Agibson, perhaps your best course of action, as you try to help your son achieve his full potential, is to do some more research on the Internet. You could start by reading Fred Baughman M.D.'s article "The ADHD Fraud" or read the article by Jenny Hope that was published not so long in the Daily Mail, "The Great ADHD Myth".
More and more doctors are coming to the conclusion that the "conditions" that have been labelled as ADD and ADHD simply have no scientific basis. There were claims that there were neurological differences between those who had ADD and ADHD, but these claims have been proved to be false. Furthermore, quite a lot of "research" into ADD and ADHD has in fact been funded by drug companies that have been making a lot of money out of the sale of Ritalin. It's a bit like asking the fox to look after your chickens.
I am not a doctor and have no medical training. However, I do not think that you have to be a brain surgeon to understand that Ritalin changes the chemistry of the brain. It is a powerful drug and therefore it must be very difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between the effects of the drug and the effects of the ADD or ADHD (if we were to assume that these "conditions" really do exist). Some of the so-called research into ADD and ADHD is in fact based on studies of children and young people who have already been taking Ritalin for some considerable length of time.
I am sure that you would agree that it's not your child's fault if he or she has chicken pox or measles. However, it is a very dangerous thing thing to say to a child, "You have ADD or ADHD" because this may give a child completely the wrong idea, namely that it is okay not even to bother to try to concentrate in his or her lessons because it is really not their fault that they find Maths difficult or that they find learning their spellings rather tedious. They have ADD or ADHD and so we should not be so mean or so unfair as to expect them to work hard, try their best and do their homework properly. Can you not see that sticking on the "ADD/ADHD" label could in fact be very harmful to your son? (Any child psychologist will tell you that a child's self-image is a vital factor in their social and academic development and this is even more the case with teenagers.) And don't you want your son to become MORE responsible, not less? And how can you possibly expect him to behave in a more responsible manner, whether in the classroom or out of it, if you tell him that he has ADD/ADHD?
It is quite natural for children to take some time adjusting to a new school and a new country. A lot of expat children in Qatar miss their pets, their old friends and maybe even their old teacher. It is also true that a lot of children in Qatar, both Qataris and expats, do not get enough exercise and do not eat a healthy diet. But please, Agibson, let us not be in a hurry to label our children with the "ADD" or "ADHD" label, especially when so many leading doctors now believe that these "conditions" do not exist.
I am a primary teacher, not a neurosurgeon, but seems to me that concentration is a kind of mental muscle. If we love reading, chess, playing a musical instrument or even doing crossword puzzles, our powers of concentration are developed. On the other hand, if we gawp at trash on the TV and have no serious hobbies at all, we should not be surprised when we find it difficult to maintain our concentration when we are given a mentally challenging task. In short, we will indeed have an attention deficit disorder, but it may well be of our own making. But if it is of our own making, might it not also be of our own un-making?
Agibson, perhaps your best course of action, as you try to help your son achieve his full potential, is to do some more research on the Internet. You could start by reading Fred Baughman M.D.'s article "The ADHD Fraud" or read the article by Jenny Hope that was published not so long in the Daily Mail, "The Great ADHD Myth".
More and more doctors are coming to the conclusion that the "conditions" that have been labelled as ADD and ADHD simply have no scientific basis. There were claims that there were neurological differences between those who had ADD and ADHD, but these claims have been proved to be false. Furthermore, quite a lot of "research" into ADD and ADHD has in fact been funded by drug companies that have been making a lot of money out of the sale of Ritalin. It's a bit like asking the fox to look after your chickens.
I am not a doctor and have no medical training. However, I do not think that you have to be a brain surgeon to understand that Ritalin changes the chemistry of the brain. It is a powerful drug and therefore it must be very difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between the effects of the drug and the effects of the ADD or ADHD (if we were to assume that these "conditions" really do exist). Some of the so-called research into ADD and ADHD is in fact based on studies of children and young people who have already been taking Ritalin for some considerable length of time.
I am sure that you would agree that it's not your child's fault if he or she has chicken pox or measles. However, it is a very dangerous thing thing to say to a child, "You have ADD or ADHD" because this may give a child completely the wrong idea, namely that it is okay not even to bother to try to concentrate in his or her lessons because it is really not their fault that they find Maths difficult or that they find learning their spellings rather tedious. They have ADD or ADHD and so we should not be so mean or so unfair as to expect them to work hard, try their best and do their homework properly. Can you not see that sticking on the "ADD/ADHD" label could in fact be very harmful to your son? (Any child psychologist will tell you that a child's self-image is a vital factor in their social and academic development and this is even more the case with teenagers.) And don't you want your son to become MORE responsible, not less? And how can you possibly expect him to behave in a more responsible manner, whether in the classroom or out of it, if you tell him that he has ADD/ADHD?
It is quite natural for children to take some time adjusting to a new school and a new country. A lot of expat children in Qatar miss their pets, their old friends and maybe even their old teacher. It is also true that a lot of children in Qatar, both Qataris and expats, do not get enough exercise and do not eat a healthy diet. But please, Agibson, let us not be in a hurry to label our children with the "ADD" or "ADHD" label, especially when so many leading doctors now believe that these "conditions" do not exist.
I am a primary teacher, not a neurosurgeon, but seems to me that concentration is a kind of mental muscle. If we love reading, chess, playing a musical instrument or even doing crossword puzzles, our powers of concentration are developed. On the other hand, if we gawp at trash on the TV and have no serious hobbies at all, we should not be surprised when we find it difficult to maintain our concentration when we are given a mentally challenging task. In short, we will indeed have an attention deficit disorder, but it may well be of our own making. But if it is of our own making, might it not also be of our own un-making?