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I would caution everyone to reserve judgment of attention disorders in children unless you either have a child with such a disorder, or are a mental health professional.
Did y'all know that stimulant medications DO NOT WORK unless there is attention deficit? You can't just medicate a group of kids with this stuff and have them all calm down. You will know immediately that there is no mass medicating of the juvenile population the first time you see what happens when a kid without an attention disorder is given these meds. It's speed, folks.
My son is alive today because we are treating his ADD which was diagnosed in middle school after he went from honor student to failing. I did all the socially acceptable parent things (withheld things, grounding, etc) but my kid continued to struggle. Why? because he was physically unable to remember things he was told five minutes prior. We saw a kid who refused to do his homework or assignments at school. We, as well meaning as we were, were punishing him for it. Good for us, right? Well, he was suicidal before we finally understood that there was a problem and got him the help he needed. Because he was gifted he was able to compensate pretty well until middle school. The doctor said it is pretty common.
Now that we have his frontal lobe functioning properly, a year later, he's back happy and on the principal's list.
Attention disorders are among the ones people feel they have both the knowledge and the right to comment about. Trust me, unless you live it or you are a professional, please keep your misguided opinions to yourself. It's hurtful.
Did y'all know that stimulant medications DO NOT WORK unless there is attention deficit? You can't just medicate a group of kids with this stuff and have them all calm down. You will know immediately that there is no mass medicating of the juvenile population the first time you see what happens when a kid without an attention disorder is given these meds. It's speed, folks.
My son is alive today because we are treating his ADD which was diagnosed in middle school after he went from honor student to failing. I did all the socially acceptable parent things (withheld things, grounding, etc) but my kid continued to struggle. Why? because he was physically unable to remember things he was told five minutes prior. We saw a kid who refused to do his homework or assignments at school. We, as well meaning as we were, were punishing him for it. Good for us, right? Well, he was suicidal before we finally understood that there was a problem and got him the help he needed. Because he was gifted he was able to compensate pretty well until middle school. The doctor said it is pretty common.
Now that we have his frontal lobe functioning properly, a year later, he's back happy and on the principal's list.
Attention disorders are among the ones people feel they have both the knowledge and the right to comment about. Trust me, unless you live it or you are a professional, please keep your misguided opinions to yourself. It's hurtful.
