|
Be Careful!
Too many people in the education profession are quick to jump on the ADD bandwagon. A rushed or misdiagnosis can be horrible for your child. Lack of focus does not make me immediately think of ADD/ADHD. There is a wide spectrum of mental disorders that include that common symptom. Generally if he has ADD/ADHD he will also have fits of aggression, be prone to impulsivity, and have a higher than normal intelligence, especially when it comes to thought process i.e. being able to form complete and detailed sentences (verbally) at a much younger age than peers, and having an affinity for technology. This doesn't apply to all but is an accepted generalization.
Please do your homework. If you get a diagnosis I would recommend a 2nd option from a completely different unrelated doctor without volunteering the first diagnosis but explaining the symptoms to see what they think. My whole family has a dsiorder in one form or another and it is generally hereditary. I have Bipolar Disorder II and ADHD as does my 7 yr old son, my hubby has ADHD (we tend to attract each other LOL) and our daughter is yet to be determined.
I have also seen several kids misdiagnosed who are just hyper kids who are getting too much sugar and could have overcome this with a regular activity to expel some energy but once on the meds for ADD (which are very addicting), they actually developed learning delays on top of having to detox, for a problem that was not there to begin with.
If your child actually does have ADD, then great :) He will be lots of fun in my opinion. If not, it could just be your kid's teacher trying to mask her inability to teach beyond the "standard". Some kids learn differently, period. As an educator you need to find out what the learning needs are and work with them. I eventually chose to homeschool my kids via an online charter school who provided all materials, curriculum, and daily lesson plans that I executed at home because I was not able to find a good teacher (in public or private school) willing to take the time to work with my son like he needed to succeed. It is not entirely the teachers fault though, schools are underfunded, overcrowded, and are requiring less and less intial/ongoing training for educators, all in all a bad combo.
You can also look into requesting an IEP (individualized education plan) for your child which could mean more time to take tests, an in-class aid to help with focus, using a laptop if he is good with technology, that sort of thing to help him do better in school. They do not come easily though and most schools fight it because it takes away from their budget but if it is needed, fight for it, your son deserves it. My neice went from failing and repeating 1st grade to skipping a grade and catching up with peers thanks to an IEP without any sort of disorder, she just learned differently.
Sorry to ramble, I have done an exhaustive amount of research on the subject LOL. One final option to look into is alternative learning such as the GATE program with focuses on an intelligent child's strengths and helps fill the gaps where needed. A variation is the Montessouri schools which approaches learning in a very different way, it is interesting. It's not for me personally being a Christian, since they focus a lot on evolution, but I have actually seen a few Christian montessouri schools recently that embraced the same type of learning principles and created a curriculum that would not contradict our belief system.
Make google your best friend, search mental disorders + kids, ADHD, learning disorders, alternative learning, etc. Good luck!
Quote
|
18 Feb 2009 @ 10:41 AM
18 Feb 2009 @ 2:18 PM