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Short Attention Spans
Real Disorders vs.
Only an Excuse
Copyright Findawish.com
12-29-02
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Introduction:
Before reading this article
and definitely before sending an email, read the sources and pledge
sections.
I have heard debates over why some kids seem to learn
well and pay attention in class and why others simply seem to be unable to
physically or mentally coupe. New terms like Attention Deficit Disorder
(ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been used
to describe other people many times and in so many environments that I can’t
help but have an urge to write about them.
I have never been diagnosed with any disorder but I’m
sure it is because I have never been tested for any disorders. I mean,
after all, I had an extremely hard time sitting through the software
documentation classes in college and an even harder time sitting through
classes where the students were telling the technology professor how to
“double click” on the icons instead of “single clicking” on them. My
attention span was definitely short. I must have ADD.
Then again, it was really hard to pay attention to
the coach in basketball class when 9 members of the women’s basketball,
dance and aerobics teams were participating in the same game I was. I
must have ADHD.
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OK so I’m over dramatic but I have been through both
ADD and ADHD type symptoms; I’m sure of it. For a long time I couldn’t
understand why some kids just couldn’t sit still. They were bouncing off
the walls. I really started to notice it in the 5th grade when
I was sitting in Mrs. Smirch’s class. Over half of the kids were
fidgeting in their seats and really being annoying. Some of them acted
out but most of them just squirmed the hours between recess and lunch
away. I seriously thought there was something wrong with them.
Then the 6th grade came. I don’t know
what it was, exactly anyway, but I could not sit still. I can remember
going to the library with the rest of the class and just not being able to
calm myself down. I was so hyper that all I remember is Mrs. Stevens
telling me to go run around the football field a couple times. I ran
about as fast as I could, lapping the field twice. It didn’t help, not
even in the slightest bit so I got to make another two laps. I don’t
think that would have worked either except on my second lap I went off
course to the play ground and jumped up and grabbed the monkey bars only
to land on my back. That pretty much settled me down that day.
Throughout the year I rarely got into trouble (I know because I still have
my report cards) but I can clearly remember how hard it was to sit still.
It was so bad, in fact, that it is by far the worst year of my education.
So what’s the deal? I have relatives that have been
diagnosed with one form or another of a disorder and I’m fairly close to
those relatives. As far as I know their parents didn’t use any drugs,
didn’t drink and didn’t smoke during pregnancy or shortly before pregnancy
and I know they didn’t smoke after their children were born either. Out
of the half dozen or so that say they have been diagnosed with a disorder
I can safely say in my unscientific and non ADD or ADHD educated opinion
that only one really has a disorder.
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While my examples of myself are short and way back in
my past they are not the only examples I have; they are simply the only
ones I will share. I look some key points that I think are a dead
give-away when deciding whether a child has a disorder or not.
First, what are their true intentions? This is not
as hard to figure out as it sounds. My sister started needing glasses
toward the end of the 5th grade. She was definitely a better
student than I was throughout grade school and we were about the same as
she got into high school (but to save my pride I am kicking her butt, so
far, in college comparisons). Toward the end of the 5th grade,
though, she started missing home work assignments. It wasn’t because she
didn’t want to do the work; the teacher would write it on the board and
she couldn’t see it. Once we figured out she needed glasses early in her
6th grade year, she was back on top of the class again.
By contrast I talk to family members diagnosed with
attention disorders and all I hear is “I didn’t feel like it, I didn’t
want to, Why do it” and on and on. Excuse after excuse after excuse. I
didn’t want to do homework any more than the next person but I did it.
Another clear indicator is someone that automatically uses the excuse of
their disorder. “I couldn’t go to school and had to skip because I was
too hyper; I have ADHD you know.” Yeah right…my grandma has a name for
kids like that: BRAT. You have to be careful saying that in today’s
society so kids get to hide behind acronyms for disorders.
I have heard a few people say this but Chris Rock
said it the clearest. He was on The Tonight Show when he said that he had
gone to school on both sides of the tracks. On the poor side of the
tracks the text books were written in and the teachers were under paid and
over worked and kids didn’t think it was cool to learn. On the poorer
side, if you did even slightly better than the others in school you were
made fun of.
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On the richer side of the tracks they had the exact
same books as the poor side in the exact same condition with the same
quality of teachers getting paid close to the same amount. The only
difference was the kids wanted to learn. Even though you were made fun of
if you were extremely good in school on the rich side, doing well in
school was part of your pride.
If you want to learn, you will learn.
My next key question to answer is what’s their
environment at home like? The more I listen to society the more I am
hearing it is up to the parents. There was a gentleman on C-SPAN last
night that said the war on drugs starts with parents. I have heard
Anchorage’s local school board say the education system starts with
parents. I have seen it first hand. All, and yes I am saying all, of the
students that I have seen act up in class repeatedly are having those
actions re-enforced by their environment at home. Common phrases are “My
mom doesn’t like this teacher, wait until I tell her this” and “Why don’t
you call my parents about this” and I see the parents backing up their
children. Sometimes that is good but most of the time that’s just
enabling the child to act out again.
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I went through this same routine myself during my 7th
grade. My mom didn’t like one of my teachers and while I didn’t know her
yet; I didn’t like her either. Once my dad stepped in and got me to
understand that sometimes I won’t like who I have to “work” with but I
always need to accept them and do my best anyway to better myself, the
problem with my teacher was resolved. This sounds corny now that I write
it but that is seriously how it was. I respected my father and looked up
to him when he told me something I listened. Most children today are not
lucky enough to have two parents in the same house or to have a good
relationship with either parent let alone both. Before you label the kid
as the problem you need to look at the parents.
Though it might seem to be quite awhile ago and most
adults I know don’t remember much about their childhood in such detail
(that’s another topic, I think they remember but just don’t talk about it)
I clearly remember being on both sides of the fence.
There is something about the one relative that I
believe has ADHD that I just can’t put my finger on. He’s a good man (now
he is a man) and he seriously tries to pay attention and sit still but it
just doesn’t seem to be possible. There are countless defining moments
that seriously make me believe in ADD or ADHD and all of them are from
this one relative. I have yet to see him truly defiant. He is humble
about his condition and doesn’t use it as an excuse. I know the
environment he grew up in as we were pretty much raised together from the
time he was born until he was 11 or 12. I won’t go into any more detail
but attention disorders are out there but they are abused. If you are
child reading this, you might want to take a look at yourself and think
about how you really are and how you want to be remembered. If you are a
parent or a parent to be (yes I know most children are parents to be…so
stop emailing me about it) reading this article then maybe you need to
take a look at yourself and the environment that you are providing your
child before you label him/her for the rest of his/her life.
Sources
Don't write to me if you are going to say "my kid really has a
disorder." Re-read the article and know that I am empathetic to your
situation and your child's disorder. I do not have sympathy for
those who fake it, hide behind it, use it to their advantage or label
their kids unfairly.
Teacher's names in the story above are changed to protect the elderly.
I'm not a doctor, never taken any classes on attention disorders but I
have researched the topic and I do know enough about the subject to write
about it. In short, I'm a normal person calling it like it is.
Just remember this too, I may be stupid but so are you. Stupidity is not in the eye of the
beholder. Stupidity is believing that you are not stupid like the rest of
us. And yes, I am doing something about it. I am posting my
opinions for public comment which evokes public thought. Things may
get worse through this "public thought process" but at least they are
changing.
My Pledge
As you may notice in the many articles to come, I absolutely can not
stand people that have an opinion about something they know very little
about or didn't take the time to research before giving their opinion. I
pledge that I will not write a single article about a subject that I don't
know enough about to see several sides of the issue. If you think I am
missing something,
I'd love to be the first to know about it.
Introduction |
My Pledge | Sources
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