Hello Harilyn Rousso,
You said "....The number of students with disabilities has been
increasing over time, with the largest increases in the category of
"other health impairments," partly due to increased identification of
students with Attention Deficit Disorders."
This is disturbing is it not?
As a Special Education Teacher I discovered the following:
1. Schools must be child-centered havens. Regardless of the preceived
disability every child deserves loving guidance and pro-active education
considering all areas of vital existence in life, not only academically
but with self-care and social relationships as well.
I'm literally dismayed by the unchild-centered leadership I often see in
the schools.Educators often so ardously work at teaching the standard
curriculum it is to the neglect of emotional and social health of the
students.
Children are so dominated. There's little vision for peer relationships.
Children aren't taught to relate socially across groups, allowing for
social prejudices to fester.
As well, I understand that there is no proof of ADD. Educators can
simply determine possible Attention Deficit Disorder and encourage
medical attention and Ritalin use to get the child to conform to
curriculum which ignores their human needs. In the long run drugs can
have devastating effects. In fact at least 3 of the boys who did the
recent tragic school shootings had learning disabilities and had been
users of some type of psychiatric drug, Ritalin or Prozac. They were
also socially prejudiced against by the status-quo in crowd of the
school culture. A bad combination of factors here.
Considering the inter and multi generational social prejudices which are
in place, I don't see anyway out of this horrendous problem, other than
to seek pro-active emotional health, equality and holistic education for
all educators, parents and students.
For the Children
JeanMarie DeSpain, M.S.
Educational Ideals
<jmad@clipper.net>
Sources for ADD/Ritalin information are:
Fred A. Baughman, M.D. - Immunize Your Child Against ADD
Fred A. Baughman, M.D. - What You Should Know About ADD
Peter R. Breggin, M.D. - Talking Back to Ritalin
The Life Extension Foundation
International Advocates for Health Freedom
The Merrow Report - Attention Deficit Disorder
Yahoo: Health: Alternative Medicine
John M. Friedberg, M.D., Board Certified Neurologist
Support Coalition & Dendron News
Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology
National Foundation for Gifted and Creative Children
United States Drug Enforcement Administration
Training Children To Be Drug Addicts
Important note: When trying to withdraw from many psychiatric drugs,
patients can develop serious and even life-threatening emotional and
physical reactions. It is dangerous not only to start taking psychiatric
drugs, but also it can be dangerous to stop taking them. Withdrawal from
psychiatric drugs should be done gradually and under medical and
clinical supervision.
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