Hey People.

I read a letter to the editor in today's paper and I was so annoyed that I emailed a response to it just 10 minutes ago.

Here's what it say's.

"Once these children are labelled ADHD they can behave in any which way they want at school, create as much chaosin the classroom and all is forgiven.
If the problem is really so serious and so widespread, why not create schools to take them away from the normal schoolkids who would like a chance to learn in a peaceful environment.
I for one am sick of bending over backwards for kids with these labels and being being expected to to overlook all sorts of behaviour just to be politically correct. Give our kids a chance"

This letter was written by a woman named Monique who obviously doesn't have any children with ADHD and she certainly doesn't seem to know a lot about the condition either, it's hare brained comments like these which add to the stigma of ADD/ADHD and related conditions and because of these comments ADD continues to receive bad press which is sometimes undeserved and what people like Monique don't realise is that her comments ultimately cause major issues such as self esteem and emotional problems in the lives of adult ADDer's....talk about lack of thinking on the NT's part hey?

Selena:mad:

Can you post a link to the actual letter

or a email address to the editor

Or better yet

can you post the whole thing

I second that! I will happily write in too.

I really don't like it how people think they have the right to judge something someone else is going through, when they have not been through it themselves.
I hate judgmentalness altogethor.
Alot of children and adults with ADHD have been shunned enough in their lives and articles and letters like this one cause major stigmas in society.
I would like to write in as well!

Sorry people.

I'm not able to attach the letter but you can email the editor on yoursay@dailytelegraph.com.au and this is not a personal email link but the email address of a newspaper in Sydney and if people want to write in regrading this letter then by all mean they should....I say the more ADDer's that step up to this ignorance the better!!

If my response to this woman's letter makes it into the paper within the next two days I will post that response on this thread for people to read too, I'll also PM the email address to Aloha1983 and Garry now.

Selena:)
Can you post a link to the actual letter

or a email address to the editor

Or better yet

can you post the whole thing

crazygirl I am in australia at the moment and saw ritalin on the news as being over-prescribed etc etc. It was a newstory that seemed very negative of ADHD. Is there a stigma against it there?

Yes Ritalin does get over prescribed and I don't mind that being raised because it's true but what I do mind is the stigma of ADHD itself which often gets raised in Australia...there is very little understanding of the condition here.

Selena:mad:
crazygirl I am in australia at the moment and saw ritalin on the news as being over-prescribed etc etc. It was a newstory that seemed very negative of ADHD. Is there a stigma against it there?

I agree. I also think that ADHD is over-diagnosed in young children. Are there worries of ritalin being used as a drug and not medication?

Dear Monique,


I am sorry if you find individual diversities annoying however it may help to let you know that there are sound genetic as well as social reasons for this. If members of a species are to genetically similar then they are more susceptible to extension by s single illness. In society if individuals lack diversity we would not have advanced as far as we have. Put simply if all were farmers we would still be getting around by hoarse and wagon. If all were inventors man kind would have starved long before reaching half our current population.

Due to this genetic and social need for diversity there are a few individuals nature has made different from the majority. People who are unable to consciously control their direction of focus and length of attention span are given the label of ADD. This is done so medical practioners will have a common word in which to reference this condition and be able to treat accordingly . Children who do not process words the way other do are given the label of dyslexia – so education professionals can have references to these specific differences and remediate accordingly. People who make snap decisions without really taking the time to educate them selves are labeled ignorant so those who have neurodiversites will be able to adjust our mentality and tolerances accordingly.

Educational professionals have gone to great lengths to learn about dyslexia so they can help those who process the written language differently read and write on grade level Medical science has done it’s part to assist those of us with ADD to function in a world dominated by those who are not ADD I will admit neither field has been able to do much for those individuals like your self who must bare the burned of ignorance. Ignorance like ADD appears to be some thing the individual is doing on purpose. Personally I do not think any one would willingly walk through life being ignorant so their must be some genetic or environmental reason for an individual like yourself to lack the ability to learn about and tolerate individual neurological differences. Because your neurodiversity can effect other members of society as much of not more than mine can I do hope one day soon there will be a treatment plan for individuals like yourself. Treating those who suffer from ignorance will be a great relief to society as a whole however those of us who are ADD and dyslexic will be especially grateful. . .

Meadd823.

The email link is there if you want to post the response in....I'm sure the Daily Telegraph would have a great time publishing this....as I said the more people with ADD step up the better, that's not to say we'll stamp out the stigma overnight but some defense is better than none at all:eyebrow:

Selena:)

Korey.

ADHD is a good diagnosis if it is correct and yes in Australia the condition is over diagnosed epecially in children under 10, a lot of under 10's are usually over active but it doesn't mean that they are ADD, ADHD or otherwise neurodiverse.

There have been cases where high school kids sell their Ritalin tablets for profit and it's basically drug dealing on a small scale, there would be cases where Ritalin is used for purposes other than medicinal but that doesn't just go on in Australia this would be going on worldwide.

There are stricter measures taken by the Australian medical profession to ensure that these medications are used for what they're meant to be used for and it's very hard to get just any doctor to prescribe it, in fact there are some doctors who refuse to prescribe such medication and they're within their legal rights to do so.

Selena
I agree. I also think that ADHD is over-diagnosed in young children. Are there worries of ritalin being used as a drug and not medication?

This is about stigma's and ADD. Please do not turn this into a debate about medication usage. We do have a general medication discussion area (http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=258) for that as well as a private debate area. If any one would like to discuss the rate of ADD diagnosis in the general population please begin a new thread. Too many subjects in one discussion can render the original point dismissed. To neglect the original topic is disrespectful of the member who began the thread. Let us treat others as we would like to be treated and remain on the topic of stigmas about ADD.


Thank you in advance for your attention and cooperation

I apologise but no debate was intended.

Selena

The email link is there if you want to post the response in....I'm sure the Daily Telegraph would have a great time publishing this....as I said the more people with ADD step up the better, that's not to say we'll stamp out the stigma overnight but some defense is better than none at al

Done - Copy sent

Sorry I did not mean to start a debate about it.

I apologise but no debate was intended

I know you did not intend to start a medication debate. There is no need for apologies on your behalf, you have done nothing wrong. However some members may get side tracked therefor as a moderator of this section I just needed to make the boundaries clear for all.


Okay so back to how to fight ADD stigmas :)

I know you did not intend to start a medication debate. There is no need for apologies on your behalf, you have done nothing wrong. However some members may get side tracked therefor as a moderator of this section I just needed to make the boundaries clear for all.


Okay so back to how to fight ADD stigmas :)You figure that would never happen here.


Meadd823

I feel that was a well worded responce to Monique

I certanly understood what you were saying

Yes I thought the response was good too.

Selena:)

You figure that would never happen here.


Meadd823

I feel that was a well worded responce to Monique

I certanly understood what you were saying

You figure that would never happen here.


ADDers off topic?? Parish the thought. . . . that would never happen here. How can any one get off topic when they are all connected right?

Administration will only go so far with that one = I have tried.





Meadd823

I feel that was a well worded responce to Monique

I certanly understood what you were saying

Thanks guys. . . . I figure it would go over better than my favorite Rose-Ann Rose- Anna Danna line from Saturday Night Live

"Jane you ignorant sl**!

I truly believe that the ignorant comments about ADHD really have to do with the fact the condition is still largely unknown and not properly diagnosed.

ADHD is not an excuse to be disruptive, so I can certainly understand how a mother would be frustrated if the behaviours of one child made it difficult for her child to learn. These kind of negative experiences with ADHD certainly doesn't help to generate support either. Or give the impression that ADHD is something that can be controlled.

I think we owe it to our fellow ADHDers to address comments like this. Again, I don't think it's the ADHD that the mother has a problem with, but if that's the label that's been given to that poor kid, than the mother will focus her attention on that.

I think we owe it to our fellow ADHDers to address comments like this.

It looks to me like the mother is wanting to blame in order to avoid taking any thing resembling personal responsibility. More than likely she has taught this same ineffective coping method to her child who is probably really the one complaining {read blaming}.

I sent an exact duplicate of my post addressed to Monique to the paper that published this comment. This isn't the first public comment made out of ignorance I have addressed unfortunately it probably won't be the last.

I agree 100% with Meadd823 on that as I saw this letter in the same way, there were other letters written as well but the people who wrote those letters were more fair in their comments and seemed to have a little more knowledge than this Monique woman did, I found Monique's letter to be attacking, judgemental and totally ill informed, it was clear this woman knows next to nothing about ADHD/ADD:rolleyes:

As I said in my response which by the way never got published....I expected that though, the so called "normal" children aren't exactly innocent angels either and we as ADDers when we were at school had to endure far more from the so called mainstream society than these so called "normal" children had to endure from us, I also said that people with ADHD do not go out of their way to create chaos and disruption to people's lives, we are simply different and some people just can't accept difference and as I also said at some stage it's ignorance from people like this woman that allows this ridiculous and totally unneccesary stigma to continue:soapbox:

Unfortunately in countries like Australia there is very little understanding and certainly a lack of proper recognition on conditions such as ADD/ADHD, Australia has always been backward when it comes to medical information and I don't see that situation improving too soon:rolleyes:

To those who have or may have written a response, the letters didn't seem to make it into the paper....maybe they thought this subject might become too heavy duty...if that was a Brisbane newspaper I reckon some of those letters would have gotten published!:eyebrow: but at least we made and effort!:)

Selena:)


It looks to me like the mother is wanting to blame in order to avoid taking any thing resembling personal responsibility. More than likely she has taught this same ineffective coping method to her child who is probably really the one complaining {read blaming}.

I sent an exact duplicate of my post addressed to Monique to the paper that published this comment. This isn't the first public comment made out of ignorance I have addressed unfortunately it probably won't be the last.

ADHD is not an excuse to be disruptive, so I can certainly understand how a mother would be frustrated if the behaviours of one child made it difficult for her child to learn. These kind of negative experiences with ADHD certainly doesn't help to generate support either. Or give the impression that ADHD is something that can be controlled.

Lets look at the mothers point of view........

before you were diagnosed or figured out that you have ADD

Can you remember what you were like as a kid ( I can now)
Can you see anything in your behaviour now, that would possible concern or upset a (Linier Thinker ) ( I can now )
At the time, were you doing anything that you thought , would upset a Liner Thinker or were you just being You , doing what You did, at that time with no thoughts about what anyone else thought or saw in you....( I can see that now )
Have you ever met a ADDer who you really don't care to associate with ( I have )
Have you ever been an ADDer who someone else doesnt care to associate with you ( I have ) ( too many times )


if you can answer yes to any of those questions

Think about the fact that you didn't know that you were, a ADDer so you acted the way you did, out of ignorance of your condition or ignorance of the thought that your actions may be upsetting to someone else.
Is that lady not doing the very same in the fact that she is reacting to the disruption in the classroom without a clear understanding of why the ADDer kids are the way they are ( They are are that way , because they were born that way, not becuase they choose to be that way )


So that leaves us as a society with several choices

Continue on and do nothing
Continue the way we are with THEM blaming US, were we retaliate and condem THEM for treating us as THEY do.............
Seperate Us from Them ( Black from White )
Educate the ADD Kids at a young age as to how they upset Linerar Thinkers becuse of the way they are, ---- and --- Educate Linear Thinkers that our ADD kids are different than their Linier Thinking kids. ( see http://www.indigochild.com/ )
(we really need to let them know - That we are sorry there kids are deprived and are the way they are but there is nothing we can do about it ) :) ( Big Grin )
Here I will add my signiture as I feel it says it a lot .............
__________________________________________________ _______________

I do not have a disease - I do not " Have ADD "

I am ------------ ADD
Addaptable, Directed, Determined

__________________________________________________ ________________

Garry..


I am very sorry for my STUPID STUPID comments!

Alright so let me make it clear, I have ADD and am very clearly aware of the lack of support we get. I'm sure that a lot of people didn't exactly roll out the understanding mat when I couldn't get what would seem like very simple comments. So lest you believe that I am inconsiderate in anyway, I'm not. I suffer everyday when someone doesn't understand how I think or do things.

My comments were based on the assumption the child had been diagnosed already as having ADHD. Again if this was not the case, than of course the mother should be criticized for her uneducated and ignorant comments.

I will say that I wanted to address the responsibilty of the ADHDer to take control of their symptoms, even if that ADHDer happens to be a child. Of course I understand the limits of our 'condition (my apologizes I'm not sure what the right term is).

Aren't we in this community always encouraging each other to take responsiblity for our ADHD? The message I wanted to convey was that while we must practice understanding of each other, it shouldn't be done at the expense of someone's else's ability to learn.

I'm still probably saying it all wrong, but at this point my intellctual capablities have failed me so if you want to continue to assume I'm some kind of ingorant idiot, by all means. I can't say what I want to say, so.. that's that.

When I was a kid, and even as an adult, I would have loved for the magic wand so that I could "control" my behavior, take responsibility for the commotion that seemed to follow me - anything that would have helped me be considered "normal". To just be able to fit in.

It's hard enough to be an adult with ADHD, but can you remember the turmoil, pain, shame and humiliation that you felt from being bullied, laughed at, ostracized, and quite often ignored? An ADHD child doesn't look for an excuse to continue these behaviors so that this treatment may continue. Instead we pray for a miracle, and beg to be appreciated for our attempts, no matter how sloppy they may appear to be

Well I was a demon child, a total brat and when I was in school, everything boiled down to whether or not I went to the nurses office for my Ritalin, it got to the point where I would get sent home if they thought I needed an increase in dose, the traumatic part of that for me was the fact that I never was punished or had limits placed on my behavior, once I was eight and diagnosed as bipolar, it was the same thing. I know things have changed in time, and there's less of the experience I had these days but to have the school system be so dependent on medication to 'cure' being a brat in a lot of cases was absurd

Is it possible that Monique's last name is Hitler? :D

I guess we could entertain her ideas if we are also allowed to send ALL of the stupid people to the North Pole. (No, a return trip is not allowed!)

Garry..


I am very sorry for my STUPID STUPID comments!
I didn't consider your comments as stupid

rather the reverse , I agree with what you were saying 100 %

__________________________________________________ ______________

I am just adding another perspective to the discussion,

I have to show sympathy and support for the mother of the poor Liner Thinking Child..........

It must be a real burden for her to have a child that is deprived of the ability to learn the way we can learn....

Yea so we screw up on some things that belong to the Linear World but man do we excel when we are in our own world

FightingBoredom

I was thinking Monique's last name would be more likely to be Tyrant:p...perhaps, this woman is simply uneducated when it comes to ADHD and it's issue.

Selena:)
Is it possible that Monique's last name is Hitler? :D

I guess we could entertain her ideas if we are also allowed to send ALL of the stupid people to the North Pole. (No, a return trip is not allowed!)

To those who have or may have written a response, the letters didn't seem to make it into the paper....maybe they thought this subject might become too heavy duty...if that was a Brisbane newspaper I reckon some of those letters would have gotten published! but at least we made and effort!

It could also be because I am from the US, Some times local papers do not publish stuff written from those out side of their circulation area. Other papers are simply bias. I make the effort the rest is out of my hands, I learned not to take a reaction or lack of one personally. All part of the territory. :)



I am very sorry for my STUPID STUPID comments!

You made a stupid comment????

I didn't see any comments in this entire thread that I would even begin to consider stupid.{yes I have read all of the post} Having a different perception or approach doesn't equate stupid or even wrong. That is some thing many miss = another point of view is just that.




the traumatic part of that for me was the fact that I never was punished or had limits placed on my behavior,

Failing to set limits on a child deprives them of learning boundaries and will usually have an adverse effects on the child in later years weather or not their is neurobiological difference is basically immaterial. Without proper limits personal boundaries can not be learned, this is only an addition to the difficulties caused by the neurdiversity not necessarily a part.{IMHO}

Almost every time I go into the NTer section I get in trouble because honestly those people don't understand any more about personal boundaries than the ones over here - that my friends is a fact. Many are soo convinced it is their duty to change the ADD spouse Acting like one individual has some "Divine" right to tell another human being how to be??? Personal boundaries means there are certain behaviors I find intolerable and toxic to my being. I believe people have a right to be who ever they want however I have a right to decide weather or not that person is a part of my life or not. IN my few brief and turbulent interactions where I expect the NTer to take responsibility for their own feelings and reactions I have learned lack of understanding of how to maintain personal boundaries while respecting others is NOT limited to the ADD population- neither is the desire to blame others for ones own feeling.

It isn't the ADD child's fault this Monique is mad it isn't the ADD child responsibility to make sure Monique's child learns it is Monique's son/daughter responsibility to learn. If her child is NT{Normal} then the child should be able to filter out the disruptions caused by the ADD child. Normals are supposed to be able to consciously filter out unimportant stimuli and focus on what is important that is why they aren't ADD. Notice the mother is unable to specifically state how the ADD child is making it impossible for her child to learn. . . . equals she is blaming because I guarantee ya if some one was sitting on my computer preventing me from typing I could explain exactly how this person was stopping me from posting.

I guess we could entertain her ideas if we are also allowed to send ALL of the stupid people to the North Pole. (No, a return trip is not allowed!)


Most Excellent idea for a compromise ya got going on.

Hey People.

I read a letter to the editor in today's paper and I was so annoyed that I emailed a response to it just 10 minutes ago.

Here's what it say's.

"Once these children are labelled ADHD they can behave in any which way they want at school, create as much chaosin the classroom and all is forgiven.
If the problem is really so serious and so widespread, why not create schools to take them away from the normal schoolkids who would like a chance to learn in a peaceful environment.
I for one am sick of bending over backwards for kids with these labels and being being expected to to overlook all sorts of behaviour just to be politically correct. Give our kids a chance"

This letter was written by a woman named Monique who obviously doesn't have any children with ADHD and she certainly doesn't seem to know a lot about the condition either, it's hare brained comments like these which add to the stigma of ADD/ADHD and related conditions and because of these comments ADD continues to receive bad press which is sometimes undeserved and what people like Monique don't realise is that her comments ultimately cause major issues such as self esteem and emotional problems in the lives of adult ADDer's....talk about lack of thinking on the NT's part hey?

Selena:mad:OK..I'm jumping in the deep end here Selena...but,,I have kids at school..I know where this lady is coming from! If I had kids in class like ME!!! I'd complain too...we would like our classes to run smoothly. There is not enough funding for schools to teach the kids as it is, while spending all day with those with behavioural problems...

we need more help, more funding, and more understanding

Tracy.
I'm not saying this woman doesn't have some valid point...what annoyed me was the way she put it across..I felt it came across like she was attacking ADDers and it's still very clear she knows very little about the condition!

Selena

If I had kids in class like ME!!! I'd complain too...we would like our classes to run smoothly

Gee it would be nice if life ran smoothly but honesty it doesn't always cooperate and neither do the people in it.

Weather it is my ADD, another driver being a jerk, or a rain storm at a bad time it is my responsibility to deal with it and my responsibility to accept responsibility for my emotions. . Blaming is the problem that simply adds to the problems = It resolves NOTHING!


In my opinion Monique has no point, no desire to take responsibility for her daughter's learning nor is their a mention to the daughters responsibility in all of this. Her NTer daughter should be able to focus on the school work and filter other children behaviors out as they are not any of her business.




There is not enough funding for schools to teach the kids as it is, while spending all day with those with behavioral problems...


THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FUNDING NOT THE CHILDREN WHO ARE SUFFERING AS MUCH IF NOT MORE THAN EVERY ONE ELSE - this woman Monique is ignorant plain and simple she needs to be labled as such.{IMHO}

If Monique wrote about the real problem as your present it{funding} then I would NOT have a beef with her correspondence I would probably agree completely.

Using a neurodiversity as a scape goat for poor funding is a load of crap :mad: - I shall speak out aginst it as long as I have breath to speak . . .. :soapbox:

Gee it would be nice if life ran smoothly but honesty it doesn't always cooperate and neither do the people in it.

Weather it is my ADD, another driver being a jerk, or a rain storm at a bad time it is my responsibility to deal with it and my responsibility to accept responsibility for my emotions. . Blaming is the problem that simply adds to the problems = It resolves NOTHING!


In my opinion Monique has no point, no desire to take responsibility for her daughter's learning nor is their a mention to the daughters responsibility in all of this. Her NTer daughter should be able to focus on the school work and filter other children behaviors out as they are not any of her business.






THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FUNDING NOT THE CHILDREN WHO ARE SUFFERING AS MUCH IF NOT MORE THAN EVERY ONE ELSE - this woman Monique is ignorant plain and simple she needs to be labled as such.{IMHO}

If Monique wrote about the real problem as your present it{funding} then I would NOT have a beef with her correspondence I would probably agree completely.

Using a neurodiversity as a scape goat for poor funding is a load of crap :mad: - I shall speak out aginst it as long as I have breath to speak . . .. :soapbox::D :D
gee I missed you and your posts! you always make sense! LOL

gee I missed you and your posts! you always make sense! LOL

Now if you could only convince my husband of this I would be most happy. :p

I'm pretty sure in school I was not allowed to do whatever I wanted, then again I wasn't diagnosed until college.

I kind of agree with Monique though, I wish that they would seperate ADHD kids from normal kids at least for one class to go over stuff in school at least in elementary school. In elementary school they seperated the "gifted" [smart] kids from all the others and we'd do special math and reading assignments to challenge us for a class period and then we'd be taken back to our normal class.

I kind of agree with Monique though, I wish that they would seperate ADHD kids from normal kids at least for one class to go over stuff in school at least in elementary school.

Monique wasn't talking about separating ADD kids from the normal kids for a class period.




n elementary school they seperated the "gifted" [smart] kids from all the others and we'd do special math and reading assignments to challenge us for a class period

I remember gifted meant more work . . . . I never could figure out why any one would want to do more assigned school work any way Glad I was learning disabled so I could skip the extra school assignment and explore on my own.I preferred to learn what I wanted to not what some one else told me I needed to I had enough of that already in regular class.