When It Isn't ADHD: Ryan's Story
Ryan and his dad had another argument tonight about math homework. Ryan, a sharp, enthusiastic, 5th grader, was pretty sure he had homework, but he wasn't sure what it was. He didn't have this problem last year in 4th grade. Now this year Ryan is getting up out of his seat whenever he feels like it, disrupting other kids, getting into trouble.
When It Isn't ADHD: Ryan's Story
Sometimes Ryan's Mom emails the teacher and gets Ryan's homework. But she can't do that everyday. And Ryan needs to be more responsible. At Back-to-School night, Ryan's teacher suggests testing him for ADHD. She thinks maybe he needs to be on ADHD medication.
Mom says "Oh, dear. I hope not." Dad, annoyed by the whole thing, starts asking more questions. He wants to know exactly what Ryan is doing and what Ryan isn't doing.
Then the clue! Ryan's teacher says "You know, at the beginning of the year, Ryan did his math homework every single night. He always did very well. Then all of a sudden he stopped."
Ryan's Dad remembers this and comments that he often looked at the math pages that Ryan brought home. Says that Ryan hasn't brought math sheets home for ages. Now he brings a math book home but doesn't know what page the homework is on.
Ryan's Dad and the teacher both agree that math is Ryan's best subject. Ryan loves math. He's had an A on every math test. But his overall grade isn't very good because of this homework problem.
Turns out that when the new math books finally arrived, Ryan's teacher started writing the homework on the board. She didn't need to give the kid's homework sheets since the problems were in the book.
Congratulations! By now, you've guessed what Ryan's problem was.
Ryan couldn't see what the teacher had written on the board. So he'd get up out of his seat to get closer to the board and the teacher would tell him to sit down. And then he'd get into more trouble. Ryan didn't need an ADHD test. He needed an eye exam. Now he's wearing glasses. He can see the board. And he's doing his math homework. He might have needed glasses last year but the problem didn't show up because he sat in the front of the room close to the board.
Because we all use the term "ADHD" so often to describe not only our kids but ourselves, it's often the first thing a teacher or parent thinks of when a child isn't doing well in school. Or, in Ryan's case, isn't doing his homework.
It's easy to miss the obvious. But before you jump to an ADHD conclusion, even when your child's teacher suggests it, get your child's eyes tested by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. Teachers aren't trained to diagnose ADHD, and busy pediatricians often skip over eye exams.
Luckily Ryan's teacher and his parents figured this out before suggesting to a pediatrician that Ryan might have ADHD and should be on ADHD medication. Sadly, all too often, well-meaning pediatricians who often have just 15 minutes per patient will write a prescription for ADHD medications. No complete physical. No eye exam. No referral to a child psychologist or psychiatrist.
If your child doesn't have ADHD symptoms at home and only one thing is out of whack at school-like not doing homework-your child does not have ADHD. To find out what else is often labeled ADHD but isn't, pick up your free copy of "Maybe It Isn't ADHD After All: 12 Common Conditions that Can Cause ADHD-like Behavior" at http://smartkidssmartparents.com/
share the Facebook Twitter Like Tweet. Can you share this contact form When It Isn't ADHD: Ryan's Story.
No comments:
Post a Comment