ADHD and Neurodiversity

[cryrst]

My son is currently in titration for ADHD medication and it seems to be helping. It most certainly doesn't turn children into little robots. But it's always quite funny reading stuff like this.

Do you get benefits for him though. Or have you not claimed it.

 

[Part Time James]

Do you get benefits for him though. Or have you not claimed it.

Not really got anything we would need to claim benefits for. The medication is provided by the NHS. I guess if we needed to pay for some additional support with learning or something there'd be a point but I can't think of any extra expenditure we have as a result of it.

 

[cryrst]

Not really got anything we would need to claim benefits for. The medication is provided by the NHS. I guess if we needed to pay for some additional support with learning or something there'd be a point but I can't think of any extra expenditure we have as a result of it.

you may be the exception. Many would be chasing down a car and extra dough. If he needs education then happy to see that subsidised and rightly so. But clearly you have scruples and morals 👍

 

[Part Time James]

you may be the exception. Many would be chasing down a car and extra dough. If he needs education then happy to see that subsidised and rightly so. But clearly you have scruples and morals 👍

I don't know enough people in my situation to know if I am in the minority or majority, so I can't comment.

Theoretically the diagnoses ought to help his school secure extra funding, for things like additional teaching assistants for one on one support. Practically speaking I don't know how easy it is for the school to get that money, whether they get enough and/or whether they would spend it on what it was intended for. But ideally that's where the money should go.

 

[Part Time James]

Anyway, this isn't a boo hoo woe is me contribution. My lad is hilarious fun and it doesn't particularly seem like a disability in his case. I think the conditions mentioned are quite varied and whilst the people diagnosing these things don't talk in terms of severity, there's definitely quite a range of struggles. My son isn't nuts or retarded if we're going to talk in a language we all understand.

 

[cryrst]

Anyway, this isn't a boo hoo woe is me contribution. My lad is hilarious fun and it doesn't particularly seem like a disability in his case. I think the conditions mentioned are quite varied and whilst the people diagnosing these things don't talk in terms of severity, there's definitely quite a range of struggles. My son isn't nuts or retarded if we're going to talk in a language we all understand.

But his dad is supporting palace 🤣

 

[Stirlingsays]

I think I went to a Neurodiversity to get my degree back in the naughties.

Mad days......the lecturer who taught us 'business intelligence' kept us informed of his wife's ongoing infidelities during lectures and we spend a term partially mulling over the pros and cons of him leaving his wife.

 

[Part Time James]

But his dad is supporting palace 🤣

Oh yeah, I am categorically mental, that was never in dispute.

 

[Part Time James]

I think I went to a Neurodiversity to get my degree back in the naughties.

Mad days......the lecturer who taught us 'business intelligence' kept us informed of his wife's ongoing infidelities during lectures and we spend a term partially mulling over the pros and cons of him leaving his wife.

I didn't bother getting a degree. I spent two years after college shagging some dumb arse professor's Mrs.

 

[Mark B]

It doesn't necessarily make kids more compliant for the convenience of their parents. Methylphenidate is the most common first course of treatment which takes around 8 hours to completely leave the system. This means that most children will come home from school with no enduring effect. If anything, it can make some children more difficult and more manic in the evenings after a day having been on it. In the three weeks of my son on this, there have been three evenings where this has been the case (I got a surprisingly powerful punch in the gonads one evening!). The other 12 evenings he has been absolutely the same as before he tried meds (i.e. a pretty well behaved kid but noisy like kids of his age are!)

A zombie effect, or a making a person into a robot come from a dosage that's far too high, which means due diligence hasn't been followed during titration. They aren't an expected side effect, they are indicative of a dosing error. What the drugs actually should do is raise dopamine and norepinephrine to combat anxiety and impulsive behaviour, i.e. making a person able to be their real self and focus.

I think downers have been prescribed to people who haven't benefited from uppers, but they aren't the first line of medication, they are a last resort. Perhaps they might zombify someone, but it's unlikely anyone would be prescribed these without having tried a variety of stimulants at different doses.

My experience so far involves having to track every change to my son's behaviour on a daily basis and if there are significant negative effects that's exactly what titration is for, to adjust or change medicinal treatment.

Sad to hear that some people seem to have experienced a process whereby that due diligence hasn't been followed.

If I experienced anything like this with my son, or any hint that meds were suppressing his personality then I'd pull the plug pronto!

The zombie kids are a result of parents and Dr's purposefully overmedicating the child. It is child abuse but some parents (who shouldn't be parents) push for it and dr's (who shouldn't be practicing) support them. In the US we have the ability to "shop" around for providers and the mommy network is like the CIA/MI6 when it comes to knowing which Dr's will prescribe the good stuff whether the child needs it or not.

I think you are absolutely on the right track with your son, slow progression instead of jumping to stronger douses before you can actually assess whether it is working on not. I took the same steps you are taking with my own as it help to push him to actually develop the skills required to stay focused while also making it drastically easier to ween him off when he was ready. Nice job Dad, keep up the good work.

 

[georgenorman]

I had a point to make on ADHD but have forgotten what it is.

 

[Badger11]

We need to divorce mental health treatment and benefits.

Of course people with issues need to be treated by the NHS. However this should not be a gateway to receiving benefits.

There will be some cases where people have conditions that mean they are unable to function but the default should be no benefits.

 

[Badger11]

Should students be given extra time when doing exams?

I know people who invigilate and according to them huge numbers are being given extra time for various medical reasons. But is this fair on the "normal" students?

Leaving aside whether a student is faking it or not , I don't think it is.

When you start work your employer will set you tasks and expect them to be done within a time frame. Unless that employer has taken you on specifically aware of your issues you will be expected to perform like everybody else.

So giving that student an assist in tests doesn't prepare that student for the competitive world of work and is unfair on the rest of the class.

By all means give them support through their education but skewing test results just misrepresents those achievements to employers

 

[Racehorse-80s]

From experience , I'm of the opinion many parents/Teachers are too quick and almost fanatical about getting their kids tested and labelled with a Neurodiverse condition , health professionals are worried about over diagnose and the cost /time being spent on the ever increasing cases as well .
Once you attach privileges , Extra school funding and benefits to a condition the rate of diagnoses rockets , There's certainly kids and many un-diagnosed older people who have Neurodiverse conditions that need that extra support but many more do not and lead normal lives un-noticed because they are hardly effected or supported by friends and relatives .

 

[eritheagle]

I had a point to make on ADHD but have forgotten what it is.

Maybe get tested for dementia.

 

[Part Time James]

The zombie kids are a result of parents and Dr's purposefully overmedicating the child. It is child abuse but some parents (who shouldn't be parents) push for it and dr's (who shouldn't be practicing) support them. In the US we have the ability to "shop" around for providers and the mommy network is like the CIA/MI6 when it comes to knowing which Dr's will prescribe the good stuff whether the child needs it or not.

I think you are absolutely on the right track with your son, slow progression instead of jumping to stronger douses before you can actually assess whether it is working on not. I took the same steps you are taking with my own as it help to push him to actually develop the skills required to stay focused while also making it drastically easier to ween him off when he was ready. Nice job Dad, keep up the good work.

I won't take credit for the gradual introduction of the meds. It's very much a stipulation of the private company performing the titration. For info, we went down the Right To Choose path which means a referral to a private company through an NHS GP, rather than a very long wait under CAMHS. We were told CAMHS was a 6 year waiting list, we got my son's ADHD assessment from Right To Chose in 8 months. All still paid for by the NHS, but outsourcing the work.

Anyway, that was a tangent, but they don't come across as pill pushers. They have done lots of checks and we have regular check ins before altering doses etc. I even have to submit blood pressure readings for him every week. I'd be quick to challenge if it felt like they were just handing them out like sweeties, but they definitely take a responsible approach.

The other thing that reassures me is that they have recommended meds so that we can teach him more natural coping mechanisms (i.e.: he has the attention span to try them) with a view to not being on them forever.

 

[Part Time James]

Should students be given extra time when doing exams?

I know people who invigilate and according to them huge numbers are being given extra time for various medical reasons. But is this fair on the "normal" students?

Leaving aside whether a student is faking it or not , I don't think it is.

When you start work your employer will set you tasks and expect them to be done within a time frame. Unless that employer has taken you on specifically aware of your issues you will be expected to perform like everybody else.

So giving that student an assist in tests doesn't prepare that student for the competitive world of work and is unfair on the rest of the class.

By all means give them support through their education but skewing test results just misrepresents those achievements to employers

Inclined to agree I think. Perhaps allow them to wear ear defenders or whatever coping mechanisms they need but otherwise it's not a fair comparison. Your argument seems pretty sound.

Personally I don't even care whether my son gets any qualifications. He shows aptitude for design and engineering (he's 7 but ya know...wired up differently) and I feel like he will find a way to earn a living with or without qualifications. But you're right, he shouldn't get a gig as an English teacher (for example) just because his exams were spoon fed to him, because he'd be sh*t at it.

 

[georgenorman]

Should students be given extra time when doing exams?

I know people who invigilate and according to them huge numbers are being given extra time for various medical reasons. But is this fair on the "normal" students?

Leaving aside whether a student is faking it or not , I don't think it is.

When you start work your employer will set you tasks and expect them to be done within a time frame. Unless that employer has taken you on specifically aware of your issues you will be expected to perform like everybody else.

So giving that student an assist in tests doesn't prepare that student for the competitive world of work and is unfair on the rest of the class.

By all means give them support through their education but skewing test results just misrepresents those achievements to employers

Surely kids that run faster on Sports Day should be made to carry weights to handicap them? Then there is the problem of those that are better looking.

 

[Teddy Eagle]

Inclined to agree I think. Perhaps allow them to wear ear defenders or whatever coping mechanisms they need but otherwise it's not a fair comparison. Your argument seems pretty sound.

Personally I don't even care whether my son gets any qualifications. He shows aptitude for design and engineering (he's 7 but ya know...wired up differently) and I feel like he will find a way to earn a living with or without qualifications. But you're right, he shouldn't get a gig as an English teacher (for example) just because his exams were spoon fed to him, because he'd be sh*t at it.

Good luck to the lad. Talent is more, or at least as, important as qualifications in many jobs- it can just be a bit harder to get a start.
It's likely that Da Vinci had ADHD so without setting the bar too high Part Time Leonardo might have a very bright future.

 

[Part Time James]

Good luck to the lad. Talent is more, or at least as, important as qualifications in many jobs- it can just be a bit harder to get a start.
It's likely that Da Vinci had ADHD so without setting the bar too high Part Time Leonardo might have a very bright future.

I got good GCSE results, p*ssed my A-levels up the wall and started working for a company on minimum wage aged 18. I have now been promoted 8 times over a 27 year career with them, and gotten to a six figure salary. I don't say that to be crass but to emphasize that sometimes just hard work, ability and a pinch of luck is all you need. My task as a Dad is to each him about work ethic. If he's a hard worker, identifies his strengths and maybe gets the right luck he'll be fine. Doesn't need some skewed GCSE results.