Comments on: A Must Read for All Parents, Teachers, and ADD / ADHD Thrivers

By: Kathryn Goetzke

Kathryn Goetzke — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:09:21 +0000

You are welcome. Thanks for sharing your story – it may be of great help to other parents. It is great to hear that you kept at it and your child seems to be in a good place now.
Take care!

By: Amy W

Amy W — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:18:28 +0000

As the parent of a 7 year old who is battling the effects of ADD I know first hand that the more unstructured time he has, the more productive he is. He does not have the hyperactive portion to deal with, but he more than makes up for that with the inattentiveness. His first grade teacher was the worst possible combination for him. She did not understand, nor appreciate his difficulties and often reprimanded him for his “misbehavior” and “acting up” by sending him to the principal’s office or keeping him in from recess. Punishing him for “problems he was causing” made him feel self conscious and defenseless. He was not able to articulate to her that he truly could not control some of the things he was doing. Many of them were self soothing techniques he had developed over the years to deal with stress and anxiety. Things like jiggling his leg, or tapping his fingers were therapeutic for him and he was constantly being removed from class for doing so. The embarrassment he felt from that threw him into a cycle of low self esteem and self consciousness that we had to work hard to over come.

We have tried to get a 504 plan in place for him (the school does not qualify him for an IEP because academically he is doing well), but it is a struggle. This year he has a wonderful teacher and classroom aides who not only allows him to “do what he needs to for himself” but they have made accommodations for his testing and work time to allow him to thrive. It is concerning to me that next year he will not receive that help without a 504 in place.

So I guess my point is that yes, teachers in general are ill prepared to deal with children who had ADD/ADHD. The rules and structure in many schools and classrooms are counter productive to these kids, and lastly that physical activity benefits everyone, but especially those with ADD/ADHD. I am a self-taught parent on the techniques/skills, what have you that are needed to raise a child dealing with this and I have made it my mini-mission to educate other parents on the rights and options that they have for their kids. I am thankful to articles like this that help me to learn, and spread the knowledge! Thank you!

By: Kensington

Kensington — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:37:00 +0000

This is a good article. Unfortunately, too many school systems do not fully understand how to help kids with ADD/ADHD, or even in some cases don’t fully offer what they are supposed to offer by law.

Every child with ADD/ADHD deserves to have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) that is right for them. For more info:
http://www.4-adhd.com/blog/2010/09/group-helps-parents-of-adhd-students-prepare-for-iep-meetings.html

By: Part 3 – It is Time to Rethink the Role of Hyperactivity in ADHD

Part 3 – It is Time to Rethink the Role of Hyperactivity in ADHD — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:00:59 +0000

[...] A Must Read for All Parents, Teachers, and ADD / ADHD Thrivers 1). Through his research, John Ratey has shown that children with 30 minutes of recess have more attention and less behavioral problems. It was critical that the recess does not have much material, is unstructured, and allows kids to be creative with what they do during the time. 2). In Naperville, IL there is a program called PELife that they participate for 45 minutes in every single day. There are 19,000 kids in schools, and only 3% are overweight, as compared to the National Average of 30%. They score #1 in Science and #4 in Math. 3). In a Texas Cooper Study, 2. 1 million kids were studied. The study showed that the kids have less discipline problems, and better academic performance. 4). One of the best schools in Europe has 45 minutes of work, and 15 minutes of exercise per hour. [...]

By: Gregory Wells, PhD

Gregory Wells, PhD — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:34:31 +0000

Having worked in the public school system, it’s true that kids don’t get enough time to be kids. Unstructured play time is vitally important and missing from the lives of many of our children.

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:50:39 +0000

I know it seems a strange comparison but I see ADHD kids in the same light as raising a pit bull. Both are extremely energetic and need to have that release on a regular basis in order to clear out the mind. There is a saying in the dog world…”A tired pit is a happy pit.” The same could be said with children who have ADHD let them burn it off and when they get to the point the most kids would be exhausted then they will probably stay focused and pay more attention for longer periods.

By: What Should Parents Know About Diagnosis And Symptoms of ADHD

What Should Parents Know About Diagnosis And Symptoms of ADHD — Wed, 19 May 2010 04:28:35 +0000

By: Best of Our Blogs: May 18th, 2010 | World of Psychology

Best of Our Blogs: May 18th, 2010 | World of Psychology — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:44:27 +0000

[...] A Must Read for All Parents, Teachers, and ADD/ADHD Thrivers [...]

By: PsychCentral

PsychCentral — Tue, 18 May 2010 04:13:00 +0000

Parents and teachers of kids with ADD/ADHD kids, you'll want to read this: http://bit.ly/c3apL7 Information on the importance of exercise.

By: Children, Exercise, and ADD / ADHD | ADHD In Focus | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Mon, 17 May 2010 20:57:44 +0000

[...] News excerpt frοm: Family, Implementation, аnԁ ADD / ADHD | ADHD In Focus Related [...]