BUSH'S BRO: MY SON WAS A VICTIM OF SCHOOL RX

New York Post ^ | 8/14/02 | DOUGLAS MONTERO

[TomSmedley]

I thank God that this stuff wasn't out when I went to school, I have no doubt they would have tried to force feed it to me.

One benefit of home schooling -- a fidgety boy-child can go outside and pace around whenever he needs to, then resume his work. (We finally put our oldest child in a public school -- NC State University, where he seems to be doing well as a computer science major.)

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you for the comment. Learn something new every day. I'll have to check this out with some of my buds. They can shed some more light on this.

[WaterDragon]

Good for the Guv! My younger daughter's first grade teacher tried to insist that she be put on Ritalin because she could hardly sit still in class. She was so thrilled to be in school she really was constantly smiling, delightedly answering every question, sometimes not waiting til she was called on. She was a pill!

I refused the meds and threatened to sue the school district and the teacher personally if they even mentioned meds to me again.

Within two weeks my daughter was sitting quietly in class, of course. I sat in class myself to sit on her til the first exhuberance wore off. She hadn't gone to kindergarten, but had learned to read and do math, including long division before age 5.

She and I worked out a system for her to manage the classrooms, which she loved, even though she was far ahead of what was being taught. That continued for her right through college. But she did love the social aspects of 'school'!

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Could anyone tell me about a government funding program that pays parents whose children are declared "on disability" because of ADD or whatever - and the proof is they are on Ritalin or something similar? In other words, parents get money from the government for their child (several hundred $$$$ per month) if they just put the child on such medication and declare the child "disabled" by way of ADD or some other diagnosis.

I have heard this is routine in the schools around here (Central NC). It's the "new welfare".

Any info on this topic?

[ladylib]

Isn't it true that if these kids are on these drugs for a certain period of time, they can't be admitted to any of the service academies? If that's the case, and parents weren't informed of it, heads should roll and lawsuits should begin. Does anyone know what the armed services' policy is on this?

[billbears]

Well apparently you can get assistance in some form from the general government if you have ADD.

Here

[Van Jenerette]

ADD is probably overdiagnosed. There is a 3:1 male to female ratio of ADD diagnoses.

The major characteristics are:

-fidgeting

-being out of seat at inappropriate times

-running/climbing

-talking excessively

-difficulty during quiet activities

-blurting out answers

-not taking turns

-interrupting

-acting as if driven by a motor.

I teach at a University and a Community College...you just described the students in my 11:00am to noon classes!(and that class is only 50 minutes long!)

[Mr. Jeeves]

The fact is adults given this medication, if there in fact are any, would be told not to drive or operate machinery.

I heard, and have not been able to confirm, that Democrats in some states are working on laws to forbid people who have been on Ritalin at any point in their lives from ever owning a firearm, because of the supposed lingering mental impairment resulting from taking the drug.

Now I don't know if this is true, but it would provide a very neat explanation for why the schools are trying to put every boy on Ritalin.

[DoughtyOne]

That's an interesting question. I don't have the answer, but someone around here will.

[DoughtyOne]

Wow, we have a few great comments after the bell folks. Anyone out there have an answer for these?

[joesbucks]

I've got a problem with how this is stated. It is very easy to read into that parents are being "FORCED" when in fact the medication solution is simply something being advocated.......a far cry from forced.

[John O]

Raising your child to be a successful, well adjusted person may preclude a public education.

Raising your child to be a successful, well adjusted person may precludes a public education.

There. That's better

God Save America (Please)

[js1138]

This has been going on since the early 1980's and back then it was called hyperactivity.

It's been longer than that. I got an M.A. is Special Ed in 1974, and it was a hot topic then. None of the arguments have changed. But somewhere along the line the druggies got the upper hand.

[PrairieDawg]

Joesbucks,
You wrote:

---

I've got a problem with how this is stated. It is very easy to read into that parents are being "FORCED" when in fact the medication solution is simply something being advocated.......a far cry from forced.

---

In some cases the schools have sic'ed the authorities on parents that have refused to put their kids on Ritalin, saying that they were guilty of (get this now) child abuse!

There's much pressure to go along with this idiocy. And mucho $$ for the school system if you put your kid on Ritalin. Follow the money...

FRegards,
PrairieDawg

[Johnny Gage]

investigate the disease and treatment, educate themselves and advocate for their childrens' best interests

I agree. We went through this, and promptly did the following with our son.
1) Full testing by behavioral specialist - Not ADD
2) remove from Pub Ed and enter private school
3) Full physical by doctor, who then referred to an ENT Doc.
4) ENT had federal grant to study the relationship of SLEEP APNEA and ADD/HD Behaviors.
5) Son had 90% airway blockage due to oversized adenoids and tonsils (snored like a train since birth)
6) Adenoidectomy and Tonsillectomy.
7) 6 wks later son was an entirely different child.

If you have a child and they snore, and Educrats say they're ADD, go have a check by a ENT Dr.

[Johnny Gage]

P.S.

Please read this thread for more information:
Snoring and the ADD/HD child

[luckystarmom]

My son's teacher really made me mad this year. He was in 2nd grade in a private Christian school. He was not very attentive. I think because he would get bored in class. He already reads at an 8th grade level, and he is already doing division and fractions for math. They were still teaching just addition and subtraction facts.

Anyway, he also does not like to write, and he would not finish his work. Instead of sending home the work, she would make him miss recess and go to the principals office to do "finish" his work.

What really bothered me was she did this on the last full day of school. The day before she was gone and they had a substitute. Several of the boys didn't finish their work, and on the last full day of school, she made the boys miss recess. It really made me sad because my son made great friends at the school, and he didn't get to have his last recess.

I also think that missing recess probably made him less attentive.

The work he didn't finish was cursive writing. All he was doing was copying cusive pages. I already took him to be evaluated by an occupational therapist who said that my son was physically not ready for cursive writing. He was not there developmentally. I told his teacher this, but she just ignored me.

On top of everything, she would not let kids go to the bathroom during class time, so my son and other kids had accidents at school.

I don't think public school could be much worse than last year in private school. At least it will be free. If I don't like public school, then we'll be doing homeschooling.

[elisabeth]

What a terrible experience!!! It sounds like that teacher was not very interested in making any individual accomodations for anyone. If you do send your son to public school next year, be aware that if you do in fact get him diagnosed as having ADD, by federal law he must have an IEP (individualized education plan) written up, which will include goals and objectives for your son, as well as special accomodations. The teacher must adhere to this plan. Although I don't necessarily agree with many ADD diagnoses OR with all parts of the federal law mandating certain things for people with disabilities, I thought this information might be helpful for you & your son.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Do you know the specifics of Social Security payments to families with children with ADD? Thanks.

[Kaslin]

Remember Family Affair from the 60's? I think teachers expect every child to be another Buffy and Jody which is totally absurd