Re: Re: ADHD Conversation

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your post ! I loved this part.... it is so true....

2. cannot be explained by some other medical condition, or accounted

>for by another diagnosis.

>

>For example, if a child has a hearing loss and common side effects

>can be inattention, poor school work, etc... Then a diagnosis of

>ADHD is not warranted unless the symptoms being displayed are ABOVE

>and BEYOND what you would expect for a child with a hearing loss (or

>other disorder).

You are so right about this. Unfortunately, most teachers and school

psychologists and even SLPs haven't a clue about hearing loss. Hearing loss is

truly invisible, and unless they know what to look for, they will rarely see a

sign of it. And you have to be sure the child's listening needs in the

classroom are being adequately addressed before you can say if the symptoms are

above and beyond. So often no one on " the team " has a clue about what to LOOK

for in hearing loss and how to tell if the child's listening needs are

adequately managed. And addressing the listening needs usually costs money so

often schools refuse to provide FM or even soundfield systems. Or they are just

clueless period. And often no one has told the parents the fact that most often

hearing aids are often NOT enough for classroom listening when the child has a

hearing loss. So they don't know to ask for it, and often they assume that the

schools know what to do and will automatically do it. And we know that isn't

true. Or the parents are the only ones on " the team " that know what hearing

loss " looks like " in a classroom and about the need for classroom listening

modifications and they usually get patted on the head or ignored. So this

overzealous approach of teachers/schools regarding ADD/ADHD really affects LOTs

of kids with hearing loss. I have a good friend who is a clinical psychologist

who specializes in children, her dissertation was actually about parents and

support groups (CHADD)! She hadn't the first clue about hearing loss and how it

would look in a classroom. Carol Flexer usually has a line that makes her

audience laugh or cheer. She talks about how in the US we medicate children who

can't/don't listen. It is scary! (ps - I have one child with hearing

loss and another with ADHD)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/18/2006 11:05:32 A.M. Central Standard Time,

pcknott@... writes:

Hearing loss is truly invisible, and unless they know what to look for, they

will rarely see a sign of it. And you have to be sure the child's listening

needs in the classroom are being adequately addressed before you can say if

the symptoms are above and beyond

I grew up with a severe hearing loss and I lipread my way through life. I

can remember many times during class, my mind would wander because it was so

much effort to try and keep up. If there was a movie shown, I would just

daydream because it was impossible to understand anything from a movie. I

would

request a bathroom pass in just about every class because I was so restless

sometimes. While I think I have a touch of ADD today as an adult, I know

that a lot of my lack of attention in school was simply because I didn't

obtain information easily or in some cases, it was physically impossible to

obtain if the teacher was moving around or the class had a rapid discussion.

Putz

Illinois Families for Hands & Voices

_www.handsandvoices.org_ (http://www.handsandvoices.org/)

_www.ilhandsandvoices.org_ (http://www.ilhandsandvoices.org/)

Email: support@...

_A Deaf Mom Shares Her World_ (http://www.putzworld.blogspot.com/)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 10/18/2006 11:05:32 A.M. Central Standard Time,

pcknott@... writes:

Hearing loss is truly invisible, and unless they know what to look for, they

will rarely see a sign of it. And you have to be sure the child's listening

needs in the classroom are being adequately addressed before you can say if

the symptoms are above and beyond

I grew up with a severe hearing loss and I lipread my way through life. I

can remember many times during class, my mind would wander because it was so

much effort to try and keep up. If there was a movie shown, I would just

daydream because it was impossible to understand anything from a movie. I

would

request a bathroom pass in just about every class because I was so restless

sometimes. While I think I have a touch of ADD today as an adult, I know

that a lot of my lack of attention in school was simply because I didn't

obtain information easily or in some cases, it was physically impossible to

obtain if the teacher was moving around or the class had a rapid discussion.

Putz

Illinois Families for Hands & Voices

_www.handsandvoices.org_ (http://www.handsandvoices.org/)

_www.ilhandsandvoices.org_ (http://www.ilhandsandvoices.org/)

Email: support@...

_A Deaf Mom Shares Her World_ (http://www.putzworld.blogspot.com/)