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Originally Posted by chaotic13
Katheryn, I think part of my emotional to this issue stems a great deal from how I was treated as a child by parents and teachers.
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You too huh? Made me very passionate about education though. It's a really good thing I didn't believe a damn thing they told me though, as I knew better. Mostly it made me an angry child and teenager though. I'm better now--at least I'm not breaking things anymore
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I will say that I taking the Adderall has helped a lot with this issue and given me the ability to sit for longer periods of time. I just really don't want my 9 yr old on medication.
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If your son does have ADHD, medication can make a gigantic difference if symptoms severe enough to warrant it. There is also the option of therapy for the social issues and low self-esteem and/or anxiety that might be present. Do you have a specific It's worthwhile to get him assessed for any learning disabilities or ADHD while he's still young. Stigma is one thing and can be dealt with, but if undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause more problems as time goes on, especially when it comes to college.
That said, I am not a fan AT ALL of the public school systems approach to issues like ADHD and LD. I do not believe that just because a program for ADHD/LD
EXISTS, that it is useful or worthwhile. In fact, some of them do nothing more than label, classify, and segregate school children that they have identified as having "problems". My elementary school experience with that was very disinheartening, but that was in the 1980's. I think it's always worth giving a program/treatment/IEP a fair shot though. Some schools will be better than others, and you as a parent have the ultimate control anyway. My parents were very uneducated and uninvolved when it came to such things, but your son is VERY lucky in that you are highly educated about ADHD and related issues, and quite proactive. I wish I was so lucky!
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I've raised my concerns but was always told....he is above the benchmark so he doesn't have a problem. Unlike, me who was monitoring his lack of progress over time, I guess his teachers just cared about some benchmark cut-off. ..Unfortunately, the school system doesn't seem to promote this belief. I am afraid they are going to simply tell me to move him to a lower ability class and let him feel good about getting 100s on his tests. I believe most children are capable of much more than than the marginal level work they are given.
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I wish more people thought as you do. People are so self-limiting at times, so willing to simply accept mediocrity and take whatever label some "authority" figure pins on them as evidence of their "inability" to do well. I'm not surprised that more of us don't go to college or are "low achievers" with the way our educational system is set up. They will likely never consider themselves/the system as part of the problem though. That takes a kick in the arse from people like us.
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Sorry this post seems to have gotten off the ADHD topic. The bottom line is ... I'm a successful professional who happens to have ADHD. Dispite my childhood teachers' expectations and what my SAT scores predicted, I've earned degrees, published maniscripts, presented in my field, and done many things that I was told I couldn't do.
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I think what you've posted is VERY relevant to the ADHD topic!! More people need to address how we view and treat ADHD and it's related LD cousin in the school system (and beyond). If I forgot to mention, I highlight, circle, underline, and bookmark the heck out of my textbooks, but your son might not be able to if they belong to the school. I spent hundreds on my overpriced college books... I do what I want with them, lol.
