gizmo title sought

I expressed myself badly - I shouldn't have said "cause" but really meant that the lack of that kind of toy/hobby is a shortfall especially for the kids with ADD/ADHD along the over stimulation of too much information (not just electronic but too many toys, to-from daycare, aftercare) . My DH and I both recall most kids had some sort of detail oriented hobby/toy by age 10

-building models, building forts/treehouses, sewing, dollhouse decoration, chemistry sets... Something changed and more and more children are "over active", "not paying attention". I knew my fair share of "fidgeters" and daydreamers in the 60s when I went to school, but the teacher would do something (like hey Mark, I'm over here) and everyone was refocused.

NOW - I am overly sensitive about the whole ADHD thing for several reasons. My town has the dubious distinction of having the highest percentage of kids coded than any surrounding town. And the state of NH has the highest rate of Ritalin 'scrips written in the country. And I'd swear that some of these coded kids are victims of budgetary greed. There are "assistants" that count how often a kid sighs, looks at the clock or any place other than the teacher's face or the lesson board. And given the classrooms are "stimulating" not the teachers....

Cheryl BTW Can you tell I'm frustrated.

My eldest grandson was diagnosed with it years ago, just as Ritalin was becoming the drug of choice. The school threatened to put him out if she wouldn't give it to him, but she resisted and they kept him. It passed anyway after a couple of years, he had not been doing anything worse than a lot of fidgeting, admittedly we found it irritating too but not something we felt a kid should receive drugs for, a cocaine based drug at that I believe!

We had a family bbq last Sunday and I noticed he still sort of fidgets, even yet lol OTOH here he is gone 30 with wife and most of his mortgage already paid off, so it isn't all bad.

I know this will be an unpopular statement with lots of people. But you know me, I'm going to say it anyway. A lot of today's idea of upbringing makes me think they want "Stepford Kids" that will be easy to control.

What's so bad about a kid that's eager and curious and easily bored and fidgety and wants to be stimulated?

>

Looking back, I should have guessed lol Major crash yesterday so the HD is in the shop. I am spending time amassing all those little programmes that will need reloading, the tech (the lovely tech I have always admired) will reload much of it but I will have to reset all the preferences etc. So another argggh is in order.

Too much trouble ?

I feel your pain.

Lucille

True - but a good documentary is always a good thing! C

Not in the job description?

Honestly, I don't think that has much of anything to do with ADHD. Yes, there are things a teacher can do to help, and it's true that some trends in education have put kids with ADHD at an increasing disadvantage in the classroom, but I don't think you can ameliorate the problem by making sure that kids have fine motor hobbies or anything else that simple. Managing their environment is necessary for the ADHD kid, but it's just a coping skill. A kid who doesn't have ADHD isn't made to have ADHD by being in a crazy environment. He may not function to his potential, and may demonstrate some behaviors that are similar, but he doesn't develop ADHD.

Sure, and I do understand that there's some over-diagnosis and over-medication going on in the name of ADHD. There's also some under-diagnosis and under-medication going on in some instances (not that they necessarily balance out in any given region). *My* pet peeve is that so many people think ADHD is just about disruptive behaviors, and assume that disruptive kids have ADHD and non-disruptive kids don't (and that if you can get the disruptive kids to be non-disruptive, you've fixed the problem).

Best wishes, Ericka

Ritalin is not cocaine-based. Both drugs are, however, stimulants (but that includes a whole lot of other drugs as well).

When someone can manage without drugs, that is obviously great, and if the only symptom is fidgeting, that's great too. Unfortunately, that's not true for everyone.

Best wishes, Ericka

Nothing...but that's not all that ADHD is, by a long shot.

Best wishes, Ericka

I apologize for making my statement sound so all inclusive and as if I was making light of what can often be a real problem. . I should have made it clear that I know there are people, both kids and adults, who truly need help.

I still feel that to some extent too many kids are being labeled and given drugs just to make life easier. Not all, but still too many.

Lucille

I know you didn't mean it that way--just one of my hot buttons. When you're the only non-ADHD person in a household full of folks with ADHD (well, maybe not the 4yo, but frankly,

4yos *feel* like they've got it even when they don't sometimes! ;-) ), the notion that it's just about the activity level or parents who are too lazy to discipline their kids or deal with normal kid behavior gets to be a sore spot ;=)

There are some, and there have been some *really* egregious behaviors by school personnel "diagnosing" or insisting on meds or what-have-you. I certainly don't support that. It just feels to me like there's all this focus on the behavioral part (which isn't even a symptom in all cases), and little or no understanding of the other issues (like compromised executive functioning, compromised working memory, etc.) that lead to much more serious issues (in my opinion, anyway). And if I hear one more person say, "Why, he can't have ADHD. Look how he can focus on a video game! If he can focus on that, he could focus on whatever else if he cared to" I will scream, if not bite their heads off.

Best wishes, Ericka

I guess I'm kind of like that myself. I can sit forever and do needlework or play with the computer but I can't just sit still and do nothing. I was always considered the can do person at work and I believe that was more because I was always willing to try just in order to keep busy, then because I was work motivated.

I really think that I probably would have been put on something when I was little and was called a "handful" for my mother.

L

I am almost always doing something with my hands, and am usually multitasking, but I'm nowhere near having ADHD. I think if there's such a thing as anti-ADHD, I have it ;-)

I dunno. My 4yo is a handful by anyone's measure, but I wouldn't bet the farm that she has ADHD, and I don't get comments from her teachers. I'm the one who worries, probably because of the family track record. I can deal with active kids. The hard part to deal with is the other stuff.

Best wishes, Ericka

Having had to deal with a major problem with a kid, I know what you mean. But hang in and remember, it isn't your fault and worrying won't make it better. A very old, very worn cliché still holds true. Take it one day at a time and hope tomorrow will be better.

L

We just keep putting one foot in front of another. At this point, I'm kind of used to the routine. What frustrates me is getting other people on board. Even very well meaning teachers often don't get that just because a child isn't a behavioral problem and performs above grade level doesn't mean there isn't an issue that needs to be dealt with.

Best wishes, Ericka

They take more time. And too many people these days use children as Fashion Accessories, they don't want a kid who takes a lot of their time.

Yeah, but those kids are often lumped into the ADHD crowd, just like people with fatigue from overwork get lumped into the post-viral CFS crowd, either via amateur diagnosis or by doctors who've heard the term but don't know the diagnostic criteria to know that there's more than the one symptom.