A Little Bit of ADHD

A few days ago I received an email with a short video attachment from Dr. Russell Barkley, one of the foremost experts in the field of ADHD, encouraging professionals working with children with ADHD to screen the parents of these children to determine if one or both parents also has the disorder, as there is a 40% chance one of them does. In the video, Barkley goes on to say that that the majority of children (65% on average) with ADHD will eventually develop ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder). Unlike ADHD, which Barkley recognizes is a genetic disorder and not a result of parenting, Barkley believes ODD often develops as a result of disruptive or inconsistent parenting, which might be expected if a parent also has ADHD. http://kidsconference.kajabi.com/fe/77690-adhd-causes-odd

I am reflecting back to my earlier post about how my son's issues with emotional dysregulation sometimes plays into my emotional temperament. Although I myself do not have ADHD, I can definitely react to stress in an emotional way, especially when interacting with my son, and I recognize that my reactions can often exacerbate our verbal exchanges. While I am working on "being present" and not "taking things personally," I have started to wonder if there is something else I can do.

After viewing Barkley's short video, I went on to watch an hour long lecture that Barkley gave at the University of California in 2008 on ADHD. http://www.uctv.tv/shows/Advances-in-the-Understanding-and-Management-of-ADHD-14660 Much of what Barkley said was familiar to me, however, I found some things enlightening, some of which I plan to post at a later date. What Barkley said that really affected me was that as he is getting older, he is experiencing some symptoms of ADHD himself, such as going in a room to do one thing and then starting to do another. As per Barkley, each of us has a little ADHD as our memory declines, including men over 50 and women in perimenopause.

I've always been concerned about people saying that they have a "little bit of ADHD" because I worry that this minimizes the impact of ADHD on an individual and a family. In reality, Barkley says that while older people may experience this "little bit of ADHD," people who truly have the disorder are experiencing these symptoms at four times that intensity.

Putting all of this together, does that mean that in addition to my temperament, my perimenopausal symptoms (intermittent tiredness, irritability, and brain fog) are increasing my son's oppositional behaviors? I think the answer may be yes if these symptoms are influencing my reaction to him. This is a reminder of what I can do (and more often than not, try to do) to take care of myself:

1. Get enough sleep
2. Eat healthy food
3. Exercise regularly
4. Take natural supplements
5. Meditate

Most of all, I need to have empathy not only for my son, but also for myself.

Opting Out of "One Size Fits All"

A while back I posted about the Keystone exams in Philadelphia, which are standardized tests in biology, literature and algebra that students attending public high school in Pennsylvania must pass in order to graduate, beginning with the graduating class of 2017. The tests must be taken by all students, including English Language Learners and students with special needs. A student can retake the exam up to three times, and then can complete a project that will be graded by teachers from other school districts after two failed attempts.

Recently, some parents have discovered that they can "opt out" of Keystone testing for their children on the basis of religious or philosophical grounds and have the student complete a project in their place. Unfortunately, current freshman and sophomores cannot "opt out" because they are slated to graduate in 2017 or after so must pass the subject tests (or at least make two attempts) in order to receive their diplomas under the current rules.

It boggles my mind that in a poor school district like Philadelphia's, which has had to cut out art, music and mentally gifted classes and has schools functioning with part time nurses and minimal counselors, is spending so much money on this exam, especially for the multiple administration attempts that will be needed for many ELL students and students with special needs. That is not even to mention the classroom time that will be wasted on test preparation.

I am also amazed that in a world of increasing diversity and globalization that there is so much effort to assess children with a standardized instrument as a graduation requirement. We as a society now know so much about brain differences, cultural differences and multiple intelligences that one would think this "one size fits all" approach would seem an artifact of the 20th century.

I personally would like to see schools that produce what our society needs in addition to doctors, lawyers and teachers: designers, innovators and creative thinkers of all types, which is the belief of Daniel Pink, author of the New York Times and BusinessWeek bestselling book "A Whole New Mind." As Pink says, "the MFA [Master of Fine Arts] is the new MBA…many MBA graduates are becoming this century's blue collar workers -- people who entered a workforce full of promise, only to see their jobs move overseas." What we need, it seems, is more creativity, not standardization.

Articles referenced:

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/75396-phillys-opt-out-movement-grows-as-council-holds-hearing-on-standardized-tests

www.examiner.com/article/what-feltonville-taught-philly-about-opt-out