ADHD and Ritalin

lizzieb I can't understand why so many children are being diagnosed as having ADHD and being prescribed Ritalin. I think it's worth exploring whether there are other factors that might be influencing his hyperactivity. I always think it's better not to start taking a drug unless it's absolutely necessary.

All children can be naughty at times and quite often children these days have more challenges to deal with (smaller houses/less space to play at home, blended families, etc.). You say he is reasonably well behaved when he is with you - and that you restrict his time on the computer. Is he playing games on the computer at his home? Computer games can get people very wound up and on edge, particularly if they're played for a long time and not interspersed with other activities.

Is he getting enough fresh air, outdoor play (to release physical energy) and plenty of sleep? Is there plenty of "quiet" time at home - or is the TV on constantly in the background or on too loud?

You say he's witnessed violence in the past, so his being a "handful" at school might be related to that. Has there been any input from a child psychologist or, for instance, any offers of play therapy?

As petra said, there are some good books out there - it might be worth having a look in the library.

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It sounds to me like this boy has a very confusing life. It must be hard for him to work out quite what is expected of him and by whom. ADHD may just be a symptom of this confusion.

Having taught in a special school for many years, often the children with ADHD were from chaotic backgrounds. Ritalin can help only with true ADHD otherwise it will not touch the behaviour.

Children with ADHD can be very hard to contain indeed and need help to prevent them 'bouncing off the walls' and to help them concentrate.

I would say thet if he can behave with you, he is responding to your firm, clear boundaries. He needs to have consistency in his life. So maybe not ADHD but adult inflicted confusion....poor boy, life will be hard for him.

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I was thinking the other day about a small group of extremely bright men I have known. Professors. Still rather manic after all these years. I wonder if they would have been diagnosed as ADHD when they were in school. But it hadn't been invented then.
A child I know, with a history of dyslexia in the close family, was doing very badly in primary school, getting labelled as one of the naughty boys, failing to start reading etc. Active little boy who did not seem to engage easily on a verbal level but if you offered to chase him... Eventually parents got him assessed and diagnosed - an auditory processing problem. He was having a lot of trouble understanding what teacher was saying. He is in a different school now, kept back a year as he was very young in year and now thriving. Chatty, reading well etc

Not all children with ADHD or dyspraxia need special education, only those at the extreme end. It has been suggested that the more relaxed, and at times, chaotic child rearing patterns that are more common now can contribute to the growth in the number of children with ADHD. I do think the more formal teaching methods and discipline of my childhood helped me even though I was always being castigated for being 'Fidgetty Phil who can't sit still'. I also swung between lack of concentration and hyper concentration so was constantly in trouble for not concentrating or not listening.

Having a clear frame work around me at home and at school within which I was expected to operate did mean I developed a lot of strategies for channelling my chaotic mind in to some sense of order, which have served me well through life. How I would have coped if my exterior environment had been very relaxed or chaotic I do not know, very badly is my instinct.

This makes me so angry. My Daughter and myself have known for about 3 years that there was something " different " with my GS. We have looked at EVERYTHING ! The only thing the school could come up with was this bloody label And In case some of you don't know, the school gets money for these children.
Only the other day we were looking (once again) and were looking at Dyspraxia.
This led us to "Children with sensory problems " to say it was a light bulb moment does not explain it.
When we went through the check list, it was all there. My DD is now waiting for an appointment to see a therapist. And now that we are aware of this it makes it so much easier to understand some of the different behaviour.
Don't just go down the ADHD route. There are other reasons out there, and some good books.

I think that the conditions have always been there, but are far more likely to be diagnosed now. I also think that social setting / environment may also have an impact. I read something the other day (maybe on here?), suggesting that ADHD may be more common / obvious in an urban and crowded environment.
Certainly many more children used to be in residential special schools. I always remember hearing a man speak at a conference who had been kept in a special school with children with severe learning difficulties because he had had polio as a child and couldn't walk.

When I was a child in the 1940s there were plenty of 'simple' children around. Even earlier, each village had its 'innocent'. I find it hard to accept that children as young as four should be expected to sit still in classrooms for up to five hours per day. No wonder they get fidgety.

It does seem that there are more and more children now with these conditions as a possible diagnosis.

How many of these ADHD/ASD children would in earlier days just have just been labeled as Maladjusted, particularly those who were at the bouncing off the walls level of hyperactivity?

I would to see some stats about whether or not the proportion of school children considered in the past to need "special schools" has changed.

Now most "special needs" children are integrated into ordinary schools, with a "statement" (which term or action is not used so regularly now).
Is it just that this group of children are now more visible in ordinary schools that makes it appear that these conditions are on the increase.

I mean by this, are the patterns of behaviour considered now to be typical and indicative of ADHD and ASD really more prevalent than they used to be, when children who were obviously not managing in normal schools were just loosely defined as Maladjusted (now EBD) or (ESN) moderate learning difficulties.

To put that more crudley, have these specific patterns of behaviour always been there in the the same proportion of the population and it is just now a child is more likely to have a lable?

I know there are some experienced special needs bods out there who might be able to advise me on this.

That is if you can understand the very particular point I am trying to make.

Then we can all retire with a headache for a cup of tea.

ADHD wwas first recognised and written about in around 1912. It is another of those conditions like dyslexia and disparaxia that are caused essentially by the brain not fully wiring up correctly in the womb. This means there is no way of preventing it. It didnt seem to exist when we were young because it wasnt looked for. I am nearly 70 and have been told I am probably at the milder end of ADHD. When I found information on the problems I recognised so many of them as causing me the problems that were always getting me into trouble as a child. I am also dyspraxic, that wasnt diagnosed until I was in my 40s for the same reason.

Without knowing all the details I am surprised that if he has XXY syndrome and Praader Willi they think he is also ADHD. I would have thought the symptoms of these disabilties would acount for any ADHD type symptoms.

I would be interested to know why so many children are diagnosed ADHD these days when it was unheard of in my youth.
What causes it? ...and why are they not trying to prevent it?

My daughter's son is still going through lots of tests but the paediatrician keeps insisting he has ADHD and will need Ritolin so they can get funding for special help for him in school.
My daughter absolutely refuses for him to be sedated as although he is very demanding - she copes. He is being tested for XXY syndrome and also Prader Willi so until she is sure what his diagnosis is - she will not allow him to be drugged.

My son has ADHD & Autism & is the same. He can concentrate for hours on computing, but on many basic tasks he continually forgets what he is doing. He struggles even to dress himself & he does have some incredibly silly moments when he can't calm down despite numerous warnings. It is hard to understand why these children appear to be able to concentrate sometimes & not others but it is still a genuine condition & not just a naughty child. My son is the sweetest boy when he's calm but he can also drive me to the end of my tether! It's not easy.

I dont know he has it, but he displays all the signs, frenetic activity, impulsiveness, and from what I have read, wildly disorganised, with tendency not to be good at detail coupled with a very good brain.

Thank you for all of your messages which I have found most helpful. I need some time to absorb your comments and will write later. I just didn't want to let time pass without thanking you.

I didn't know that Johnson had ADHD.

Might explain a lot.

Well lots of really driven, hard working people probably, not just Johnson.
My DH says the govt ministers he has met all seem to have the attention span of a gnat! (and can't/won't concentrate long enough to understand anything complex and technical, would be his rider)
I think it is hard for very active children to adapt to school so young, when they start so early and are expected to sit down a lot, in a non-physical environment.
Such children in our evolutionary past were on the move all day, helping with the food gathering and looking forward to the day when they would be strong enough to follow the hunters all day.

I agree that there is a tendency to over diagnose ADHD, but it does exist, it was first described well over a century ago and when I was researching it, I was amused to discover that one of the first phrases used to describe children with ADHD was very familiar from my own childhood. I was often descibed as 'Fidgety Phil who can't sit still'. My mother discussed in later life my inability to concentrate and my constant activity.

As I said I am at the milder end of the ADHD spectrum. I come from a secure family background and suffered none of the family problems described by Nanadog and I do believe that was an assistance but the problem does exist. Whenever I see Boris Johnson, I think ADHD. It is not necessarily a major handicap.

I agree with your post, nanadog, but I remember teaching a boy who I can clearly see now had ADHD. He had the most caring (and distraught) parents who tried everything and I wish we had been able to get a diagnosis for him. I still wonder what happened; he must be about 45 now!

I agree too Nanadog I believe they should first look at what the child is eating and also lack of exercise. Children are often driven to school nowadays after eating a processed sugary breakfast and drinking a sugary processed glass of fruit juice. How many doctors ever question what is causing the symptoms?

Thanks Ana

Well said, Nanadog!