Dimensional Door - Freeople Thread 18

today | Me

[Lakeshark]

Catpuppy? Have you had your shot?

I think he's opting for single malt in this case.......but I'm not sure if it's a preference thing or whether he was born that way........

Go Dawags!!

[Conservababe]

My daughter went through this garbage, except that it was in day care.

When my middle grandson was two years old, she found a note in his daily papers notifying her...not asking permission, mind you... that he would be evaluated by the mobile health task force visiting the day care.

The next day she sat down with the principal of the day care and was told that Jeremiah probably had autism. So, my daughter asked her why she thinks so. She responds that he rocks back and forth sometimes and he doesn't like to be hugged.

So, my daughter comes home and calls her husband who was out of town. I will say this for my a-hole son-in-law, he did drive right home and go to visit this principal. And he was hot. He told her that they had no right to just notify them that tests were being done, without their explicit written permission and that Jeremiah had a pediatrician who would make that decision. He also told her that Jeremiah had a new baby brother right next door in the nursery, and she should know enough in her job that this might cause some withdrawal problems. And as far as the rocking goes, he told her that he rocks only when he sucks his thumb, and that is when he is tired. He also told her that she would not be labeling his son or she would be sued personally.

Well, Jeremiah is almost five now and perfectly fine. In fact, he is more out-going than his sister and brother.

[lodwick]

Good job SIL.

Another good resource from the author of The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses here .

[ValerieUSA]

[lodwick]

Wow...another perfect day here in CenTex.

[Conservababe]

Ah am at my wits end today. I don't feel very well with sinus problems and have been lounging around. But, I have had to get up and go outside seven times today to chase away a red headed woodpecker who insists on pecking on my cedar siding.

He is soon going to be a dead red headed woodpecker!

[lodwick]

A friend recently told me about using a squirt of Afrin, followed by a blast of saltwater to the beak. Wow - talk about clearing things up for me.

(Your mileage may vary.)

This should not be construed as medical advice, and was presented for your entertainment purposes only.

[Conservababe]

LOL, yes, I have snorted salt water. My chiropractor says she can help my sinuses with acupuncture. Ha, she was telling me this while talking through her nose.

[sweetliberty]

Practically every kid I work with is on a whole catalogue of drugs. It drives me nuts. I'm not saying there are not times it is called for, but it should be the exception, not the rule. Thre are some issues that we have in law and policy that I take real exception to. I have a lot of discretionary freedom to make decisions in some matters, but in others, the rules are pretty clear and there is little or no room for deviation. This overdiagnosing is one of those issues. I am looking for ways to better educate the parents of some of my kids so they are not at the mercy of a system that calls them negligent if they don't drug their kids out for various "disorders." In addition to the ones listed, a couple of others on the rise are PTSD and RAD. Pretty soon, no one will be responsible for anything.

[sweetliberty]

"Catpuppy? Have you had your shot?"

Catpuppy? Catpuppy? Catpuppy????

[Conservababe]

Good for you. Parents should not have to be held hostage to any school, whether private or public, for the charge of negligence in not agreeing with their policies or demands.

I'm still trying to figure out why President Bush is insisting on this mandated mental health evaluation. Any thoughts or opinions?

[sweetliberty]

Tyler's school has been trying to pin the ADHD label on him since kindergarten. Tyler is all boy. He does have some attention problems, and in his case it may be hereditary (true ADD tends to be), but it doesn't automatically mean that you go for the medicine cabinet. There are creative ways to deal with ADD too and it makes me angry that no one ever seems to consider this. I guess if they did, then teachers would be responsible to actually teach instead of just passing out pills.

[lodwick]

Has the pup gone missing on us?

Prolly watching some contest involving a pigskin.

[lodwick]

Follow the money trail and you'll have your answer.

Sad to say.

[Conservababe]

I don't think, from my experience in the day care fiasco, that it is actually the teachers who are promoting the evaluations for deficiencies in children. I think that it is their unions and/or their coalitions with universities who promote the roving mobile units to evaluate children and make their job possible.

And may I say once again that I do appreciate your approach to social service...unlike some of liberals.

[lodwick]

Back when, they thought that Mrs.L might not be quite "right," until some teacher with some snap suggested that a visit to the optomitrist's office might be a good thing...sure enough, she couldn't see what was being written on the blackboard.

There are so many different factors in different kid's behavior that should be explored before jamming them full of the psychotropic crap that big pharma is falling all over themselves to get to market.

Does AK pay more $$$ to foster parents whose wards are determined to be "special needs" children? If so, you can see the motivation to get little Johnny or Sally diagnosed quickly and onto the pill merry-go-round.

[sweetliberty]

I'm guessing that it probably has to do with the fact that a lot of kids really are slipping through the cracks because they have "mental" problems that go undetected. Kids are very good at learning to compensate and cover-up where they fall short. Many of these kids are from poor AND dysfunctional homes. They can have poor brain development from poor nutrition, even during the mother's pregnancy. They can have spent their earliest years confined to car seats, cribs and playpens with very little adult interaction. Many of them receive no significant mental stimulation prior to starting school. In other words, they enter school already seriously damaged in some way.

What has happened in the past, with all the touchy, feely philosphy in the schools with the emphasis on self-esteem, kids were allowed to progress to the next grade level, even though they had failed to master the work at the previous level. After awhile, illiteracy begins to look like noncompliance.

I think the president is probably looking at it in much the same way that we look at physical health screenings, with a view to early detection and intervention. Sometimes relatively minor and easily correctable problems can create tremendous barriers to learning and mastery of various skills, as anyone who has ever had to deal with visual impairment or a toothache, knows. There is no "one size fits all" approach to learning, and whether we want to admit it or not, we live in an increasingly unhealthy society and the children are a reflection of our cultural "disease."

I think the mental screenings are tied in with the No Child Left Behind act and is geared at making sure that all children have access to an education that is tailored to meet their individual needs. A noble aim, and worth the cost.....if it works. Unfortunately, I fear it is like treating the symptoms of a disease without treating the cause and condition of the disease itself. If the root of the problem isn't dealt with, then the treatment will be cosmetic and temporary, at best.

[sweetliberty]

Well, actually, I was replying to Nully's #4339 where he was talking about how the government might be planning to take care of that pesky Social Security shortfall.

.

Catpuppy?

[lodwick]

Excellent commentary.

Fedgov needs to get completely out of education and return it to the local level. (Just like fedgov needs to get out of a lot of other things that are unconstitutional and none of their business.)

[sweetliberty]

"Does AK pay more $$$ to foster parents whose wards are determined to be "special needs" children?"

Well, I don't know what Alaska does......but in Arkansas (AR) it is usually only done when the child has such serious problems that additional payment is justified. A special application has to be made though, and the percentage of foster parents who actually higher board payments for a special needs child is actually quite low.