Fill it up Friday
Each Friday we will look at an article to fill up on the whys of teaching.
I wanted to share this article since I had seen it floating around on social media. I’ll give you a minute to read it. Seriously, you go read it and I’ll wait right here.
Ok good now that you’ve read it I want to know what you think. ADHD can be a controversial topic in general, but the assertion that there is a subset of preschoolers (or in this case 2 and 3 year olds) that not only have ADHD but are suffering enough to need medication is alarming. I’m going to start off by saying that this article does not give all the facts. It does not give exact figures and is estimating the rate of medicating children in other areas based on one state. Without having hard and fast numbers it is hard to know how accurate the reporting is.
It is also difficult to determine from the article why these children were prescribed the medication. They could be using the medication for an off-label use. Off-label usage often has advantages in cases where traditional treatments are not working. There could be instances within the reported numbers where the treatment is not for ADHD but some other condition where all other treatments have failed.
The concern for me arises if (and this is the danger in reading non-specific reporting) and only if young children are being diagnosed with ADHD. By their inherent nature young children are impulsive and active. If as a society we look at this and think that it is something to “fix” then we as a society are the ones that truly need the fixing. If we as educators are not providing developmentally appropriate learning environments for our children then we need to adjust our pedagogy. If we as advocates for our young ones cannot provide support for parents to understand what to expect from their children and how to support them then we need to search for the words.
We work so hard in this country to allow all persons to be themselves. We fight for equality and freedom of expression for all. We believe that everyone has the right to be themselves in whichever fashion suits them best and yet we force unrealistic expectations on children at all levels and expect them to just bend to our wills.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Stand up for our children in every arena you can. This sometimes means questioning your pediatrician. This means partnering with parents to find workable solutions. This means assisting coworkers in finding new solutions for “difficult children.”
With all of that said I do believe there are some humans (whether they are children or adults) who can benefit from medical intervention based on the variations of chemicals in their bodies. This is not for everyone and should be done with extreme caution in children who are still growing at astronomical rates.
What do you think? Have you faced issues like this with your own kids? Your students?
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