ADHD can now be diagnosed as young as 4

[deafgal]

i don't think it has anything to do with upbringing either. other than lack of professional help/therapy or better management to handle ADHD symptoms(like teaching your older child with ADHD to use a planner effectively). Most adults with ADHD I talked to think it has nothing to do with their upbringing and it is just who they are,rather they grew up with medications or not-and back in thier days (they are in their late 30's and 40's) you must have serious ADHD symptoms to be diagnosed and prescribed- basically they think it is a unique personality and learning traits so thats why they won't take medication (at least not anymore)

one their mother spend her entire life to get her son to accept the reality that he have ADHD so he will keep taking medication. every friend, including me, she announce he have ADHD. it make him mad but she says she is afraid he would lose friends if they didnt understand. I told her that he was making a lot friends rather they knew about it or not. They just like who he is. She patronize him a lot and She does not like talking to him when he stop talking his medication. She avoid him really. and always complained about his ADHD. Yet, he kept his job for over 15 years and people love him, and always calling him for help, and socialize with him. he have a very social life and yet she is the only one who can't stand talking to him unless he is on medication.

 

[Andypanda6570]

I would also like to say that within the past few weeks I have had a few ppl I know have their childs teacher tell them their child HAS add/adhd. I think teachers should request help for children but leave medical terms to those qualified.

By the way, i love teachers and have loads of respect for what they do and put up with.

I agree with you. I think teachers can bring it to the parents attention that something is going on with their child, but that is it. I think the majority of teachers would never diagnose a child but they would say something is going on. I have a ton of respect for teachers also.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you have children with special needs, like ADD, ADHD, ASD, ODD etc... or how many have first hand experience with children in your care who have it?

My son has ASD and ADHD. I would invite anyone who does not believe in ADHD to spend a day with my child, Dare you lol. Then tell me ADHD is made up.

Also, my son is not medicated. The diagnosis didn't mean that to us. When will people realise that?

ADHD is not naughty, it means impulsive, fidget, hard to relax etc

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

We will have to agree to disagree here for sure and yes, of course I am more emotionally fired. I have dealt with it first hand, I have experience in raising and parenting a child who has different disorders, as well as taking care of other children. I seen my son's home life, I know how he has been brought up so far and I can honestly tell you his life was pretty darn good!

Do people seriously think home life is to blame for ADHD?

WOW, people have A LOT to learn!!!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I'm sorry anyone feels like they have to defend their child. I stated that from my experience as a teacher, I think that ADHD does not exist. It's a personal opinion. That's what news and debates is all about. Debating a topic. Debates do not often stick to the original topic. If people find that too painful, then they can stop posting/reading If I don't like how a thread is going, I stop posting or reading. It's my choice because this is the internet.

sorry last quote but as a parent the last person I would trust to diagnose my child is a teacher. Sorry but teachers gave opinions on my son and they mean nothing (and they were all wrong!) Unless you are trained in the diagnosis field, stick to teaching as it doesn't help, it makes life more stressful for parents who fight an ongoing constant battle already. Just stick to what you know!

 

[Dragonfly]

Some children have been misdiagnosed and have attachment disorders and ADHD is one of them as well as bipolar. RAD would be the main one thats missed. Home life can and does have an impact, it dosnt caused ADHD but of course every child has a different upbringing will be different. Treat a child bad and they will be worse with it and if they get treated better they will be better with it, simple as that.

 

[alaskagrown]

I will break down what I said even further.

Bad home life does NOT equal ADHD.
A bad home life hinders (although some child overcome) the ability of the student to succeed at school, be attentive, control their behavior, etc.

Therefore, a child with a less than ideal home structure that results in poor school work meets the diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

In conclusion, children with poor home structures (which there are a LOT of those out there these days) can be easily misdiagnosed with ADHD.

 

[Andypanda6570]

Sorry don't believe it for a minute poor upbringing or poor structure. ADHD does exist and I don't care if you earn 5 thousand a year or 5 million . Absolutely untrue..

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Sorry don't believe it for a minute poor upbringing or poor structure. ADHD does exist and I don't care if you earn 5 thousand a year or 5 million . Absolutely untrue..

 

[alaskagrown]

Sorry don't believe it for a minute poor upbringing or poor structure. ADHD does exist and I don't care if you earn 5 thousand a year or 5 million . Absolutely untrue..

Good grief, I never mentioned family income! Lack of structure at home = difficulty child adapting to all the structure at school. For the child, that is very conflicting and confusing. I think a 5 year old would have a difficult time being structured for 8 hours per day, and unstructured the rest at home where he or she has free reign to do what he or she pleases with inconsistent consequences for his or her misbehavior, and loads of T.V. watching and video game playing. Of course a child with this kind of home life would face attention and learning problems in the classroom.

I also don't understand your first sentence. I believe it's two separate fragments lacking a verb and I'm not certain on what you're trying to communicate. You don't believe there is such thing as poor upbringing or poor structure? There is A LOT of that in America, and I'm sure elsewhere.

I also think ADHD does exist, but it's more often (than not!) confused with other problems, whether they be improper upbringing or other developmental problems.

I will reiterate this one more time, because I don't think people are understanding - ADHD is not a result of improper upbringing, but rather many (not all) children who come from improper upbringing can be misdiagnosed with ADHD.

 

[JASMAK]

Sorry don't believe it for a minute poor upbringing or poor structure. ADHD does exist and I don't care if you earn 5 thousand a year or 5 million . Absolutely untrue..

Good grief, I never mentioned family income! Lack of structure at home = difficulty child adapting to all the structure at school. For the child, that is very conflicting and confusing. I think a 5 year old would have a difficult time being structured for 8 hours per day, and unstructured the rest at home where he or she has free reign to do what he or she pleases with inconsistent consequences for his or her misbehavior, and loads of T.V. watching and video game playing. Of course a child with this kind of home life would face attention and learning problems in the classroom.

I also don't understand your first sentence. I believe it's two separate fragments lacking a verb and I'm not certain on what you're trying to communicate. You don't believe there is such thing as poor upbringing or poor structure? There is A LOT of that in America, and I'm sure elsewhere.

I also think ADHD does exist, but it's more often (than not!) confused with other problems, whether they be improper upbringing or other developmental problems.

I will reiterate this one more time, because I don't think people are understanding - ADHD is not a result of improper upbringing, but rather many (not all) children who come from improper upbringing can be misdiagnosed with ADHD.

and so can those who have fab upbringings. it's called shit luck

 

[Andypanda6570]

Sorry don't believe it for a minute poor upbringing or poor structure. ADHD does exist and I don't care if you earn 5 thousand a year or 5 million . Absolutely untrue..

Good grief, I never mentioned family income! Lack of structure at home = difficulty child adapting to all the structure at school. For the child, that is very conflicting and confusing. I think a 5 year old would have a difficult time being structured for 8 hours per day, and unstructured the rest at home where he or she has free reign to do what he or she pleases with inconsistent consequences for his or her misbehavior, and loads of T.V. watching and video game playing. Of course a child with this kind of home life would face attention and learning problems in the classroom.

I also don't understand your first sentence. I believe it's two separate fragments lacking a verb and I'm not certain on what you're trying to communicate. You don't believe there is such thing as poor upbringing or poor structure? There is A LOT of that in America, and I'm sure elsewhere.

I also think ADHD does exist, but it's more often (than not!) confused with other problems, whether they be improper upbringing or other developmental problems.

I will reiterate this one more time, because I don't think people are understanding - ADHD is not a result of improper upbringing, but rather many (not all) children who come from improper upbringing can be misdiagnosed with ADHD.

and so can those who have fab upbringings. it's called shit luck

LOL.....Could not have said it better myself...

 

[JASMAK]

I think that a poor upbringing can easily lead to a child being misdiagnosed with ADHD. And unfortunately, I think these cases outweigh the legitimate cases.

Poor upbringing also leads to children becoming doctors, lawyers, social workers, school teachers, judges, actors, flight attendants and so on. That is a ridiculous statement. Any person who would come to a conclusion because a child has a poor upbringing can be misdiagnosed with any disorder is preposterous. Money has nothing to do with it, your life is what you make of it. You are what you are money does not define any person or misdiagnose them .. JMO

When I said poor, I did not mean it monetarily poor. I meant it as "unideal." E.g., neglect, arguing parents, poor nutrition, parents using the television for mental stimulation rather than play, basically uninvolved parents.

I apologize, I should have chosen a different word than "poor" since it has more than one meaning.

I grew up poor, and poor...in both ways. I have never been diagnosed with a behaviour issue, I went to university and have a moderate paying career. I think that is a poor excuse for anyone to say that poor kids get misdiagnosed. There is plenty kids with good parents with behaviour issues...and there is kids that have inadequate parenting and substandard living, such as I...who are fine...and some who truly do have ADHD, like my brother...through no fault of his own, nor related to his upbringing. If anything...I would think it had to do with the fact he was born with a big gaping hole in his head! I think this is the stigma that many people with dissabilities face...generalizations and assumptions based on ignorant people with their own inadequate information.

Well I would say you're an exceptional case. I think that there is a undeniable correlation between a a child's home life and his or her success in the classroom. Of course like I said, there will always be exceptions.

I also believe the number one culprit to misbehaved misdiagnosed ADHD children is lax parenting, which is also on the rise more than ever....coincidentally? If a child does not have a structurally sound foundation with consistent rules and discipline, he or she is being set up to fail in the classroom (but of course... there are some exceptions).

If a non-ADHD child is simply a misbehaved child, they could meet all the criteria for ADHD and be given Ritalin. Parents who "do not have time or energy" to give parenting the full 100% can see Ritalin as an easy way out. And Ritalin would indeed make any worn-out parent's life easier, but it's not always the right choice.

If you think I'm accusing you of having a misdiagnosed child, I'm certainly not. I feel like many of you think I'm accusing your child of not legitimately learning disabled. I'm simply talking about all the children who are misdiagnosed with ADHD in America, which is probably more than half of the recorded cases.

so only misbehaved children come from lax homes and 'poor' families??? good grief!!! your opinions are seriously misguided!!!

no, i didn't think my child was misdiagnosed, nor did I feel you were implying that. She was diagnosed by PROFESSIONALS, and many of them who knew what they were talking about and qualified to make a diagnosis...I am not concerned about a misguided unknown person on the internet! lol

 

[Andypanda6570]

Sorry don't believe it for a minute poor upbringing or poor structure. ADHD does exist and I don't care if you earn 5 thousand a year or 5 million . Absolutely untrue..

Good grief, I never mentioned family income! Lack of structure at home = difficulty child adapting to all the structure at school. For the child, that is very conflicting and confusing. I think a 5 year old would have a difficult time being structured for 8 hours per day, and unstructured the rest at home where he or she has free reign to do what he or she pleases with inconsistent consequences for his or her misbehavior, and loads of T.V. watching and video game playing. Of course a child with this kind of home life would face attention and learning problems in the classroom.

I also don't understand your first sentence. I believe it's two separate fragments lacking a verb and I'm not certain on what you're trying to communicate. You don't believe there is such thing as poor upbringing or poor structure? There is A LOT of that in America, and I'm sure elsewhere.

I also think ADHD does exist, but it's more often (than not!) confused with other problems, whether they be improper upbringing or other developmental problems.

I will reiterate this one more time, because I don't think people are understanding - ADHD is not a result of improper upbringing, but rather many (not all) children who come from improper upbringing can be misdiagnosed with ADHD.

I did not insult you at all, so do NOT insult me cause of my grammar or spelling . I suck in both grammar and spelling but I am a lot smarter in life and reading people . You can shove your lacking a VERB where the sun don't shine.. Did you understand that?
Have a great day!!!

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

i think alot of people on here are getting a bit bullheaded and not understanding/reading the replies correctly, i have just read about 5 posts that have been totally misunderstood... also its a debate people are not dumber or smarter then anyone else for thinking the way they do x

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I think its just because its easy to throw out statements and say things dont exists when for some of us its personal and we know they exist as we live it every day. I for one wont sit back and let people blame family life or anything else for the way my son is. I do get defensive about ASD/ADHD as it is very real for us!

 

[alaskagrown]

I think its just because its easy to throw out statements and say things dont exists when for some of us its personal and we know they exist as we live it every day. I for one wont sit back and let people blame family life or anything else for the way my son is. I do get defensive about ASD/ADHD as it is very real for us!

I understand why you're defensive for your child, but think about the general population as a whole. Do you think your case rings true for the 10% of children diagnosed with ADHD. The general consensus is 1,000,000 U.S. children are misdiagnosed with ADHD at the moment. And I really do believe that's a rather conservative estimate.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I have no idea about US statistics but I would say they are fair in the uk. Ritalin is not "just handed out" and you cant just walk in and get diagnosed.

 

[JASMAK]

I think its just because its easy to throw out statements and say things dont exists when for some of us its personal and we know they exist as we live it every day. I for one wont sit back and let people blame family life or anything else for the way my son is. I do get defensive about ASD/ADHD as it is very real for us!

I understand why you're defensive for your child, but think about the general population as a whole. Do you think your case rings true for the 10% of children diagnosed with ADHD. The general consensus is 1,000,000 U.S. children are misdiagnosed with ADHD at the moment. And I really do believe that's a rather conservative estimate.

That's a US issue, not an issue for everyone here. Canada does not have that issue.

 

[BlackBerry25]

Actually, yes, some people can be more ignorant than others on a topic.

Anyways, I am really REALLY scared now of my children having educators who don't believe in things that are scientifically proven. At least I can thank you for opening my eyes to that fact, because I never in a million years would have thought I would encounter a teacher that doesn't believe in things like ADHD.