Mary Bianco

>From: Virginia Chiasson <silverhuntress@...>


>The truth is that I allowed myself to be minimally medicated so that I
>would sleep occasionally and so that I can function as a quasi- normal
>parent. I have a child, have been married three times, have never killed
>any one and I only get mildly deranged while suffering once a month from
>PMS (According to my son that's Pre Monster Syndrome). I can laugh at the
>label I have. My son cannot laugh at his.

>This label is all over his school paperwork. Teachers make assumptions
>right from the beginning when they see that label and it colors their
>interaction for the rest of the year. They say my son is disruptive. I have
>been in class and witnessed this. He is excited to be learning and not shy
>about speaking out. He is impatient to show you that he knows the answer
>and gets frustrated with classmates who lag behind. He is ready to move
>on.right now. It causes problems, to be sure. But he is not being the
>monster that they describe in notes home to me.>>


Welcome Virginia,

I loved reading your post from someone who has and does live with the
"labels" and also because I thought you put it all down so very well. Good
for you for not accepting them in regards to your son and it sounds like you
know your decision already is the right one. I'm sure your son will prosper
greatly from that.

When you mentioned that your son is not the monster the teachers make him
out to be, it made me think of my son too. I think most of the time, any
child who will not do exactly as they are told and sit still in the
classroom will be labeled something. Whether it's ADHD or just hard to
control, etc. My husband and I joke a lot to ourselves on how if our son was
in school, we would be there every day. I don't think they would label him
ADHD but I have no doubt they would find him hard to deal with. He hasn't
grown up having someone tell him what to do all the time and just wouldn't
sit well at all with being corraled and roped and tied up all day.

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about the whole "is ADD and ADHD real or
not?" I've heard a lot of the aruguments on how it is very real and how many
think there is no such thing. I must say I tend to sway to the latter. Then
again I think there are very real circumstances where people and children
can benefit from some type of medication. Been there and done that and I'm
glad I did.

So good for you and welcome and enjoy.

Mary B


_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

[email protected]

In a message dated 9/14/02 1:24:14 PM, silverhuntress@... writes:

<< I am new to unschooling. In fact, I am still waiting for my paperwork to
be approved. My son will still be in school until early October. >>

WHY?
What state are you in? Who needs to "approve" your keeping your son in an
environment which is good for him?

<<I have been keeping him home a day or two a week and beginning the process
of unschooling him, getting him used to the idea of it and the rhythm of it.
>>

I'd never send him ever, ever again.

School's probably his only problem. Bring him home and run around with him!

Welcome to the list!

Sandra

Myranda

Merilyn,
I just found a list called THINKINGMOMS on yahoogroups a few days ago for moms that are for natural living, attachment parenting, homeschooling, etc. It seems to be really slow but people answer if you talk! LOL
Myranda


Why would an unschooler choose the path of medicating their children?
There's no need for ritalin, since the child doesn't need to be
confined in a classroom and forced to sit and behave. There's no
need for medication for Tourettes, since there is no classroom to be
complaining about the child's tics. Please tell me, why do you
choose to medicate?

It is very rare to hear that parents of schooled children take the
stand of not-medicating their children, because they are usually
pressured to do so by the school system.

Ideally, if there's such a list out there, I'd like to join which
advocates for attachment parenting, unschooling, healthy living,
homesteading, with gifted special needs children.


Merilyn

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., "N.McV." <nmcvick@y...> wrote:
>
> Many homeschooling parents choose to use medication as part of
therapy for disorders such as ADD and Tourettes. Many parents (and
more all the tie) who send children to schools are choosing to forego
the use of medication if they feel it's not warranted to not helpful.
>
> Some of us adults who are homeschooling our children have chosen to
use medication in remediating our own neurological stumbling blocks.
(And precious few of us were diagnosed when we were in school.)
>
> It really isn't a cut-and-dried homeschooling issue. There are
about a kazillion email lists out there now, and it may take a while
before you find the list where you feel comfortable.
>
> Nancy McVicker
>
> >ebmsc wrote:>I've never
> >sent my daughter (who's almost 6) to school, and I >self-diagnose
her to
> >be ADHD based on the checklist that can be found on >almost any ADD
> >website. In addition, she has developed TICS, so I'm >self-
diagnosing
> >her as having Tourettes. She also has explosive >outburts and
blame
> >everybody for her problems. I'm looking into coping >techniques
from
> >"The Explosive Child". I joined a Tourette's list, >because her
tics
> >were so severe at one time, we panicked. Sad to say, >the
majority of
> >the list members advocated medication --- this list >is not a
homeschool
> >list, so I don't think the members can relate to me >very well.
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT




~~~~ Don't forget! If you change topics, change the subject line! ~~~~

If you have questions, concerns or problems with this list, please email the moderator, Joyce Fetteroll (fetteroll@...), or the list owner, Helen Hegener (HEM-Editor@...).

To unsubscribe from this group, click on the following link or address an email to:
[email protected]

Visit the Unschooling website: http://www.unschooling.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]