"I couldn't sit still in class, I couldn't focus, I couldn't pay attention, I couldn't learn. What good is intelligence if one can't manage to focus long enough to learn how to read and write? What good is intelligence or brilliance without an educational foundation and the ability to focus and employ one's abilities?"
It breaks my heart when I read something like this. Of course you could not do these things. Normal humans are not meant to at this age. Sitting still in class is the last thing that we should impell our children to do.
The strength of a school such as Sudbury Valley School ( http://www.sudval.org/ ) is that children are given an environment in which they can learn how to control themselves, and to their own time table. Dr. Daiel Greenberg himself remarked that his son may well have been put on Ritalin if he had gone to a "normal" school bcause the boy was so full of life.
Why are we SO insistant on caging our children at the very age they need to be free to explore?
Those who are interested should consider reading "Free at Last" by D. Greenberg. It may enlightn a facet of out Industrial Society not previously considered.
I don't think it was caused by the drug. In the UK (about 5 years ago) I noticed that children diagnosed as Asperger were beginning to be prescribed Ritalin as a solution.
A mistake in my view.
Aspergers don't need drugs. They need an environment that is suitable for them as they grow to learn how to integrate themselves into the society around them.
After reading/. for years, I logged on contribute to this discussion.
I teach such children with my wife in our little school here in Japan. We encounter children that have been "diagnosed" with disorder every now and then. My experience with such children is that more often than not, it is the ridgid expectations of their surroundings than anything else that is the root of the "problems". With the right environment and careful interaction, all the children we have dealt with "recover".
We are just now at the end of a very "serious" case of an "ADD" Asperger/Autistic boy. It has been very challenging, not least because we adults must control ourselves in how we behave with these children. What a difference a year of gentle humanity makes! From "unschoolable" to "normal".
From the discussions regarding ADD ADD Asperger and Autism over the years, I do feel that there is a tedency to over diagnose in the USA. I shy away from such solutions. There are usually MANY other avenues that could be persued first, and are not. By the time parents seek help, they are too frazzled.
Having said that, there's something I must say here:
I am not an MD or medical expert.
So saying, There have been times when I have encountered situations where drugs are being used on children, and I have bowed to the judgment of medical opinion. Perhaps some cases are so far gone (and parents too, often as not, are inflexible in their behavior), or the kids simply need it.
There is alot more I could post, but my own kids want to do stuff, and I have not read all the posts yet. I feel there is much I can relate in my own experiences both as a parent and a teacher.
Sorry I am not aware of the bio-feed back solution. Hope you get some good data from this discussion.
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"I couldn't sit still in class, I couldn't focus, I couldn't pay attention, I couldn't learn. What good is intelligence if one can't manage to focus long enough to learn how to read and write? What good is intelligence or brilliance without an educational foundation and the ability to focus and employ one's abilities?"
It breaks my heart when I read something like this. Of course you could not do these things. Normal humans are not meant to at this age. Sitting still in class is the last thing that we should impell our children to do.
The strength of a school such as Sudbury Valley School ( http://www.sudval.org/ ) is that children are given an environment in which they can learn how to control themselves, and to their own time table. Dr. Daiel Greenberg himself remarked that his son may well have been put on Ritalin if he had gone to a "normal" school bcause the boy was so full of life.
Why are we SO insistant on caging our children at the very age they need to be free to explore?
Those who are interested should consider reading "Free at Last" by D. Greenberg. It may enlightn a facet of out Industrial Society not previously considered.
a
I don't think it was caused by the drug. In the UK (about 5 years ago) I noticed that children diagnosed as Asperger were beginning to be prescribed Ritalin as a solution.
A mistake in my view.
Aspergers don't need drugs. They need an environment that is suitable for them as they grow to learn how to integrate themselves into the society around them.
a
After reading /. for years, I logged on contribute to this discussion.
I teach such children with my wife in our little school here in Japan. We encounter children that have been "diagnosed" with disorder every now and then. My experience with such children is that more often than not, it is the ridgid expectations of their surroundings than anything else that is the root of the "problems". With the right environment and careful interaction, all the children we have dealt with "recover".
We are just now at the end of a very "serious" case of an "ADD" Asperger/Autistic boy. It has been very challenging, not least because we adults must control ourselves in how we behave with these children. What a difference a year of gentle humanity makes! From "unschoolable" to "normal".
From the discussions regarding ADD ADD Asperger and Autism over the years, I do feel that there is a tedency to over diagnose in the USA. I shy away from such solutions. There are usually MANY other avenues that could be persued first, and are not. By the time parents seek help, they are too frazzled.
Having said that, there's something I must say here:
I am not an MD or medical expert.
So saying, There have been times when I have encountered situations where drugs are being used on children, and I have bowed to the judgment of medical opinion. Perhaps some cases are so far gone (and parents too, often as not, are inflexible in their behavior), or the kids simply need it.
There is alot more I could post, but my own kids want to do stuff, and I have not read all the posts yet. I feel there is much I can relate in my own experiences both as a parent and a teacher.
Sorry I am not aware of the bio-feed back solution. Hope you get some good data from this discussion.
a