In your first post in this thread you were both snide and rude. You don't have to agree but at the same time, if you have a point to make - and i gather you do, please make it. This has nothing to do with red bull or tupperware.

Because ADD/ADHD is along a continum, this makes a lot of sense. When these sorts of things become more extreme and really impact day to day functioning, then you may want to look for support, etc. But there's a big variation in "normal" behavior. Boys do tend more to hyperactivity, while girls are often withdrawn, but there are always exceptions.

I read really early, but had horrible handwriting and couldn't tie my shoes till i was 8. Am really clumsy till this day. As it turns out i am dyslexic and dysgraphic, but there are different kinds of dyslexia and mine has to do with weird reading patterns on the page and misinterpreting margins and spaces.

This makes total sense. When they drilled us with "light cerebral dysfunctions" as it used to be called, dyslexia, all the other dys- disorders (dyscalculia, dysnumeria, etc.), it was always highlighted the kids are above average intelligence and usually score higher in the IQ tests (should they be able to decode them). My teaching kids like that totally gave me the same experience. It was always very frustrating to them, being understimulated in one way and overwhelmed in another way, than was the expected norm, with very intense desire to succeed, since their intellect craved it. I am very weary to match kids to some normality scale. The only thing is how happy and comfortable, stimulated and prospering the child is.

I Absolutely, all that really matters is whether or not the kid can find a place where he or she is comfortable. It's hard to be told you're so smart, and then see that you aren't performing like you are smart, so you start to wonder if you're just lazy or occasionally lucky. Or when your performance is so varied, it makes no sense, so you develop anxieties about tests, etc.

In the US, people test for all sorts of what they call "learning disabilities" with IQ tests. i think it has a lot to do with info required by schools. Of course in a good assessment you get all sorts of memory and function tests... Language, math , symbols. It's fascinating, really. I had an adult assessment, so i imagine one for kids is different again. and it goes without saying that an IQ test has to be culturally appropriate. ( one reason i went back to the US).

So all my iq tests were normal, but the working memory one was average and others were higher...the standard deviation is +\- 15 (standard deviation) and a lot of people score no more than 15 points different on the various components( if i rember correctly, if we assume a normal, or bell- shaped distribution of scores this accounts for 66% of the population). But my differences were more than 15 points, 50 was my highest. This was really helpful for me. I knew i was smart, but had erratic performance....understanding this and my other test results finally made sense. And for most of my life i've done well -- got into good schools, had good jobs, but then there would be the odd misstep... And i would recover for the most part, although i could not pass a PhD comp until my last one. So i've finished the coursework for 3 phd's but bombed two sets of comprehensives although i'd done well in all my coursework. I passed the third time because i talked to my advisor, had recognized i had horrible test anxiety, and we worked it out. Before that i just accepted that i was lazy, studied superficially, blah blah blah.

So i know i'm not really disabled, that's just a term they use. Disordered... Well to the extent that i am not organized. The different tests i had helped me understand this better. I think a good teacher will understand this a lot with careful observation, but in the US, at least, teachers are stretched, and it is increasingly competitive for resources.

So anyway, most people with ADD/ADHD are really "normal", to the extent such a thing exists. But the wide variation in their abilities makes it hard sometimes, and hyperactivty, impulse control make it hard too. Everyone has these attributes, but in folks with ADD/ADHD they can be amplified. Except that we all have to go school, work and these environments can be difficult for such people to manage and reach their full potential. Not everyone can have special schooling and sometimes you take a job that's not perfect, so you need to work with your characteristics. Meds can help some people, not all and it is important to find a balance. It takes time and patience and people can be unwilling or unable to find just the right dose. It is also important to also look at your charcteristics and find the good in them. I had some ADD coaching in the US tied to my university and it was really helpful - it was all very positive.

But again, it's an individual experience along a continuim.

Yes, reading what one writes on the internet can be mistaken for sounding rude or snide .. my apologies ... it was not meant that way.

The same as I misconstrued the writings of another member for "sounding" snide at my postings, and posting a photo I mis-read as rude.

It has been my experience in life that truly intelligent folk are not "above" those not similarly qualified, rather, professionals do not stoop to petty squabling to enforce their point of view.

The point I was attempting to make was that "there is not always a magical pill to cure all ills" and that sometimes what is diagnosed as "curable" is not always something needing any curing - not everyone is the same.

This is not what I understand from your posts, what I got was you making fun of doctors. Nobody will argue with you that there is no magic pill

Interesting thing I saw today.

At the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, they've been working on a font designed for dyslexic readers...

More info here..

http://www.studiostudio.nl/en/project-dyslexie/

I've always had a preference for sans-serif fonts, and as it turns out, people with dyslexia often prefer these sorts of fonts as more readable.

Unfortunately, most of the stuff is actually in Dutch, but I've emailed them for more info.

Well written. I enjoyed reading this.

I don't anyone with out some sort of issue.

There is an old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. In this case I would assume that most of the population is insane.

Yes, good point what is normal.

I have worked with ADD children for some time. Sometimes I felt that it was not the so called ADD kids that had the problems but the parents. It is amazing, people are hired to fix the children and then when we get into business people are hired to fix the employees.

I truly enjoy working with the so called ADD people because I find them full of life. Interesting. if a child is too energetic then we need to fix them and then when they are too quiet then we need to fix them.

When will start accepting children for who they are and encourage them to be who they are

This is internet. People chitchat.

Doctors will be made fun of, just as much as teachers will be, neurofeedbackers will be, regular posters who's professions we don't know, or those who want to drink coke instead of water.

Keeps people humble. I advise both, smart parties, to not take things personally, but as it was written, a personal opinion of one of our gazillions of members.

Something to thik about

http://www.naturalnews.com/034873_su...atricians.html

Except the headline is misleading. The Ritaline packaging does have a list of side effects and this "warning" is mentioned on the pamphlet, so this demand is superfluous.

A good psychiatrist will monitor their patient carefully and won't prescribe more than a couple of months' supply at once.

My opinion: another scaremongering article, sorry.

Does it currently list the risk of suicide?

So, the headline is not misleading as it refers to the risk of suicide. So the demand is not superfluous as you have suggested.

Ritalin is not only prescribed by psychiatrists. A couple of months of supply is still a lot.

If you take a look at the list of side effects you do not need an article to to scared.

http://ritalinsideeffects.net/

Yes, it does mention suicide as a risk, as i said.

Correct, if you just read the list of side effects you are bound to be scared. If you have it explained to you by a competent psychiatrist, it's a different story.

It's no easy decision for parents, but this scaremongering is way out of order.

Yes. And you have to ask whether or not the patient was at risk of suicide (even in children this is a risk) prior to taking the medication. Taken responsibly these drugs can be very helpful. But of course, they are not for everyone, and their use must be monitored.

Sometimes you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Unfortunately not all psychiatrists and Drs. are competent or even ethical. That is for another thread of course. In my opinion, over the years of dealing with various medical people I and my wife have found that we needed to be less "dependent".

I was and am a parent. Yes, you are correct in that it is not easy being a parent. After your last message I asked myself why am I bothering to put out these articles or scaremongering messages as you put it. Many years ago it was my son who indicated that he no longer wanted to take ritalin because of what it did to him. After that I became more aware and do question much that is put out by the medical establishment. Personally, I was given medication for type 2 diabetes and there was little to no monitoring by two doctors. I took my life into my own hands, changed my diet and stopped the medication. I thank those many scaremongering books and articles that have helped to open my eyes.

I wish that 25 years ago there was more scare mongering information.

Will I continue to post articles. Maybe or maybe not. I have been contacted privately by people thanking me for information and taking stance that I do.

Many do not know that they have a choice.