Lynne wrote:
>I have to add my own experience from working for a charity giving activity
>holidays to economically and socially deprived kids: ADHD has been diagnosed
>in a significant number of these kids, and in our view the vast majority
>simply needed a decent diet (i.e. limiting fizy drinks, chocolate, sweets
>and other junk) and mental and physical stimulation. Not only are these
>children labelled, they are also given drugs whose long-term effects are not
>known. I only met one whose behaviour could be termed uncontrollable, and
>ritalin had helped to an extent. One social worker who came with a group of
>young carers estimated that, of the children she knew who were on ritalin,
>90% did not have ADHD, but had parent/s who simply were inadequate (often
>through no fault of their own) and/or inadequately supported. The children I
>am talking about are from poor areas, and attend schools where the
>child/teacher ratio is too high, and ritalin is a way of curbing their
>"disruptive" behaviour. I'm no expert, but I was horrified at the apparent
>scale of this problem.
On the 'Life as a Disabled Child' project, we identified two other factors
that were complicit in this situation. First, children who already had
diagnosed impairments but who did not 'fit' the check-list for that
impairment were sometimes re-diagnosed as ADHD - the catch-all category.
Second, this tended to happen in schools where appropriate educational
resources (human and material) were in short supply because of LEA
cutbacks. Since the prescription of ritalin depends on the assessment of
medical personnel and is paid for by the Health Authority was this a way of
getting a medical solution (the cheap, short-term option) to a social
problem (the expensive, long-term option) and/or simply redirecting
resources to get the desired outcome (social control of behaviour that was
labelled 'inappropriate').
I don't wish to deny the stress that some parents were experiencing, but
much of this stress was because no-one would listen to their problems and
because they felt they had to pour enormous amounts of energy into getting
listened to. However, I would also strongly emphasise that ritalin can
change an assertive (and sometimes popular child) into one who is the
target of bullying because of the stigma of taking medication and also
because of the change in their behaviour, and is unable to defend themself
because of the effects of the drug. We have to think of the costs for both
child and parents, but because it is the child that will experience the
long-term consequences of bullying, I think this consideration should be
child-focused. There is no doubt in my mind that most adults do not like
assertive children - the 'children should be seen and not heard' mentality
is still very strong - but is complicated by the expectation that disabled
children should be passive. All of this has very, very serious ethical
implications.
I absolutely support Lynne's assessment - many of these children are
probably showing behaviour that is linked to their experience of oppression
(disability) and is sometimes impairment-specific e.g. deaf kids get
frustrated because they can't understand the world around them and because
they're fed up with being told to listen when no-one listens to them.
If there are any more stories out there, please do contact me on or off
list as John Davis and myself are writing a comissioned chapter for a book
on this topic.
Best wishes
Mairian
Mairian Corker
Senior Research Fellow in Deaf and Disability Studies
Department of Education and Social Studies
University of Central Lancashire
Preston PR1 2HE
Address for correspondence:
Deafsearch
111 Balfour Road
Highbury
London N5 2HE
U.K.
Minicom/TTY +44 [0]20 7359 8085
Fax +44 [0]870 0553967
Typetalk (voice) +44 [0]800 515152 (and ask for minicom/TTY number)
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"To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
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