No such thing as ADHD?

[singnmommy]

Okay here it goes....I am an elementary education major and have read many times the doubts that you as parents have in the education system. So far, we have been blessed in school and had teachers that cared about the children and were not there for the vacation time. I have met a college professor that takes the cake....I talked to one girl and she said whatever you do don't tell this teacher that your child has ADHD, she will treat you differently and argue with you that your child doesn't have it. I have kept my mouth shut, but basically this veteran says that there is no such thing as ADHD or dyslexia etc. in a child at the age of five. I, for one, am truly upset by this. I am open about my ss condition. I have never tried to hide it because I have found more support and resources by talking about it. So what do you think about that one guys? Going through what you've gone through, how would you handle this teacher and what do you [glow=red,2,300]REALLY[/glow] want to tell her?

[swmom]

I was told by our pediatrician - when we first started to suspect that something was up with our daughter(around 1st grade or so) - NOT to communicate those concerns to her teacher because the teacher would begin to subconsciously treat her like she had problem and lower her expectations of her as a student. He said that his wife(a preschool teacher) had told him that! So, we've been tight-lipped about the whole thing, because she is NOT a behavior problem at all and it isn't terribly obvious. After we did some outside testing at the end of 2nd grade and were told that she had ADHD, we communicated this to her 2nd grade teacher, because it was the end of the year and we figured it wouldn't do any harm at that point. She was shocked. Had no idea. Her comment was, "How could that be, she's an angel!"

Anyway, that's our experience. But every child and every situation/teacher is different.

[swmom]

Also, I would worry about a teacher who thinks that ADHD and especially dyslexia doesn't exist at the age of 5. Children are born with these disorders!

[Allanque]

I have an aunt who specializes in special ed (got her masters, I think) who swears that ADHD doesn't exist. We swear her two kids have it though...

[AnneM]

Oh wow!! I can relate to this .... When Sam was in the process of being tested I stupidly mentioned it to his (at the time) English teacher. She told me "there is no such thing as adhd - it is all down to sugar intake" ....

Looking back I am APPALLED that this lady said this to me! ... I was at my "most vulnerable" during the process of diagnosis and was in danger of listening to people with these beliefs!! ...

The one thing I do know is that THIS lady is the ONE person whom my son "clashed with" more than ANY OTHER teacher in his whole 12 years at school .... she just 'didn't get it" ... !! He ended up being removed from her English class due to a "personality clash" but I was told by the Head of Year that this was definitely NOT just my son's fault ... the said teacher was really giving him a hard time ... (this was actually admitted by the Head of Year!!) ...

I don't think any of us will ever succeed in "enlightening" those with such "head in the sand" ideas... I would just HOPE that your own kids never have a teacher like this themselves and be grateful that these people don't come along in our kid's lives too often!!

[ohmama]

Ha Ha, I had to laugh at your question of "what would I REALLY want to tell her". I'm afraid if I told you what I would REALLY want to tell her I would find myself in trouble all over again. I can't afford that right now.

I guess what it all comes down to is weather or not this professor is even open to discuss why she thinks there's no such thing as adhd, etc. You would think an educated person would be open to reason on the facts? What does she base this conclusion on? You would have to find out why she thinks this in order to reason with her. Does she have ANY medical knowledge at all? Or does she know anything about the brain?

[mom2tj]

this is you proffessor? if so I would shut my mouth because if she is so stuck on her opinion it will do nothing but make you mad and you will gain nothin.

the situation would be different if this was DS's proffessor then I would debate....

[mctavish23]

Hi,
The definitive journal article on the existence of ADHD is:

International Consensus on ADHD Statement
January 2002
Published in the Clinical and Family Psychology Review,Vol.5,No.2,June 2002,89-111.

That article is signed off on by over 80 of the world's leading scientists from all over the globe. The lenght of the article is due to the 14 1/2 pages of scientific references, which represents one of the most definitive reference lists available today.

But wait, because I'm not thru with your professor.Not by a long shot. Here's the landmark journal aticle on the discovery of the gene marker for ADHD ( and btw, ALL these references have been peer reviewed, so I don't want to hear that lame crap for an excuse not to read it remark) Here it is in APA format:

Cook,E.H.,Jr,Stein,M.A.,Krasowski,M.D.,Cox,N.J.,Olkon,D.M.Kieffer,J.E.,& Leventhal,B.L.(1995).Association of attention-deficit disorder and the dopamine transporter gene.American Journal of Human Genetics,36,993-998.

Just in case your prof doesnt have the time to look it up, the article noted the finding of a dopamine receptor gene (DRD) on chromosome 11 and the dopamine transporter gene ( DAT1) on chromosme 5.Since then, a variation of DRD (DRD4) has proven more stable to work with.In addition, another gene has been isolated(DBH-Taq1), as well as an area strongly suspected of being inolved(16p13 region).

Cook et. al.(1995) was featured in a Chicago Tribune article by Peter Gorner in May of 1995.

The International Consensus Article should be on Russell Barkley's website.

The genetics article is important because it helps confirm what has been referred to as the " Dopamine hypothesis," which is really an off shoot of the Biogenic Amine Hypothesis. Here's what thats all about and why it slam dunks your prof and all those too lazy to read any of the 6k+ journal articles, professional papers and books on the most widely researched childhood disorder on planet earth(ADHD)

The Biogenic Amine Hypothesis is the concept that abnormalities in the physiology and metabloism of biogenic amines, particulary catecholamines( norepinephrine and dopamine) and indoleamines(serotonin), are involved in the causes and courses of certain psychiatric illnesses.

The concept was derived originally from a serendipitious discovery that monoamine oxidase inhibitors and certain tricyclic drugs had mood elevating properties, and that these agents exerted dramatic effects on brain monamine functions.

Here's why thats important. That discovery paved the way for the development of the SSRI class of antidepressants we all are familiar with today. When it was united with an earlier discovery from 1911, Erlich's Side Chain Theory, which was the forerunner of what we now call receptor sites; the SSRI's were born.

The bottom line on this is that if ADHD isnt real, then neither is depression. bipolar mood disorders, OCD, Tourette's etc. They are all linked via the Biogenic Amine Hypothesis(and before someone jumps up and down shouting " its just an hypothesis", the fact that ADHD meds work at all proves the theory).

The other thing that so called "walking paradoxes" as I call them (simultaneously arrogant & ignorant), forget to consider is this: before you can say a disorder isnt real, that implies YOU KNOW what a REAL disorder is. How else could you tell the difference?

ADHD meets the criteria for a Disorder as outlined by Rutger's researcher Jerome Wakefield:

Wakefield,J.C.(1999).Evolutionary versus prototype analyses of the concept of a disorder.Journal of Abnormal Psychology,108,374 - 399.


I really haven't even scratched the surface here but I am very pleased you came in and asked that question. I appreciate it and wish you luck in your studies. If you have more questions or just want to see another tomahawk slam dunk, please don't hesitate to ask us.

Your professor will never know what these incredible parents have (and still are) going thru with their equally incredible children. I am in awe of them and what they do and sacrifice for their kids evey day. So when someone comes along and has the audacity to shoot their mouth off without doing their homework, I then take it personally, as I am an adult ADHD age 53, diagnosed in 1972 with the Halstead - Reitan Neuropsych battery.

Thanks again and good luck with your studies:)




Take care.

mctavish23( Robert)

[mctavish23]

One more thing, ....."hyperactivity is the preschool manifestation of ADHD"....Russell Barkley.

ADHD is a developmental disability,i.e.,that implies delays.If you look at the DSM-IV, one of the criteria is that it has to appear at an early age, which is usually around 3-5yo.

Most (about 80%) of ADHD is genetic/inherited, altho about one in four will acquire it via head trauma or perhaps some type of toxicity.

Have your prof read any of the works by Barkley, Sam Goldstein. Barbara Ingersoll, Larry Silver or Ed Hallowell.
There is consensus on early onset for the hyperactive-impulsive and combined types.
The Inattentive Type ( the old ADD) has age of onset a few years after. This isn't Jerome Kagan 's high and low reactivity, its a proven chemical imbalance that IS present in early childhood.

As far as the previous thinking that the DSM demanded some kind of cut off around age 7 or so, Dr Barkley was on the committee that drew up the symptoms to be used in the DSM and he said that someone randomly pulled that number out of the air, so there's no data supporting that.

You can't really change someones mind if its closed to begin with but the early onset of ADHD is universally agreed upon by the most respected researchers in the field. Also, none of this is anectdotal or based on clinical lore or experience. These data have been proven to have longitudinal validity and reliability. The bottom line; have your prof e-mail Barkley care of Guilford press and confront him about the issue. I'd buy a ticket to see that response. I have his private e-mail address but Im not giving that out. I do ,however, have the addy for his seminars, etc.,if the prof has the inclination to actually follow up.

This is old hat info and easy to come by. I hope it gets settled soon.Once again, good luck.

mctavish23(Robert)

[ohmama]

Bravo!! Way to go Mctavish!!!

Who are you?

[Honeysmom]

If this is your teacher, grit your teeth and ignore her. All you will end up with is a bad grade.

I learned the hard way not to tell things to the school that I don't have to. I was also told that Honey (4 y/o) was too young for ADHD/ODD or anything. According to the school phychologist it is all due to bad parenting and language delays.

Some people will never change their minds or even be open-minded enough to consider it. I have emplyoed the "Don't ask, Don't tell" rule to deal with them.