Most of the children I work with who have ADHD have have irresponsible parents who let them stay up late, watch TV, play video games incessantly, and eat junk food.
Try putting your kid to bed at 8:00, getting the TV out of their room, losing the video games, putting them into a SPORT after school, and feeding them healthy, whole foods. You'd be surprised how the ADHD will disappear when good parenting appears.
It is a myth that poor parenting causes ADHD and that all children with ADHD just have not been disciplined.
For further information
Poor parenting does not cause ADHD
Eileen
Unbelievable - my daughter is in bed by eight, eats a whole foods diet and will never have a tv in her room. She also has an IQ of 135, at age 5 reads at a 3rd grade level and struggles with inattentiveness and impulsivity. Medication and counseling have helped. God help the kids you work with, because you are too ignorant to be of any use to them.
No wonder children with ADHD struggle in school with an educator as yourself. Try some continuing education courses to help with your ignorance. Having a child with ADHD is a constant discipline for the entire family. Sending my sweet, intelligent daughter to a classroom such as yours adds frustration, dissapointment & a year long struggle. Children with ADHD do need extra structure, discipline, patience and understanding. Sometimes they just need a BREAK from the constrains of the structure in which teachers are required to teach. They are also children with gifts you will never understand without educating yourself. YOU should NOT be a teacher consuming tax payor or private monies with your lack of knowledge. You should be ashamed of your statement. My daughter sleeps 11 hours most nights, eats a generally homeade, healthy diet, plays little video games and never watches regular TV during school. She is always in a sport for exercise and competes at a high level for her age. She still requires 3-4 times the amount of work to get grades she is capable of getting .... why? Because her brain is not equipped with the neuro transmitter connectivity required to put a list of simple tasks into completion. She has to study ... she needs constant reminding of daily, routine tasks. She needs extra time to complete chores, tasks, homework. She will rarely get a perfect score on a spelling test despite her absolutely knowing every word, every bonus word, and the surprise bonus words because her brain is not made to finish the 20 plus spelling words. Simply put ... she cannot finish a test that long. Our entire family wishes we could take it all away! You have no clue of the daily struggle I have as a parent of a child with ADHD. I want to fiercly protect her from people like YOU! People who do not understand how hard ADHD can be on the child and the family. My daughter is a very hard worker. She sweeter than every kid I know. She is a talented artist and athlete. She is super funny! The kids in the neighborhood flock to our driveway to hang out with her. If you were her teacher, you would miss all the GREAT things she has to offer because you have assumed children with ADHD are undisciplined, junk food eating tv watchers with parents that don't care. YOU ... are WRONG!
Debbie
Parent of an 8 year old daughter with ADHD
with a 7:00 pm bedtime!
Brava!! Sadly, we are fighting an uphill battle against this kind of idiocy. Blessings to you and your daughter. Our teacher last year was always suggesting that I take more time off from work - but if I did that I would be a deadbeat mom who could not afford healthcare (luckily we didn't have homework thanks to Montessori school). We were lucky if we got home by 6:00, and then she was rebounding from the medication and emotionally off the hook. Now she is starting first grade public school and I am living in fear. Somehow, in 2 hours, I am supposed to make a wholesome dinner, bath, homework, storytime and an 8:00 pm bedtime happen. My school teacher friend thinks that if I request that her homework get done in the afterschool program they will think I am expecting them to do my job for me. No, their job is to educate her, my job is to parent her (and I realize that will include some homework). Yes, teachers have too much on their plate, but so do most working parents.
You Teacher have yet amazed me once again. Do you live with a child who has ADHD? Do you know the daily struggle and frustrations of a parent and family trying to cope with all that is required to just get your child through one day? How dare you? I also don't want to hear how long you have been teaching and that you have had many adhd students throughout your years. Until you are treating your own child, you have no right to criticize anybody on how they parent. Your ignorance shines through in this post and thankfully you will never be in my son's life. I pray for the children who you affect everyday. You should be ashamed of yourself.
I am the step-mother to a 14 year old boy with ADD (inattentive type). I just want to say that I think many of you may be over-reacting to what this teacher has said. Perhaps s/he didn't use the most sensitive wording, and there have been studies to show that ADD/ADHD is not CAUSED by bad parenting... BUT, I think it can (and IS) exasperated by poor parenting. Not saying that any of you fall into that category, but it is happening out there to a lot of kids with ADD/ADHD.
Bottom line, ADD/ADHD is genetic. Many of the parents of kids with ADD/ADHD suffer from the same problems. As a result, you end up with ADD/ADHD kids being parented by an ADD/ADHD parent. This is extremely challenging. In my situation, my step-son's mother has ADD/ADHD. It is harrowing when I know that when he goes with her that there will be even more challenges making sure that he has the proper structure needed to complete homework, pack his backpack properly for the next day, get to bed on time and not play hours of video games. And, it isn't because she's a bad parent. Its because she is dealing with the same problems herself and then having to try to deal with his problems too. Its overwhelming.
So, I encourage all of you to think outside of YOUR box before you criticize others. This is happening to a lot of kids out there. Maybe not yours, but many.
Dear Teacher,
Please leave your letter of resignation on the front desk...as a matter of fact why not just leave. Are YOU a parent of a child with ADHD or any other type of disability. Do you yourself have any disabilities...as aside from the obvious! How DARE you lump every child with ADHD in one pile? Are you the ADHD guru? Do you REALLy believe that your "suggestions" are the solutions to the problem. Not all children with ADHD benefit from the same things.
As an EDUCATOR myself I am horrified that you could/would lay blame only on the parents. Children with ADHD often have difficulty sleeping, therefore putting them to bed at 8:00 is not feasible. TV and video games are often used to calm and center individuals with ADHD. While diet can be a contributing factor with ADHD it is not the only factor. Unfortunately finances often are a roadblock into effectively treating a child with ADHD.
So before you jump all over parents claiming that "good parenting" would solve the issue keep in mind that there are MANY factors that contribute to the success and FAILURE of a student with ADHD. Do YOU want to be part of the problem or do you want to be part of the possibe solution.
I did parent an ADHD child, and I teach them. They thrive in my care, but MOST of the parents...notice I didn't say ALL...aren't doing their parts to control the illness. My son took medicine, AND I did MY part! Today he is a graduate student, thanks to the combination of medicine AND good parenting. I speak from experience.
what ever lady;happen to be in law field ;just pray to god that u do not live in ohio;and yes my child just like yours has every chance in the world to become whatever he may want to be; iam a grandmother who raised 3 adult children 2 of whom went to very good colleges and also became very productiove in todays world soooo ; now iam raising my grandson sooo; i will keep u in my prayers and hope some one shows u the way; cong. on your child;
Amen and Amen
We are disabled parents to 3 daughters and all have medical issues of one kind or another. You'd be amazed how many teachers ar eallowed to be mean to these students. Last year my middle daughter started middle school and since has had nothing but isues. Her school has mistreated her in many ways and we are fighting still for her rights to get an IEP and such. The continue to break laws and insist she serve detentions for things other kids don't get them for. One day they gave her 3 but somehow do not understand that medication changes are very disturbing to a kids daily life, or should I say they refuse to care.
I have talked to teacher upon teacher. Her principle has followed her from class to class. This is the same principle who insists she continue getting detentions like all over strudents and suspended her frm basketball even though this girl has played the last 5 years but never gets the play time as others because of some lame reason or another. I am trying to get them to understand that it is for lack of enthusiasm it's from lack of equal playtime and equal time coached.
I cannot seem to get much help anywhere either for some reason. It is always a challenge in the first place beings we are both disabled but then you have to fill out extra paperwork every time you want help and you have to have this form and this form and so many things to get the help you are legally entitled to.
Thank you for piping up when so many will not these days and it just makes it harder for anyone to get help because so many are ignorant these days or easliy convinced that it is because of bad parents or bad this or that. I really wish I could get something done for my daughter but it seems to be never ending and very frustrating when I also suffer from ADHD anger issues and multiple medical issues myself. Too many schools allow people like me to be stepped on and take it out on my daughter.
Omigosh, I can't believe I'm still hearing this, after sooo much information has come out about ADHD. There is such a huge difference between ADHD and a hyped-up child. One is temporary or learned; the other is a symptom.
THAT SAID, early on, I allowed the MYTH of ADHD to shame me into not getting help for my sweet daughter. True ADHD -- not just a little hyped-up -- is very obvious. I'd LOVE to find it's all me -- I'd change in a heart beat. But I've done everything from Omega 3 supplements (and she loves fish) to great health (helps but does cure) to structure to the hilt of insanity (again, a help only). Professionals continue to remind me that blaming myself hurts her, b/c it takes control away from her.
My dd is now 13 1/2. School is HORRIBLE. She gets 9 1/2 hours a night, takes a nap after school, but needs two during school! She is either WAY up there or collapsing. She talks during her sleep. It's aggravating, but knowing that there are times each day she WILL fall asleep, we have to come up with a way to give it to her, where she can still get her school work in. It's exhausting. I'm exhausted. But we continue to work hard to help her.
PLEASE do not judge the next kid you see that is different than what you're used to. There's no reason for blame. When all you do is blame, you are not part of the solution -- you're part of the problem! I could go on and on trying to convince you, but if your heart is hardened to these children, it wouldn't help. Just know that the only true help is prayer and accomodations, in the same way you would help a child who is legally blind but can still see pretty decently with the right eyeglasses.
Jodie
I am so sorry you are going through such a hard time with your daughter right now. My oldest son is now 26 so hang in there and know that our children do eventually grow up and live independently! It just takes a lot of hard work and yes, exhaustion, to get them there. Keep up fighting and working to help your daughter, if she doesn't have you, she doesn't have anyone to fight for her.
And, I couldn't have said it better myself!
Eileen
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my son has a very sensitive nose. the lunchroom bothered him. especially on taco day. The idea we came up with was a sweat band on his wrist, with a few drops of vanilla flavoring he could smell.
What a simple solution! Good for you and your son.