Virginia Chiasson

Dear Merilyn;
I am glad to see that I am not the only mom who is wiiling to trust her
own expertise with her child. The doctors and I have been fighting about
Chris for two years. As I have said many times, I know he has a medical
problem but it cannot be as bad as the teachers have put on. Eventually the
docs just have to give in and try your suggestions.

The weird thing is that Chris is never at home the way he is at school.
He has weird ticks though (Your discription rung a bell for me.) He says
that there is a beeping noise in his head and it makes him "talk out". He
makes these space age sound effects or animal noises. Its not really bad at
home, except at night when he is trying to go yo sleep. But his teacher says
he does it constantly at school. I hope this does not mean there is
something else they can "diagnose" him with. One teacher diagnosis in a life
time is enough<G>.

Thanks for the support. Taje Care.

Brightest Blessings,
Virginia


Message: 24
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 02:58:47 -0000
From: "ebmsc" <ebmsc@...>
Subject: Re: ADD/ADHD - Thoughts on Labels

Dear Virginia,

I can somewhat relate to your description of your son. 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.
That's why I'm looking for a more homeschool-friendly list for
children with "special needs or gifted" (however you want to call it)
that doesn't immediately jump to meds as a quick-fix to all their
problems.
I also finished reading the book "ADD - A different perception" by Thom
Hartmann, and it's a very empowering book. He criticises the public
school system for failing to deal with gifted children, whom the
teachers easily dismiss as "problem" children. Another book that I
found empowering is Thomas Armstrong's "In Their Own Way" and "The
Myth of ADD".

I personally don't believe in the school system anymore, and anything
that requires interaction with the school system, I avoid as much as
possible.

I hope you will find homeschooling a more satisfying and rewarding
experience for you and your son. This list keeps people "sane",
instead of other lists e.g. for special needs or whatever, which seems
to advocate that people with "disorders" are outcasts and needs meds
to function completely in society. This is a very sad picture.

Best Wishes,
Merilyn






---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.386 / Virus Database: 218 - Release Date: 9/9/2002