Hey Lovies!! Hope you are all blessed with plenty of love and light!!
Just wanted to tell you a little story to help you along the way - especially those of you who have little ones that are just beginning their educational process.
When our youngest was in the 3rd grade, he decided to act a fool on the bus one day on the way home from school.........Well, the BUSDRIVER, in her infinite wisdom, decided to inform me that he was ADHD. Of course my response was "so, they are giving out degrees in psychology with the bus drivers liscense these days?". Needless to say that conversation ended quickly.
Well what do you know, the following week, I get a note from his counselor stating that it was urgent that we have him tested for ADD and ADHD. You know we refused, right???
Anyhoo, after numerous meetings, phone calls and even a conversation with his speech therapist who said "I think he has a learning disorder and I would like him to take a test for it"....when I agreed to that she quickly added "Oh by the way, we may as well go ahead and test him for ADD and ADHD while we are at it". I did have a concern about his learning abilities, but she must have really thought I was a complete IDIOT. NICE TRY LADY!!!!
The next 3 years were pure HELL. Every time something came up with him, we were treated like ignorant parents who didn't give a damn about their child. It didn't stop until he was in the 6th grade - the elementary school speech therapist contacted his middle school counselor and insisted that they force us to have him tested. Thank God the middle school counselor had spent enough time with him to say without a doubt "I doubt very seriously that he is ADD or ADHD and I don't blame his parents for not having him tested".
My son is now 14 years old, a freshman in high school with a 3.33 GPA. He trotted in the house yesterday with 5 A's on his report card and he is not in ANY remedial classes.
ADD and ADHD are very serious and there are children who are in need of help because of it. However, African American males are being diagnosed with it at alarming rates simply because they may have a slightly different way of learning, may need some more creative stimuli, or easily gets bored which was the case with my son. I encourage you, if your child is having problems and you want to have him/her tested, please do so under the guidance of your own private physician and do not allow the school to just randomly test them. Once the schools start in on an issue like this, there is no stopping it. Also, don't just take anything that is being told to you about your child, educate yourself and stay involved in the process - as a parent you have both responsibilities and RIGHTS.
Peace Lovies!!!!!!
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2 comments:
Well said! There's a trend to create conditions and medicate nowadays. If one is not careful you can be steamrolled into it. My son's teacher threw her hands up and gave up on him in year 2 (UK)after I refused her dire predictions. I taught him to read write and multiply myself cos he just sat in the class bored out of his head.. Eventually I took him out of school to home educate, by which time he was 2 yrs ahead of the class in reading and science. He frequently scores As in his tests and is taking a bunch of GCSEs after he did Astronomy for fun last year and did very well. Congrats to your son. He's obviously very bright
I love your blog. I remember this happening to my son too. He attended the same private school from age 22 months till fifth grade. I had been told by this school to be careful what schools he attended because he had a lot of energy but he should be put in sports. He was doing very well academically and socially. He was admitted into into a prestigious private school that stressed diversity as being an important value. It also was an episcopal school. I thought this would be a wonderful experience for my son. There was an existing class of 25 fifth graders and they had accepted 25 new students to be transitioned into the sixth grade. I was called numerous times by the sixth
grade teacher asking me to have him tested. I later found out that he was being bullied and had become anxious.
After eight parent conferences I had him tested. No
diagnosis. He is now working and going to college. He would like to be have a degree in computer science. Why
do they pick on our sons.
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