2. Definition
ADHD is a disorder of the higher
brains function. This disorder
causes inattention, impulsive
behavior and increased motor
activity (needing to be always on-
the-go).
4. ADHD is the most common disorder
of childhood and adolescence today.
Although, several people are not
diagnosed until adulthood.
The number of adult
ADHD diagnoses
are on the rise.
5. Florida is number
36 out of the 50
states for having
the most childhood
diagonses of ADHD.
11.9 million and
counting...
6. 80% of all diagonsed
children with ADHD
have a parent with
ADHD.
8. Medication is the most common
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way to control ADHD symptoms.
Parents often struggle with this decision.
Several try:
•Removing all gluten from their diet
•Avoiding fluroide and aluminum
•Not allowing their child to injest dyes
•Keeping their child "sugar-free"
•Adding B vitamins to the diet
•Newest fad- giving their children coffee
9. Many parents would look down on a
mother giving their child a cup of
Joe but, mothers with an ADHD
child understand why.
Why Coffee??
The mind of a ADHD child is working too fast and by
giving a child a stimulant they are able to calm down. You
would think they would be even more hyper but, the
opposite occurs. Many doctors are concerned with this
approach. They insist that increased amounts of caffiene
is bad for childens overall growth. Furthermore, the
coffee will loose it's effectiveness with normal useage.
10. How are we finanically affected in
Florida by ADHD?
Children on goverment paid health insurance
(Medicaid) are more likely than privately insured
children to have a diagnosis of ADHD. Annual
cost per child is approximately $14,500. This is
a heavy burden on our state considering that
38% of all Florida children are on Medicaid.
up the tab.
"We the people" are picking
11. Parents of diagnosed children may
be loosing some of their rights.
Did you know in the U.S. judges can consititutionally order ADHD
medication be given to a child over the opposition of their
parents? Some parents medicate thier children in fear of loosing
them to child protective service.
U.K. parents can face jail time for not following the physicans
medication orders.
Most people feel it is a parents choice, not the
goverments.
Judges have to follow the law. If a child was diabetic and the
parent withheld insulin we would want the law to step in. What is
the difference?
Disease= something physical, something we can touch (liver,
kidney)
12. Disease-is something physical, something we can
touch (liver, kidney)
Disorder- is more psychological, see the reaction
only
Some people have a hard time believing something exist that
they can not touch.
Myths
1.ADHD is a result of bad parenting.
2.Teachers want most kids on ADHD medications.
3.It is easy to get a child diagnosed with ADHD.
4.Children will outgrow ADHD.
5.ADHD children just don't try hard enough.
13. Personal experience
I chose this topic because I worked in a high-need classroom for a few years as an
aide. High-need is the politicaly correct term we have come up for children with
behavior problems. All of the children in the classroom I worked in had ADHD
except for one. That ADHD free child was growing up in a home filled with chaos
and in turn she was chaotic at school. The class was small, we had 12 students. Only
2 students were female. How tough could a class room filled with 10 hyperactive
firstgrade boys be? Let me just say, on my first day I was ready to quit.
Most of the children did not have a seat. This was a smart move on the teachers
part (at first I thought they were being punished). Children with ADHD fidget
constantly, they just cant be still. Removing their seat gave them a little "wiggle
room."
The teacher I worked with was awesome. She worked hard to convince parents the
medication was the answer. All the parents were hesitant and most said "NO"
everytime it was mentioned but, she never gave up hope. She would send
documentation in with parents when they went to their pediatricians, classroom
videos of their child and reference letters from the princpal. Any parent that
asked her to come along for the doctor appointment, she glady agreed. Why did she
want all these children on medication? and why am I allowing myself to be a part of
this?
14. As time went on I was able to see the miracle that medication could be to a child with ADHD. A
boy named Collin was in our class. He, like the others fidgeted, called out, was easliy distracted,
and had undiagnosed ADHD. He was a bright first grader whom came into our class reading on a
0.9 grade level (meaning ninth month in the kindergarten year) He had a head full of blonde curls
which his hands were often in. He was in our class, occupational therapy , and speech. He lived
with his greatgrandmother who was 86. He was one of the first kids I got to see transform into
the child he always could be. After his greatgrandmother got very sick and she was unable to
control Collin anymore, she aggred to see the physican about Collins hyperactivity. She was sure
he was just being a "boy" and would grow out of this phase. The physican looked at all the
evidence and diagnosed Collin with ADHD.
Collin struggled the first few days on his medication. He was sick to his stomach, zombie like, and
very quiet. I was sure the medication was doing him more harm than good. I was told to wait it
out, the first few days were the toughest. Collin returned to school on Monday morning after 5
days on his medicine and he was a new child. He was all smiles as he came into the class room. He
went over to the stack of chairs in the corner and chose a seat. He quitley worked at his desk
and raised his hand to answer the teacher. His reading level began to change. Collin went for a
0.9 reading level to a 3.4 (third grade- fourth month) in less than 5 months. Collin was moved into
regular class for the first time and flurished. He is an exceptional little boy but, he always was,
he just needed some medicine to help hime control his body. With his body in check his mind is
quiter and he could focus. Collins' Greatgrandmother died when he was in second grade and I
tried hard to adopt him. His uncle from out west moved to our little town to take custody of
Collin. This story is a true one and some parts are sad. The teacher I worked with has a nasty
reputation in our town as a "pill pusher". People just don not understand ADHD. People do not
know what I know. Some things you just got to see to believe. I hope you now have a better
understanding of ADHD.
