…..10th grade for you guys! Anyway back to the main topic).
And all that because my granny had the fortitude and astuteness to refuse what everyone else (and I mean everyone) had to say about me and teach me the way I needed to be taught. I would have been the poster child for Ritalin ( I was so bad in Standard 3 that I even refused to sit down on my chair but instead squatted on top of it like some ape). Yet in three weeks that state was turned around without much ado and enduringly.
And actually one of my friends here has a kid who has been classified as ADHD and ODHD and had been described as a hapless case, yet I spent around 2 months with him and now he seems well on his way to becoming better than his peers. And the first step was that his medicine was cut down ….and now he is actually the perfect lil’ boy yet he is without his medication).
And by the way do not get me wrong. I am not saying everyone with a kid that has been labeled ADHD should go and get them off their Ritalin! Nope, that would be foolish especially when you consider my chosen major is Finance and not medicine (I did want to become a doctor once but trust me the costs are prohibitive).
However what I am saying is that there is a huge inclination for psychologists in the US to prescribe medication for kids without ensuring the particular case requires it. And it seems to be increasing with every passing year. And if you really reflect of it there is no way statistically that many kids can have ADHD and yet the rest of the world somehow seems ‘immune’ to it.
However chances are some asinine psychologist in some ivory tower would say the reason for that is due to some ‘condition’ or ‘syndrome’ and then proceed to prescribe some new medication to ‘tackle’ the problem!
Ai yi yi!
Sometimes I wonder if these guys do not get paid to do that by drug companies that manufacture Ritalin et al! That is the logic conclusion (although I am sure it would be denied by all and sundry and I would be called a kook for even suggesting that).
However think of it ……what’s the deal with all the prescriptions! Conspiracy or not that is rather ‘strange.’