Overuse of ADHD diagnosis

[Nataliesmom]

Is this for real, I am sat here thinking how to reply...but seriously???

Yes, I agree. Even kids with ADHD, fetal alcohol syndrome, Tourettes, etc, need to be taught to hold themselves responsible for their actions. They need to learn about actions and consequences, and simply justifying their bad behaviour by saying, "oh, they can't help it, they have ADHD" is not doing them any favours. How are they going to be able to function later on in life if they don't know basic social rules?

I really dont know what to say apart from if you really had any experience you would realize how silly that sounds!

Also DLA is not just a form, its assessments etc I have no idea how people think you just turn up and claim!

So if a kid with ADHD hits another kid you shouldn't maybe point out to them that it was wrong, and get them to figure out what led to the hitting? To try to prevent it from happening again?

 

[Mindy_mini]

Do people know what ADHD is? It does NOT mean naughty!?

I wont claim to know everything about it but i do know It's not just "naightiness" it's hyperactivity along with attention disorders along with other things. Sadly the two "main" symptoms are also consistent with children who have little or no discipline installed within the home. A child who has no routine and stability can get over stimulated and this can be see seen as hyperactivity, likewise a child who isn't encouraged may struggle to concentrate on specific tasks for periods of time. Another key symptom I believe is the child "not listening" which again I beleive is a sign that would be consistent with Lack of interaction and discipline within the home.

As I say I do beleive the condition exists And is a real issue to genuine sufferers but I also think FOR SOME it's easier to label a child who has disciplinary issues with ADHD rather than install boundaries and take responsibility as parents.

 

[Mindy_mini]

Isnt ADHD more about not being able to focus comfortably on tasks and needing help to retain focus?

I didnt realise it was 'behaving badly'

Often kids who can't focus get board easily so they try other actvities to keep themselves amused but this can be seen as misbehaving. Imagine as a teacher you're tryIng to teach a class maths and one student wants to be doing art work and isn't concentrating that child would appear to be "acting up" or "misbehaving.

When dh was a child he was quite smart for his age and would get bored at school. Rather than think he wasn't stimulated his teacher suspected some condition or other as he would "zone out". Turns out he had a reading age 3yrs ahead of his class and was just bored stiff.

 

[feeble]

I agree, and i would say its the school system thats flawed, NOT the children x

 

[indy and lara]

As a teacher can I just say that I would not decide that a child has ADHD because they zoned out or were not concentrating. This is just one part of ADHD but far from the whole thing. Misbehaviour is not ADHD or I would often teach a class of 33 with ADHD.....

Also I generally DO NOT discipline in front of all the other children. Discipline is not about humiliation and I would not discipline a child infront of the class or other parents just to appease people. Most of the time discipline and deciding on consequences is done on a one-to-one basis, away from the other children. This is especially true for a child with ASN where there is often low self-esteem and self-image.

 

[feeble]

Indy i wish you were my teacher! (the 10 year old me of course) xx

 

[indy and lara]

Indy i wish you were my teacher! (the 10 year old me of course) xx

I'd have you waving the school based learning flag!!!!!

 

[JASMAK]

Do people know what ADHD is? It does NOT mean naughty!?

I wont claim to know everything about it but i do know It's not just "naightiness" it's hyperactivity along with attention disorders along with other things. Sadly the two "main" symptoms are also consistent with children who have little or no discipline installed within the home. A child who has no routine and stability can get over stimulated and this can be see seen as hyperactivity, likewise a child who isn't encouraged may struggle to concentrate on specific tasks for periods of time. Another key symptom I believe is the child "not listening" which again I beleive is a sign that would be consistent with Lack of interaction and discipline within the home.

As I say I do beleive the condition exists And is a real issue to genuine sufferers but I also think FOR SOME it's easier to label a child who has disciplinary issues with ADHD rather than install boundaries and take responsibility as parents.

But who is judging this? You as another parent perceiving someone else's child is just naughty and they lack parenting skills?? Are you qualified to make the determination that someone is just naughty or lacks parenting at home?

(this is not directed towards anyone in particular...just what I have experienced with a child with a hidden dissability):

This is the part that drives me MAD!!! My GP can't even diagnose autism etc, (GP's are not qualified) yet the common mother in the neighbourhood all of a sudden knows all about my child and whether or not they truly have it.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Someone come to my house and tell me we have no routine LMAO. Sorry its not even worth justifying to someone who has no idea...

 

[Nataliesmom]

Someone come to my house and tell me we have no routine LMAO. Sorry its not even worth justifying to someone who has no idea...

I must have missed the post where someone said you personally didn't have any routine. And the part where you felt you needed to justify yourself.

 

[Dragonfly]

Someone come to my house and tell me we have no routine LMAO. Sorry its not even worth justifying to someone who has no idea...

You have a child who has genuinely got autism sometimes docs misdiagnose other children not children like yours. My sister has severe autism also not some form of bad behavior, She is 17 and still cant say my name. I remember social workers coming in telling my parents off for paying her attention when she tantrumed and she had major tantrums. Saying she was an attention seeker and to ignore her. I always say to my parents not to do it but they did. My mum would sit there and my sis would be so angry she would hit her for not listenig to her.Its easy for someone else to sit and say you need this and that and look down on you, believe me we took her out and she would flip out and people would stare at my parents like bad parents and then they just stopped taking her out. I dont think this thread is aimed at genuine cases but sometimes kids act out at parents from what they have done and its not adhd just a child that needs help and to connect with parents an attachment disorder. I didnt mean all kids just some, not yours or ones like yours or my sister. I would much prefer they all got help in stead of parents being told to ignore hem it makes it worse especially with autism. My sister is so bad tempered and invert at the same time from what my parents thought they where doing what was right. No kid should be ignored with how they feel.

 

[Snugggs]

This thread just proves how un-educated most people are when it comes to mental health disability..... Nuf said!

 

[Mindy_mini]

This thread just proves how un-educated most people are when it comes to mental health disability..... Nuf said!

I'm sorry but your post come across as very condisending. The opening poster asked if people thought the diagnosis of ADHD was over used. I feel it is in my personal opinion. As it happens I do have knowledge of mental health disabilities - maybe not ADHD but enough to have an opinion.

Surely it would be better for genuine sufferers if the diagnosis was reserved for them and not thrown around willy nilly. That way resources would be more readily available to those who need the help and assistance in developing coping mechanisms to adapt and live a normal life where they experience less difficulties due to their condition?

 

[Dragonfly]

This thread just proves how un-educated most people are when it comes to mental health disability..... Nuf said!

who was that aimed at?

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Someone come to my house and tell me we have no routine LMAO. Sorry its not even worth justifying to someone who has no idea...

I must have missed the post where someone said you personally didn't have any routine. And the part where you felt you needed to justify yourself.

I just feel like your posts are really direct to those who have children with a diagnosis!

 

[DanielleM]

In this thread there has been no reference to statistics and hpw many children actually have been diagnosed with ADHD? The people who agree it is over diagnosed do you know what percentage is over diagnosed?

Unfortunatley it is a really drawn out process to be diagnosed not as a previous poster stated about GP's only spending 11 minutes of certain diorders, a GP cannot diagnose ADHD, they can suspect it and get the ball rolling, referring the child to Paediatrician's, then a whole host of other health professionals get involved, observing, investigating and writing reposts on the child until an official diagnosis is made.

I believe we get a whole host of parents who have children with behavioural issues that blame ADHD, but just because that parent says the child has it does not automatically mean that the child has an offical diagnosis. This is where I believe that ADHD has got a bad reputation, from parents blaming their child's behaviour on an a real condition, but their child does not suffer from this, it is actually due to their own parenting.

This means that parents who do actually have children that suffer from the disorder have to fight to be heard!!

 

[indy and lara]

In this thread there has been no reference to statistics and hpw many children actually have been diagnosed with ADHD? The people who agree it is over diagnosed do you know what percentage is over diagnosed?

Unfortunatley it is a really drawn out process to be diagnosed not as a previous poster stated about GP's only spending 11 minutes of certain diorders, a GP cannot diagnose ADHD, they can suspect it and get the ball rolling, referring the child to Paediatrician's, then a whole host of other health professionals get involved, observing, investigating and writing reposts on the child until an official diagnosis is made.

I believe we get a whole host of parents who have children with behavioural issues that blame ADHD, but just because that parent says the child has it does not automatically mean that the child has an offical diagnosis. This is where I believe that ADHD has got a bad reputation, from parents blaming their child's behaviour on an a real condition, but their child does not suffer from this, it is actually due to their own parenting.

This means that parents who do actually have children that suffer from the disorder have to fight to be heard!!

Well said! I often think that some of these threads portray all professionals involved with children as eejits. As a teacher I may suspect a child has ADHD or a similar syndrome but I would never announce to a parent that their child had ADHD. Nor would I support a parent who declared their child had ADHD without a formal diagnosis. I may suggest that a referral is made for further exploration but that would be it. My part is usually further down the diagnosis line when I may have to complete observations/ diaries/ speak with CAMHS.

 

[mum22ttc#3]

In this thread there has been no reference to statistics and hpw many children actually have been diagnosed with ADHD? The people who agree it is over diagnosed do you know what percentage is over diagnosed?

Unfortunatley it is a really drawn out process to be diagnosed not as a previous poster stated about GP's only spending 11 minutes of certain diorders, a GP cannot diagnose ADHD, they can suspect it and get the ball rolling, referring the child to Paediatrician's, then a whole host of other health professionals get involved, observing, investigating and writing reposts on the child until an official diagnosis is made.

I believe we get a whole host of parents who have children with behavioural issues that blame ADHD, but just because that parent says the child has it does not automatically mean that the child has an offical diagnosis. This is where I believe that ADHD has got a bad reputation, from parents blaming their child's behaviour on an a real condition, but their child does not suffer from this, it is actually due to their own parenting.

This means that parents who do actually have children that suffer from the disorder have to fight to be heard!!

This

This is exactly why I think others believe it is misdiagnosed so much, because they listen to parents that say their kids have ADHD when in actual fact they don't and have never had an official diagnosis. Like you say parents blaming their kids behaviour on a very real condition.

Saying that though I do know someone who was diagnosed with ADHD but in the end it wasn't that, it was something completely different. I do think these cases are probably rather rare though.