Not buying it one bit. When my daughter was 4 months old her pediatrician told me to save for private school because she was on track for an ADHD diagnosis and Ritalin if we put her in public school. He was right. She is 20 now, skipped a grade, was a National Merit scholar and is still happiest when she has to do 100 hours of work in 40, or even happier when she has to do 200 hour of work in 100. It has nothing to do with reading and never has.
The boy on my street who was diagnosed is 14 and has no trouble reading but there is just not enough world to keep him busy and his teachers don’t know how to cope with that ... super smart kid. Just needs more to keep him busy ... and that is a challenge. Nothing to do with reading.
Many kids these days get put on Ritalin before they are ever expected to read. It is sad ... it kills their personalities and dampens true curiosity and energy.
“Many kids these days get put on Ritalin before they are ever expected to read. It is sad ... it kills their personalities and dampens true curiosity and energy.”
You are exactly right. Our son s right on the ADHD borderline and we chose a private school who works WITH us. We’ve chosen, and I know it’s not for everyone, to handle his issues through diet. He didn’t have formula, I made all his baby food, and we were already eating a diet close to a whole foods diet. We eliminated dairy from his diet and saw a pretty amazing improvement in his irrational meltdowns. We had to come down pretty hard on the grandparents who didn’t agree with our approach. That was tough, until my FIL gave my son McDonalds fries and he was literally bouncing off of the walls.
My son has a wonderful imagination and we, and his school, do not want to stifle that. They help us get in extra movement time and allow him his snacks when he needs them, which of course is more often than students who aren’t as active. We’ve discovered it’s just a matter of finding what he’s interested in and taking advantage of that.