Kids should be seen and not heard. This is an ancient philosophy that has been long since given up... or has it? Children are taught as soon as possible not to be disruptive or loud. If any kids don’t conform to these rules, they are disciplined. Most of the time this works, but if they continue to act outside of hips and lips and keep-it-quiet, the first assumption is something must be wrong with them. Teachers and parents everywhere do their best to teach the next generation how to behave in polite society. The only problem is they assume all kids should be able to pick it up with ease without looking at any outside variables. ADHD gets diagnosed too quickly due to the impatience of teachers, the ignorance of parents, lack of objectivity,
…show more content…
One problem throughout the classroom and some homes is impatience. When a student is disruptive in a class, the teacher gives a consequence that fits. If that student repeats the offense, then a harsher punishment is given. In a story told by Cathy Gulli in her article “Overmedicated children: ill or immature?”, a young boy who was born in November seemed to lack the concentration and self-control that most of his classmates had already mastered. The mother of the boy recalled the teachers saying to her “'Have you had him checked? What does the doctor say? Are you going to medicate him?” His mother tried to insist that “This child is immature.” In a different story, a young boy born in mid-December was pushed by his teachers to be medicated. Yet when his mother moved him to a different school that let him mature at his own pace, he thrived (Gulli). At first look, it seems to be common sense. Younger kids will be immature compared to older kids. ThoughBut when it comes to schooling and behavior in a public situation, age is not the first prospect to be examined. When a teacher sees the older kids behaving and the younger kids misbehaving, the first thought isn’t that they need to just have time to be a kid. Many times the younger kids will be thought to have something wrong with them. If these teachers had taken the time to understand where the child is developmentally, there may have been different …show more content…
When you have a full year’s age range between students in one classroom, they will all mature at different rates. Because of this age difference, kids who are younger look significantly more immature. In a Canadian study performed over 11 years involving 900,000+ students, scientists found that the youngest kids in the class are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication for it (Garland et al.) In a second study performed in Taiwan, 350,000+ students ages 14-17 were researched, and the results were conclusive. The kids born in the later dates were at a higher risk for diagnoses. (Bai et al.) In Canada, the cut off for school registration is December 31, so the results constituted that children born in December or November were more likely to be diagnosed than kids born in January as they are almost an entire year younger. In Taiwan, the cut off date is in August so the children born in August were almost a year younger than their classmates born in September.
Bai, Ya-Mei, et al. “Influence of Relative Age on Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder in Taiwanese Children.” The Journal of Pediatrics, Elsevier Inc., May 2016, www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476%2816%2900160-8/fulltext.
In the United States, the school cut off date for roughly 50% of the country is in September and August. The rest range between late
One problem throughout the classroom and some homes is impatience. When a student is disruptive in a class, the teacher gives a consequence that fits. If that student repeats the offense, then a harsher punishment is given. In a story told by Cathy Gulli in her article “Overmedicated children: ill or immature?”, a young boy who was born in November seemed to lack the concentration and self-control that most of his classmates had already mastered. The mother of the boy recalled the teachers saying to her “'Have you had him checked? What does the doctor say? Are you going to medicate him?” His mother tried to insist that “This child is immature.” In a different story, a young boy born in mid-December was pushed by his teachers to be medicated. Yet when his mother moved him to a different school that let him mature at his own pace, he thrived (Gulli). At first look, it seems to be common sense. Younger kids will be immature compared to older kids. ThoughBut when it comes to schooling and behavior in a public situation, age is not the first prospect to be examined. When a teacher sees the older kids behaving and the younger kids misbehaving, the first thought isn’t that they need to just have time to be a kid. Many times the younger kids will be thought to have something wrong with them. If these teachers had taken the time to understand where the child is developmentally, there may have been different …show more content…
When you have a full year’s age range between students in one classroom, they will all mature at different rates. Because of this age difference, kids who are younger look significantly more immature. In a Canadian study performed over 11 years involving 900,000+ students, scientists found that the youngest kids in the class are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication for it (Garland et al.) In a second study performed in Taiwan, 350,000+ students ages 14-17 were researched, and the results were conclusive. The kids born in the later dates were at a higher risk for diagnoses. (Bai et al.) In Canada, the cut off for school registration is December 31, so the results constituted that children born in December or November were more likely to be diagnosed than kids born in January as they are almost an entire year younger. In Taiwan, the cut off date is in August so the children born in August were almost a year younger than their classmates born in September.
Bai, Ya-Mei, et al. “Influence of Relative Age on Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder in Taiwanese Children.” The Journal of Pediatrics, Elsevier Inc., May 2016, www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476%2816%2900160-8/fulltext.
In the United States, the school cut off date for roughly 50% of the country is in September and August. The rest range between late