ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I found this to an engaging and thought provoking article. I think that those of us who teach this age, who individualize the education for each child, are doing what the speaker is discussing. It seems that later on in education when teachers have no choice but to teach in bulk and to (cliché saying but true.) teach the test. I loved it. Thank you for sharing.

Schools contribute by not allowing children to be actively engaged and enough movement breaks throughout the day. I too discourgae use of medications as the last resort. The forms of "STRESS" and what triggers the stress responses in children has other areas, which current research has often been unable to investigate in scientific studies, though. Yes, the child may be displaying symptoms of ADHD and schools with traditional expectations guiding curriculum and learning outcomes focused on high stake testing are going to usually create stress in most children-ADHD or not diagnosed the forms of ADHD. But, what about the children who are definitely stressed out due to home environments that can be defined as dysfunctional and have been from the child's birth? There is plenty of blame to go around on which environment is stressing children-school, family, lack of a nuturing environment created by care givers and even children that have been placed in fostor care. Before educators are painted with a broad brush of bad practices some of the paint of research needs to evalute the society. Some children by birth or lack of compassionate care before arriving at school are survivors of environments creating fight or flight behaviors. It is amazing that children who have meals, clean clothes, loving relationships with adult parent figures and been taught moral values through a variety of ways-church, community groups (E.G. scouts; 4-H; Boys and Girls club; etc) seem to function well in school and with peers. Those having to deal with environments that they have no control over where the adult caregivers are dealing with a spectrum of stress factors of life, tend to have children who are struggling to fit into school settings. The brain that is in the making has been impacted by 4 years of life prior to entering schools. Schools are places where the emotional and psychomotor behaviors are finally addressed, which have been influnced by 4 years of environments from the past and throughout the child/teens life. Schools cannot control-the HOME and the parents which reside within, who often create the stress triggers.

I agree that we need to change our child programs to individualize for how each child learns. There are classroom setups that can allow ADHD students to succeed. The drugs that are being given for ADHD are dangerous if abused. Children are regulated by their parents but as those children become adolescents they have more control of their medications. Many of these drugs are sold to friends who can abuse them as well. Adderall abuse is wide spread on our college campuses today. It is in the same amphetime family as meth amphetamine. If abused it is highly addictive and can cause schitzophrenic symptoms for the abuser. It frightens me that even though it is a controlled substance this drug is widely available from those it is prescribed.

ADHD/Real/Not/Forever/Temporary
The name game is really worth much more discussion. Here are some facts.....Manic depressant was dropped for being too stereotypical and replaced with Bi-Polar. Mental Retardation replaced by mentally handicapped. Hyperactive was often a non-medical term to describe what many now call ADHD.
The fact of the matter is that for every shink and family doctor that prescribe meds for ADHD there are a smaller list that don't believe that route is the way.
This is different than say Schizophenia where non medical compliance virtually guarantees multiple episodes ultimately resulting in major brain damage just like a stroke.
ADHD is not so cut and dry. Until society pushes for alternative treatments that do not discard medication but consider them along with alternative treatments....behavioral regiments, nutritional, environmental assessment etc. this debate will drag on.
In addition, these alternative strategies must work to attain the same level of clout owned by phamaceutical companies (just consider how Obama lost to these powers and their bought off lobbyists and political representatives), and you will start to really comprehend just how unlikely that people with ADHD (not just children but all of us) will ever get a fair chance at solving the medicate or not debate.

If brain scans prove the existence of the AD/HD for an individual, what can we do to ensure this diagnostic is available to every child, to ensure that every child receives optimal treatment?

I believe there is over diagnosis AND under diagnosis. I believe many individuals are well served by Ritalin, but many children remain medicated in lieu of other strategies. I believe AD/HD is a go-to diagnosis for some educators because it is an easily understood category, but the presentation often masks what is real: Anxiety Disorder, Tourette's, Celiac's disease, or just a kinesthetic learner deprived of recess.

The pendulum swing in either direction displaces too many children. We need open and honest dialogue and a well funded educational and health system that doesn't seek pat answers.

Ensuring the first hour of the day (and noon and afternoon) contains one full hour of active outdoor play would support all children, including those in a process of diagnosis. (And no fair counting soccer practice.)

In addition to my work as an Early Childhood Educator, I work with teens at a high school serving over 80% FRLP eligible population. When we take these urban students on overnights to the woods to "reclaim their work" (volunteer tutoring) it is miraculous how the quality of thought and depth of content improves. The overstimulation of contemporary life (traffic, tight schedules, deadlines, bells, text, cell, ipod) has much to answer for.

I do believe that the education system does not take into account the different ways children learn whether it is auditory, visual, kinesthetic, etc. As an educator I believe if we observe and find out the strengths of a child and how they learn, we can support children in the classroom without drugs. I know there are certain, rare, cases when a child benefits from medication, but I believe it is used too often to cover the issue of the child. A doctor told me medicating a child may lead to needing drugs in teenage/adult years to help the person cope. They need to learn coping skills without drugs. Also many classrooms can be overwhelming for children whether it be the lighting, clutter, too much on the walls, color of the classroom, crowding, etc. No wonder children can't sit for long periods of time.
And what are children eating at home, as well as school lunches. Sugar cereals, syrup on pancakes, soda drinks, etc. Wow I need to walk if I have sweets to work it out. Allergies may also be an issue.
In conclusion, let's get to the root of the issue if we suspect ADHD, before a child is medicated. Our education systems are not working for our children anymore. I expect it will get worse with the state cutbacks in education.

I was just as disturbed by this Exchange Article post as some other people appeared to be. As a certified Early Childhood Educator/Special Educator I was particularly concerned by the message this puts out to parents and educators. As an adult with AD/HD and as a parent of a child with AD/HD I thought this post set back the hard work that been done over the last 10 years by disability advocates to dispell the myths of AD/HD. As another person stated, this is a disorder that has years of research to substantiate that the issue is a result of certain receptors in the brain which normally respond to the neurotransmitter called dopamine that are not working properly. Brain scans have shown that there is a difference between a person with AD/HD and a person without AD/HD. Furthermore, to receive this diagnosis the onset of the symptoms must be before the age of 7, be pervasive and impact the child in two or more settings(not just school). Thus, to blame the school system or teachers is unacceptable. As a former dedicated teacher, I believe in every child and knew that they were capable of learning if I adjusted my style to fit their needs. As teachers it is our job to make learning interesting and to engage children. However, I have been that type of teacher and still had students who had been diagnosed with AD/HD and yet their parents refused to use medication or to pursue other behavioral therapies. This refusal eventually led to the child receiving lower report card grades, beinfg retained in other grades or suffering with low self-esteem. As an adult who uses this medication and as a parent (of a child that does since the age of 4), I personally know the positive impact this medication has had in my life and my daughters.

The author of the post should be very careful and realize the damage that could be caused by his words.

Wow,
As a response to the poster that ADHD is no more prevalent than 100 years ago- you are oh so wrong. I judge that you are making a reasonable, rationale assumption that we are just better at identifying these characteristics.
100 years ago our grandparents and great grandparents were not subjected to the myriad of chemicals that we ingest today on a daily basis. If you thought sausage making was messy then you don't want to know about where many of these chemicals in our food, toys and furniture come from.
I am the father with two of my three children being special needs. I have witnessed the pain of having my son's classmates in first grade being told by their teacher that he was bad and they couldn't play with him, of having him locked (yes, really locked up) at recess while the other children played. After several years of this we found Feingold, an elimination diet. When we removed these chemicals, fragrances, etc, my little monster son was quickly transformed into a boy whose behavior was close to normal . He just received his Eagle Scout award and a few weeks later turned 18. His grades have gone from 'F's to 'A's.
Understanding this pain and behavior, but also how to treat it led me to my current passion for designing healthy and sustainable buildings and natural outdoor playscapes for children.

Debate is one of the wonderful gifts of the freedom of speech and thought. It is clearly demonstrated by the people who are passionate on the subject of ADHD. I have encountered children who, as Sir Ken noted, were dumbed down - or numbed down - by the medication they were given. Perhaps they are the ones who were misadiagnosed based on not being able to execute a curriculum that was not developmentally appropriate for them in the first place. Blessings on those families who sense that drugs have supported their child/ren. My wish for them is that they would not feel threatened by honest and sensitive debate. There are studies that support the understanding that many, many children are wrongly medicated. I have met a number of these children and families. I also have met, although fewer, families for whom medication seems to be working for now. Let us not fall off track of the deeper message that Sir Ken is trying to bring. We have a current system of education (an industrial, institutional model) that, in many instances, is harming our children. If the system/curriculum was based on a truer understading of human development, perhaps we would not have such a high percentage of human beings appearing to be "attention deficit".

Lets be careful when administering any drug to a young child. So much behaviour can be modified with correct intervention coming from a place of love. Also, it is very easy for us to mistake a rise in statistics to "epidemic" proportions, when it is simply more and faster reporting of information thanks to the internet.

I find all this discussion about ADHD interesting as I have 2 adult boys who grew up with it and one teen daughter with it. My boys lived with it back in their days of childhood and neither graduated from high school because fo it. How ever they both can do and understand almost anything with their hands and almost any kind of enginering.
My daughter is has been different as she is 20 yrs younger. We tried meds over and over and I finally gave up because either they stopped working after a cuple of weeks to a month, the insurance company wouldn't pay for them or she was a zombie walking around in a daze and a chip on her shoulders when coming down off of them. I know some kids need them. I've seen them work. But I also think we need to start training children more on an individual scale than just what theyc an learn on drugs. Especially in the high school years when hormones come into play and drugs have a less chance of working.

ADHD is a serious hinderance to functional in life. Many children and adults actually do have ADHD and ADD. Yes, it is probably diagnosed and medicated when it is really stress or PTSD or a host of other things. However, children that really do have the condition benefit tremendously from medication.

Two of my children have ADD and one has ADHD. The two daughters with ADD - one is an adult artist and the other is ten-years-old. They both take medication. I wish I had known about medication when my older artist daughter was young - how much less hurt she would have experienced. There is not a day that goes by when she does not talk about how the medication makes her so much more functional - she can prioritize, organize, get things done, and has much less anxiety.

As for my ten-year-old, we adopted her at five years of age. The medication has helped so much in her relationships and her ability to be successful. People respond to her much more positively also. With the correct dose, she is very lively and even has a hard time getting to sleep.

Engage our children in better teaching methods, YES! But if you are "not qualified to say" whether ADD/ADHD is "such a thing" then don't. You would not withhold insulin from a diabetic. You should not withhold medications that allow a children to reach their full healthy potential. When you know better you should do better. Any responsible parent/teacher/doctor would not prescribe medications nor allow children to have medications that affect their emotional state in a negative manner. It takes time and patience to find the right medication for children. But when you find that right medication, it unlocks a world of possibilities. Do our kids a favor and learn about the facts behind the science and not reiterate the misunderstanding regarding medications.

The ADHD issue can be best understood by parents' who have children with the diagnosis . It is disheartening to hear my child tell me he is "stupid" because he cannot keep up with the class. I did my research as any parent would and found that Ritalin would benefit my child. It's been four years and he is performing and achieveing along with his peers. As far as the education system, I have had to advocate for my child....three schools later! As parents' we understand and are familiar with our children's condition and learning style. We must stop focusing on ADHD being problem, issue or whatever and instead embrace their distinctiveness! I will never forget a principal's comment: Your son, is failing 6th grade. My response was, Well, your staff has failed to teach my child. I stand my ground when it comes to ADHD children being labeled as failures. It is critical for our educational system to revampt their teaching standards to benefit this population. And for the record, we only give our son his "meds" during the week and on the weekend he is free to be himself.

As I said, the article is not about AHD; it is about the inappropriate pushdown in public schools of pressure on children to meet standards that should not be applied to their age group. Child responses are to give up. Some of them may be given drugs that are designed for a different purpose, and sometimestoo much of the drugs which do not work for their problem. That does not mean that all use of these drugs is harmful.

While the debate about medicating a child and its effectiveness is between a parent and the child's physician, I strongly believe that children are being bombarded with incoming information from media, technology, and developmentally inappropriate standards-driven curriculum. In this age of IPods, Wii, computers, and television's commercialism and negative images, what messages are being given to our youngest children. They do not have filters built in to help them process all this information. It is the adults' responsibility to guide the child as they make sense of it all. Will no one advocate for the child and say, "Enough!"

For those that do not..... or have not "lived" with a child, teen or adult with ADHD without their medication, you have no clue what their life is like without their Medication. If they are "zombified", they need to adjust their RX. Just like I had to do to get my high blood pressure under control. With the wrong RX I'de be sleepng right now.

Reading Mary from Georgia's comments (reading the ADHD exchange “stabbed her to the heart”) confirmed my deep emotions about this video. I have shed lots of tears since reading the article and learning more about Sir Ken Robinson’s work. Not as an educator-I am in the most fortunate position of mentoring teachers on the importance of encouraging preschooler’s play and creativity-but as a parent of two creative “ADHD” children. For years I have tried to make them be what the school wanted; while knowing the school was not doing what they should be for them all along. The “ringing bells, lining up, stay in your seat” and other analogies to producing factory workers in the industrial revolution was a real eye-opening way for me to look at this topic. Thanks for always pointing me in the direction of THINKING!

As a parent of an ADHD child who is NOT medicated I know that there are options to working with children who have been diagnosed ADHD. The problem is that it takes time. Something many parents and teachers are not willing to do. Over the last 3 school years I have witnessed my child go from having social behaviors and outburst in the classroom to now, only having occational times of talking to much in the classroom. There are also fewer outburst at home as well.
We need to stop forcing our children to sit in a desk for 7 hours a day, expecting them to sit still and quiet and listen to the teacher talk. We also need to stop punishing the children by taking away recess time for talking to much, and not getting work done. We need to get these children up and moving in and outside the classroom.

I agree that it’s the education system not the condition that causes many children to have difficulty in school. When this is coupled with poor parenting skills then it is even more evident in the children's behaviors in and out of school. I feel that the expectations in mismanaged classrooms (or homes) can be the cause that children are misdiagnosed, and consequently needlessly medicated. Even saying that the medication wears off leaves me with concern. It still effects the brain while it is within a child’s system. I wish we had some clear answers about this for the children’s sake. Whether they have ADHD or not, if children are not being taught to learn coping skills, then they are going to have trouble in and out of school, and this effects their learning whether it be critical thinking, subject matter, or their social and emotional learning.

There are in fact differing opinions about the existence of ADHD. To read a wonderful discussion on the subject, see John Rosemond's book, The Diseasing of America's Children. It doesn't necessarily matter one way or the other if one believes in ADHD. It matters that as educators and parents we educate ourselves on the different opinions, beliefs and possible treatments. I don't think anyone can argue that many of our children are distracted and struggle to focus, but to assume that these children are in fact "ill" is to discount the society in which we are raising them. I read recently that some researchers believe that ADHD has risen by 40% in teenagers. That's not because we just learned to diagnose it. And these kids aren't ill. But we are raising them on bits and bytes of information with gadgets that teach their brains to jump from thing to thing. Our culture is as much at fault as the physical brains of our children. And no amount of Ritalin, no matter how safe it might be, is going to change that.