USA Today - USA
All children — even those diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder — can be taught without drugs such as Ritalin, says Chris Mercogliano, a ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-06-15-adhd-approach_x.htm

I don't know Big..... I think that he has a point with regard to a small portion of the population of children out there, but I would like to some statistics to confirm what he claims.

What I worry about is that 90% of life is structured, boring routine tasks in which you have little to know say in the decisions that are made. Would we be doing students an injustice by teaching them in an environment in which they have gentle expectations and no formal assessment and then graduating them into a world that will have high expectations and pick their performance apart like buzzards on a carcass?

Just part of the perpetual ponderings of a teacher.

David

I think you bring up a valid point, David.

As someone who hopes to become a teacher, this guy seems to me to be too much of an idealist. Sure, in an ideal world, where kids are given exactly the support they need, they can do well, even with AD/HD. The problem is, he's too idealistic about how easy it would be to implement his ideas. He claims that "Also, schools can make use of volunteers and student interns to cut down on high student/teacher ratios — at no cost." All well and good. But in Canada, and I assume in the US as well, there needs to be criminal record checks and such for people to work with kids, which often cost money to have done. And this assumes you can get enough volunteers and student interns. If you have enough student interns to make a significant difference, you've got too many student teachers graduating to fill the emptying positions. And volunteers aren't as easy to come by for most schools as he thinks. He might be able to get a relatively ideal environment going in his school, but that doesn't mean it's possible for every school out there.

And, as PershingD said, this doesn't prepare them well for the so-called 'real world', especially College. The guy states that only two people in his school never graduated. I'd be more interested to see A> what percent, relative to 'normal' schools, went to college, and B> whether there was a higher failure rate for students from his school or from 'normal' ones. Even with the structure I'd learned in high school, I had massive problems I only this month found out were AD/HD related when I hit college. I don't want to imagine what it would have been like without that base structure.

...this assumes you can get enough volunteers and student interns. If you have enough student interns to make a significant difference, you've got too many student teachers graduating to fill the emptying positions. And volunteers aren't as easy to come by for most schools as he thinks. He might be able to get a relatively ideal environment going in his school, but that doesn't mean it's possible for every school out there...The guy states that only two people in his school never graduated. I'd be more interested to see A> what percent, relative to 'normal' schools, went to college, and B> whether there was a higher failure rate for students from his school or from 'normal' ones.

These are all excellent observations!

Alex,

In Missouri, adults hired to work in a school have to undergo the criminal background check, but as far as I know, student aides do not. The bigger problem in using students is that it removes them from coursework that they need to graduate. While my school may have 2 or 3 seniors that have met the graduation requirements that they release form regular coursework to be teacher's aides, their time is limited and they cannot be put in charge of students.

It appears that the author of the article's school is what we call an "alternative school" around here. These schools are usually schools by name only and have been allowed to skirt the traditional definition of education in name of reducing the dropout rate. Have them show up once in a while and then give them a diploma in a few years. There are good alternative schools, don't get me wrong, but the ones in my area leave a lot to be desired.

With the upcoming implementation of the US's No Child Left Behind law, schools like his will have to produce the numbers that you and I both want to see to the federal government. I'm confident that his "success" rate will look much differently then.

PershingD

Mr. Mercogliano suggests that people with AD/HD just "pay attention" I suppose his next book will suggest that depressed people should just cheer up. And following that,he can encourage deaf people to listen. Congradulations on your Phd in Psychiatry Mr. Mercogliano..........uh NO you're a teacher (no disrespect to teachers) not a psychiatrist. But still I should be glad I wasted 30some years before a doctor FINALLY put me on meds for AD/HD. Don'cha just love sarcasm!-my weapon of choice

Did you miss the link in the article?

Dr. Russell Barkley comments on Mr. Mercogliano. "A National Institute of Mental Health study of more than 600 ADHD-diagnosed children — the largest ADHD study ever — showed that those getting medication were the only ones with lasting benefits, even though others got "the most intensive psychological treatment that has ever been done," Barkley says.

He says the methods of Albany, N.Y., teacher Chris Mercogliano ignore "voluminous scientific literature" as well as brain imaging, which shows that ADHD produces neurological differences that can't be overcome through changes in kids' environments.

Family and school environments play a role, he says — another study of ADHD-diagnosed kindergartners found that changing those factors "resulted in a tremendous improvement." But three months after students left that intensive program, all gains were lost.

"There was no carryover outside the school," Barkley says.

Environmental or psychological treatments are only useful the day you use them, he says. "The day you stop treatment is the day you go back to being ADHD."

The disorder, he says, is much like diabetes — manageable but chronic. "I cannot get rid of it, and if I stop my intervention, you're going to go back to being like you were before."

Environmental or psychological treatments are only useful the day you use them, he says. "The day you stop treatment is the day you go back to being ADHD."I'm sure this is true, just from my own experience, but for my own kid, I want to tailor things as long as I can for her, so that meds aren't necessary any sooner than they have to be. I take them because at this stage of life the side effects of not taking them are greater than the risk of taking them. But I still worry about long term risk, especially for my kids since they hopefully have a long, long time ahead of them.