3.5k
Daycare and childcare providers in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver, Ontario etc. in CanadaGarderies à Montréal ou au QuébecFind daycare or childcare providers in the USA
Forum control
+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17
  1. #1
    Starting to feel at home...
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    79
    Thanked
    18 Times in 15 Posts

    Interesting Article

    I came across this article online and thought I'd share. I wonder what percent of Canadian children are taking ADHD meds? I have a friend who has had teachers recommend ADHD medication for 2 of her 3 kids and she is firmly against it....I am taking care of her kids for 6 days this summer and am interested to see how they behave here.

    http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...dont-have-adhd

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to SongSparrow For This Useful Post:


  3. #2
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Ottawa
    Posts
    2,419
    Thanked
    599 Times in 439 Posts
    I read the same article this past week and was happy to see this argument put forth. I have often thought that some of the rise in ADHD diagnosis is due to a lack of parenting, improper nutrition, and an assumption on the part of professionals that any child who can't sit still and focus must need to be medicated. Before anyone who has kids diagnosed with ADHD jump on me, I am not saying that if your child has ADHD it is because you are not parenting well. I just think that in many cases the behaviours or somewhat normal for kids and it may just be that the child needs more guidance and time to learn to focus etc. I am pretty sure that my 5 year old would be diagnosed with it if I took him to be checked for it...but there is no way I would medicate my child. By the way, there is another article...wish I could find the link now...about the founder of the actual disorder ADHD, which says that on his deathbed, he actually calls ADHD a fictitious disease created for drug companies!

  4. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to sunnydays For This Useful Post:


  5. #3
    Starting to feel at home...
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Brampton, ON
    Posts
    52
    Thanked
    8 Times in 7 Posts
    Recently we just had our son diagnosed and he started medication a month ago it has made a world of difference! He is not hyperactive, he is inattentive. We have struggled for years and the last thing I wanted to do was put him on medication.

    Are there kids that get misdiagnosed? Yep!
    Are there parents that are inattentive? Yep!
    Are there families that just eat processed foods? Yep!
    Are we one of those families? Nope!
    Everyone was floored when the diagnosis came back no one can argue after seeing him on the medication it was the wrong decision.
    I think it is up to the parents/families to have open communication with their doctor, teachers, and support staff.
    There will always be articles that make claims that this disease or that condition is fictitious. It is up to the parents to make sure their children are getting the right help!

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to Robyn For This Useful Post:


  7. #4
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    3,629
    Thanked
    949 Times in 781 Posts
    My son was diagnosed as ADHD and was on Ritalin for a few years but it made him feel sick and weird. Thankfully, we found an organization in our city that helped him learn to journal and make lists for himself to cope with his flakiness, haha, and inability to concentrate. He was determined to overcome the problem when he was a teenager and ended up doing very well in school and now in business but even as an adult he had to learn how to be organized daily.

    My daughter thinks my grandson may have a problem, but her doctor gave her some interesting informaion, that bipolar disorder and many other problems for children are ALL lumped into one category - ADHD.

    So I agree with Robyn, you have to be careful that you have your child on the correct meds and that you and your resources at school or wherever are helping your child the best way possible.
    Frederick Douglass
    It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

  8. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Momof4 For This Useful Post:


  9. #5
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    2,074
    Thanked
    807 Times in 564 Posts
    [QUOTE=Momof4;47799]

    My daughter thinks my grandson may have a problem, but her doctor gave her some interesting informaion, that bipolar disorder and many other problems for children are ALL lumped into one category - ADHD.
    QUOTE]

    This is very true...My son was assessed by a child psychologist and was found to be 2E so gifted and LD. His LD is that his working memory is very slow for basic concepts and is extremely complex. His assessment included a "standardized" test which gave him traits of ADD, the biggest one being that he withdraws. Fortunatly, this psychologist carried out lots of other tests over hours and hours, which proved that it was anything but ADD and that it was simply because the regular world was understimulating on a huge scale and also being gifted, it is common place for gifted children to have difficulties managing their emotions so he would appear depressed also. In his final report, she made it very clear that he does not have ADD, and she also backed up what was the real cause of each of the traits so that the school board, family dr AND his paediatrician would not give him a false diagnosis which she said she sees occur on a frighteningly regular basis, mainly due to standardized testing and the fact that even specialists as well as family dr's involved in the diagnosis do not spend enough time with a child to get a true and thorough assessment done. 20-30 minutes in a dr's office and standardized questionaires to be filled out by parent's, teachers and the individual are not effective or accurate enough and do not apply to a persons individuality, but just approach everybody as though they are created equally.

    I was fortunate to find a great Child Psychologist and she spent a couple of FULL DAYS with my son for his assessment, something that would not have been available to me had I not paid for it.

    I have read many studies, NOT NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, that show that a gluten free diet is more effective at calming an ADHD child down than Ritalin.

  10. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to bright sparks For This Useful Post:


  11. #6
    Starting to feel at home...
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Posts
    91
    Thanked
    59 Times in 34 Posts
    I would never in a million years put my child on Ritalin or any type of medication that can do what those types of drugs can do to a growing developing brain/body.

    If you ever have a chance to read the book "The Ritalin Fact Book; What Doctor's Won't Tell You About ADHD and Stimulant Drugs" http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...gin/1111639277

    It will change your outlook on ever using drugs or medication of that caliber for your child.

    I would do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING before ever resorting to that kind of treatment.

  12. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to KellyP For This Useful Post:


  13. #7
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    3,629
    Thanked
    949 Times in 781 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by bright sparks View Post
    I have read many studies, NOT NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, that show that a gluten free diet is more effective at calming an ADHD child down than Ritalin.
    My oldest daughter has done this exact thing for my oldest grandson (another one) who seemed to have attention problems when he was smaller. She took the whole family off sugar, dairy and gluten and since they live in B.C. they have a much longer summer season so it's easier to buy lots of fresh produce at the markets. They also try to eat more raw foods, many salads and less meat. He made it through high school and they all feel great so her hard work paid off.

    Brightsparks, my son also has a very high IQ and along with the ADHD his learning disability was remembering a list of items, isn't that funny? Our sons sound very much alike. Here's some good news for you, my son is a very successful, highly paid executive in Toronto and his creativity and thinking outside the box is what propelled him up the ladder. I bet your son will find his way in the world using his strengths just as well.
    Frederick Douglass
    It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

  14. The Following User Says Thank You to Momof4 For This Useful Post:


  15. #8
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Newmarket
    Posts
    1,130
    Thanked
    550 Times in 347 Posts
    My son was suspected to be ADHD at 2 yrs during a visit with a pediatrician who specialized in the disorder. So many parents dig their heels in at the notion of labeling a child with any disorder. I was not one of them. I knew right from birth that something was 'different' about him. As an ECE with quite a lot of experience with different children, as well as having a child already, I felt quite confident that she was correct. I did not put him on any meds at that time. He was too young, so I decided to forgo the official diagnosis at that time and did the research on my own. We went to homeopaths (to the tune of $100 a pop), put him on a very strict diet of no wheat, dairy, salt, preservatives, colours, salycilates (sp?), sugar....the list goes on. I had him allergy tested and maintained a diet that was extremely regimented and restrictive. It was nearly impossible. Of course this was 14 yrs ago when health food stores were few and far between. I had a weekly grocery run to 3 towns and 5 stores to maintain the staples I required for him. In addition to the $400+ in extra grocery bills each month, there were the fees for various homeopathic remedies which were impossible to line up.

    It just didn't work. There was some improvement, yes, but if something was consumed too much, he would develop an 'allergy' to that, so it would be struck from the list. Gawd, I even went to many houses on our street the day before Hallowe'en every year to pass around goodie bags to neighbours, explaining the situation and request they give him the baggie instead. Though my son thought he was a rock star because everyone knew him, it was a massive endeavour every year. At 4 yrs of age, his behaviours were becoming too much to manage and dangerous to his baby brother. I'd put him to bed and have to lay on the floor beside his bed or he'd be up and running around. I'm strict and he was always put back to bed firmly and he had consequences for his actions. He would ALWAYS outlast me, then be up before the crack of dawn. I resorted to putting him in a highchair that tilted back with his blanky and teddy till he fell asleep, then move him to his bed. He continued wake in the night multiple times till he was 3.5 yrs. In short, for years, he and I were both surviving on a few hours of broken sleep. I was completely exhausted. I gave up on the notion of no meds one night after I found him crying in bed because he couldn't make friends at school. Nobody liked him, and I could see why. He was very loud, couldn't sit still for 30 seconds, was too physical, etc, etc, etc.

    He started his medication regimen 2 weeks later. I saw a beautiful boy who I knew was always in there emerge. He could play with children, he slept through the night, he could focus, he could get along with us all and life became manageable for the first time since he was born. Unfortunately, the damage with his peers had already been done and he remained unpopular and severely bullied by multiple kids up until grade 6. After many discussions with the principal, social skills classes, tinkering with meds, behaviour research and modifications at home, social workers, etc, I finally had to pull him out and put him in private school where he would have a fresh start. Plus the tutoring to bring him up to his grade level. He was 1.5 years behind. There's another $40, 000 shot. For a single mother (by this point) that packs a pretty hefty punch.

    Ritalin made an enormous change for the better in my son. No one can ever accuse me of not doing my very best to avoid meds. I get very, very frustrated with people who judge parents who use the meds and always have a 'better solution' for us. My very favourites are those very special self proclaimed experts who read a few articles, studies and tell me how wrong I am and that I'm damaging my child. I find very often that these folks don't have kids or work with them. Gotta love 'em! Sometimes dietary changes, allergy testing and behaviour modifications just aren't enough. The fact is that part of his brain works more slowly than others. The ritalin speeds that function up so he can behave appropriately, safely and in a socially acceptable manner. I wouldn't change a single thing other than the fact that I might have put him on it before he started school to save him from years of constant torment.

    He is now 16 yrs old and has gained the tools to manage his behaviours free of medication, has friends and a 79% average. To expect a small child to do that is completely unreasonable.

    Sorry....this is a very touchy subject for me and I feel very strongly about it. Yes, some children are misdiagnosed, but not all.
    Last edited by cfred; 05-28-2013 at 10:14 AM.

  16. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to cfred For This Useful Post:


  17. #9
    Euphoric !
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    3,629
    Thanked
    949 Times in 781 Posts
    I empathize with your story Cfred and agree with you completely. We all know our children very well and what works and doesn't work for them. We do our very best as parents and make the difficult decisions. I can't tell you how hard it was to raise my son through all of his challenges but it paid off in the end and he's a happy adult.

    This is why I get a little ticked off about anybody judging anybody else no matter what the subject. We can all give our opinions and state our reasons, usually because of our life experiences, but we shouldn't preach to each other or judge.
    Frederick Douglass
    It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

  18. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Momof4 For This Useful Post:


  19. #10
    Expansive... Artsand crafts's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    561
    Thanked
    145 Times in 116 Posts
    Thank you for sharing your story Cfred. I do not have any experience with ADHD, but I had read several related articles and each one gives you a potential cause or solution. Actual experience is what sometimes make you open your eyes.

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to Artsand crafts For This Useful Post:


Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-08-2024, 05:22 PM
  2. Interesting Daycare provider interaction
    By Virginia2016 in forum Parents' experiences with daycare providers
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 05-10-2017, 02:57 PM
  3. Interesting article
    By jodaycare in forum The day-to-day as a daycare provider
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-14-2014, 02:39 PM
  4. A GREAT Article!
    By BrightEyes in forum Parenting
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 10-16-2012, 06:39 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts

A few tips...

If you visited or if you're using a childcare provider found on DaycareBear, do not hesitate to leave a review. This will most certainly help other parents!
Did you know?
DaycareBear.ca has helped over 22450 daycare providers fill out their openings since its launch in January 2006!
Partner in your
search for a daycare provider