February 17, 2007
1 in 166
It’s Saturday night and I’m watching The Parent Trap for the three hundredth time (Linday Lohan was much cuter ten years ago, and also significantly less slutty). Fortunately for you, I have a new piece up at mamazine.com:
Diagnosing mental disorders, including autism, in children is tricky work. Bipolar disorder will often present as ADHD; Asperger’s and NLD share a long list of specific traits; giftedness often mirrors autism. We need better diagnostic criteria, in order to clearly establish what it is that makes kids like John and Rebecca and Henry different from their peers. We need better strategies for helping those kids, better structures in our school systems and better support for families. We need to know more about the medications that are being prescribed to help these kids, and we need to be certain that the medication is used for the benefit of the CHILD and not to make things easier for the adults who are raising them.
Beats the hell out of The Parent Trap, although Dennis Quaid is kind of hot.
Posted by Susan @ 1:09 pm • Uncategorized
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February 17th, 2007 at 10:12 pm, Annika Says:
KIND OF? Woman, that was the understatement of the week.
February 18th, 2007 at 12:17 am, Joel s Says:
“Dennis Quaid was kind of hot”
now he looks like he’s spent too much time in a tanning bed.
Honestly, I hate the lack of support in public schools. My younger brother was at one point told by the VP of his highschool that they didn’t have a place for him there. They were ready to just give up on him, litrally. He did end up dropping out, and going to a private institute to finish his highschool. Now? he’s in Japan becoming a professional ninja. I guess when the school said he’d never go anywhere or accomplish anything, they were dead wrong.
He was really lucky to have a Mom who was willing to kick him out of the house a few times and give him some harsh wake up calls to make him finish his school. However, it should’ve never had to have come to that. His learning dissability is fairly minor; the lack of resources and support are absurd.
February 18th, 2007 at 9:40 am, daysgoby Says:
In a time when practically any adult personality trait can be used as a (half-assed) diagnosis and any yahoo can toss around enough terminology to label everyone within range I find it incomprehensible and, well, stupid that there isn’t more research being done to help children. It’s a bit skewed, huh?
February 18th, 2007 at 5:13 pm, Mark Says:
I can of like the slutty Lindsay, but hey, I am a guy.
February 18th, 2007 at 9:09 pm, Kimblahg Says:
“Bipolar disorder will often present as ADHD” .
Someone was telling me that some believe ADHD is biopolar or at least a form of it. She said many of the bipolar adults she works with were diagnosed ADHD children.
What do you think?
February 18th, 2007 at 9:43 pm, beth Says:
Not to mention Sensory Processing Disorders factoring in there too, which are in concentric circles with LD, ADD, and the autism spectrum. Schools didn’t seem to want to take the time to investigate my son’s diagnosed SPD. They forced me to lable him ADD and then tried to get me to put him on meds that he didn’t need. What he needed was OT and they didn’t want to give him that. Since they didn’t have a diagnostic test to back up the SPD diagnosis, well then,obviously, he must not have that.
February 18th, 2007 at 9:46 pm, gorillabuns Says:
dude, i so watching this show at the same time.
i don’t feel i’ll be able to ever get those minutes back.
i say this while i was mesmerized by lohan’s freckles. how can one person have so many freckles?
February 19th, 2007 at 6:29 am, Susan Says:
Kim, I’ve read both things, that ADHD presents as bipolar and that bipolar presents as ADHD. The Times article about Rebecca Riley quotes a pediatrician as saying that most of the kids he sees who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder have something else entirely, NOT bipolar. (The Times article is linked at mamazine.com.)
I think Beth is right–there aren’t good diagnostic criteria, and schools and doctors don’t have the proper structures to GET good diagnoses, and so we have to make due with whatever diagnosis we’re handed, even if the treatment doesn’t help what ails our child. It’s infuriating.
And yes, Lindsay Lohan has a LOT of freckles. Wow.
February 19th, 2007 at 7:36 am, Velma Says:
After being told for the last 2 years that my son “probably” has “some sort of spectrum disorder,” we met a few weeks ago with a doctor who has seem him in total for less than 30 minutes to hear her say she thought we were “probably looking at an attention deficit disorder” instead.” I just hope the in-depth 2 day evaluation isn’t going to end up with us receiving a clinical diagnosis of “ADHD…maybe.”
February 19th, 2007 at 1:32 pm, rachel Says:
Amen.
to the autism article AND Dennis Quaid.
If the public schools were more supportive of kids who don’t fit into a certain box, I might rethink homeschooling. Maybe I could fight for it, but I don’t have the energy for that fight day in and day out.
As a mom of a kid with SID, gifted, anxiety, and NLD, it’s hard to find the right tools to help her, since she isn’t a classic case of anything
February 19th, 2007 at 4:15 pm, Karyn Says:
Susan? You’re a rockstar.
J. presented with “significant anxiety”, OCD tendencies and behaviour consistent with ADHD. And the sensory integration concerns. WHICH ALL. FALL UNDER. ASPERGERS. It is so freaking convoluted and frustrating - I agree with you 100%.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:39 pm, nina Says:
Both my brothers were diagnosed in late elementary school/early middle school with severe ADHD after years of behavioral and academic problems. My parents didn’t put a lot of faith in psychology and psychiatrics (they’re old school in that way) and the schools just labeled them as “bad kids” and “trouble makers”. Once they were diagnosed, the district refused to provide adequate services for them. And by then they were also old enough that they refused to take medication - they didn’t want the stigma or the side effects. My youngest brother was also misdiagnosed as being bipolar.
My brothers had tortured childhoods in a way. Nobody knew what was wrong or how to deal with them - not me, not my parents, not the schools. My parents did the best they knew how, but in many ways it wasn’t good enough. I think there is so much more information out there than when we were in school and I think we are so fortunate to have it, regardless of the shortcomings that still exist.
I worry about my son having to deal with this same spectrum of disorders/disabilities. I have two other male cousins that both had severe ADHD - one was treated from a young age and is thriving (he’s about 15 years younger than the rest of us), but the other went through years and years of aggression, gangs, and never finished high school. He’s finally turned his life around as an adult, but I know he still has a difficult time.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:47 pm, Susan Says:
Nina, thank you for sharing that. Your son is so fortunate to have you as his mother, because you are aware and are prepared to do what he needs if you see signs that he is having any problems.
I think that diagnosis and treatment HAVE come a long way, and I have faith that we will get where these kids need us to be.