So my son started back to school yesterday, fourth grade! First off, I can’t believe how fast time fly’s. A couple more years and he will be in middle school, wow.

This will be a quick post, but its something all parents with ADHD children should read. DON’T LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDS TEACHER WHEN OR IF SHE TELLS YOU TO YOUR CHILD SHOULD GET ON MEDICATION (DRUGS).

Your childs teacher has a conflict of interest. I am not sure how other states are, but the Texas school system (setup by no child left behind, thanks a lot Bush) is screwed up. Why it is screwed up is that teachers in Texas are rewarded on how well their students do on TAKS tests. These tests are kind of like SAT for younger children. So what do you think the teachers do? They only worry about teaching what the children need to know to past the TAKS test. So what happens? Children only end up learning what they need for the test and then end up forgetting it. By teaching this way its hard for children to get the overall concept or theory, which would end up helping them solve future problems or questions. It’s kind of like those people you knew in high school who were book smart, but couldn’t really get a joke or figure things out on their own.

Oh, getting sidetracked…sorry about that. So my son’s 1^st grade teacher and 2^nd grade teacher said my son was the worst behaved child they had ever seen. His first grade teacher told the story of her child and how she put him on one of those ADHD drugs that is now being found to cause liver or kidney problems…NICE. She couldn’t tell us to put our son on drugs, but she was sure hinting at it over and over and over.

My son ended 3^rd grade with one point shy of having straight A’s. He does still have issues with paying attention (see my other post about being bored), but his behavior grades are almost even with the rest of the class. All it takes is a little discipline and for parents and teachers to quit being so negative (still working on this myself). Your ADHD child is probably constantly told by his teacher that he is a screw up….well in those words, but your child probably feels that way. Again before you put your child on drugs please do some things to help your child besides looking for a quick fix. I know it might be hard for you to look into the mirror and tell yourself your parenting skills probably aren’t perfect and you need some help. Please get a copy of “Transforming the Difficult Child”.

Please disregard your child’s teacher when they start discussing a quick fix like drugs. Just because they have worked with kids for 5, 10, or 25 years doesn’t mean they know what is best for you child’s mental and/or physical health, as it just means they know how to teach. Their goal isn’t to do what is best for you child, but rather what is the easiest way to do their job and still get their rewards. That being said I do think teachers are underpaid, overworked, and lack the proper training on dealing with and teaching right brained children.

So my son is exceeding without being on drugs. Thanks Kelly and Shailagh for all your help!