adhd, add, or learning problems what do you think that school should do?

Question

well this is a tough subject because there are people that feal drugs are the key and I for one am agenst the drug use,
but the qeustion is how to help parents teachers/schools help kids with special needs like reading writeing ect. cause there arent enouph people helping out. the teachers just throw us in the back of the class and say try to keep up if not then to bad. emagin one special eds teacher for 6 kids imposible one is in 7 and the rest are in higher grades. and the other question is why arent the schools doing any thing about it?
yes I am one of the less helped when I was in school I have ADHD and a couple of learning disabilitys. and I gues I just hate siting back while other kids that need help get treated like dirt and are forced to think of it as well there is always manual labor.
and I would like to hear others answers to these big problems. is drugs the key to study or is it finding that one thing that makes them happy and try to help them learn?

Answer 1

In my opinion, do what you have to do to adapt.

Plenty of people in years past got through and did so without excuses. I have ADHD, and a craptastic memory. But I have relied on compensatory devices, mnemonics, tape recorders, associations (e.g. neighbor named savannah, I think of girl-scout cookies), etc.

So I use technology, ranging from my PDA to the old fashioned notebook to keep up with everything. I have a heavy load atm in the nursing program...8-10 chapters every couple of weeks, with skills labs, care plans, hospital rotations, yada yada yada.

And hey, I've always had to go through information two the three times longer than your average student but I'm keeping up with this very heavy courseload.

Thing is, you just have to adapt to the situation and get your responsibilities taken care of. Few people in life have everything laid out for them, the rest of us have to keep up and work on our weaknesses where we can.

Failure is the price of laziness, and not being prepared.

Too many people want to look for an excuse to explain away their shortcomings. Or better yet, want to cast blame. But like ya said, the teachers can only do so much. Problem is that this society has begun to frown on recognizing greatness, frowns on the use of red pens because they are too "negative," frowns on creating standards that separate the hard working from those who don't add up.

Then the problem is exacerbated when you consider there are so many parents out there that have no damn business being parents. Or the politicians more concerned with garnering votes that keeping the bar raised to an internationally competitive level.

Hell I could go on and on. Basically, it's the fault of the republicans, the democrats, the parents, the kids, the teachers, society in general, the pharmacological ***-kissers, my dog sam, and a bunch of other pricks I'm probably not even thinking about atm.

I really could go on and on all day...but basically the moral of this is that the school should do nothing. The schools are there just to provide a foundation. It is the responsibility of society as a whole to make sure that students are prepared, that they have the resources available to them, and that everyone doesn't come out a freaking moron who isn't prepared for life.

The main problem with medications is that they only treat the symptoms, not the underlying problems. In many cases this is the only option, but hey consider all the kids you know on ADD drugs...hyperactive, failure to concentrate, poor social skills...that is EVERY child I have EVER freaking known! Where I come from, that's normal.

But get some jerk doctor in the new health care system where "patients" magically become "customers" (crock of $#!* if you ask me) , who will quickly throw a prozac, ritilin, etc. at a patient just to make them feel like they've done something...and the problem is exacerbated.

Meanwhile those who are trully suffering and could benifit from a more disciplined approach falter as pills are thrown at them.

With all of this having been said, i'll take psychologists and their drugs over tom cruise and the scientology group any day.

Wow want a whiney rant, sorry if that doesn't answer your question and hey, hopefully it helped anyway.

Answer 2

I've just started reading a book called "Teaching the Restless: One School's Remarkable No-Ritalin Approach to Helping Children Learn and Succeed" by Chris Mercogliano. You might want to read this to inform yourself about alternatives to the system you're in right now.

A huge barrier to "Special Ed" is the fact that many parents don't want their kids labeled as needing extra help. If parents refuse to get their kids tested, the government doesn't provide the funding to support that student. The government provides funding based on the number of special-needs students.

Another problem is that a lot of American teachers didn't do a very long Teacher Training program. In Canada, all new teachers need to have a four-year Bachelor's degree and AT LEAST twelve months of studies in Education, though where I live sixteen months is the norm. Compare that to the FIVE WEEKS of training that the Teach for America program offers. Would you rather have a teacher with sixty-four weeks of teacher training (Canada) or five weeks of teacher training (the USA)? Maybe the American government could funnel a little less money into Iraq and a little more into properly preparing their teachers to address the diverse needs of students!

Answer 3

The sudents need to have an IEP. Please make sure the parents request advice and one from the school counselor. Get an advocate if need be. Go to Social Services as well. With an IEP, they are now eligible for all types of programs, counseling and special education to help them with psychological issues as well as writing and reading and mathematics or in whatever areas the Learning disabilities are in. If the school they are in cannot provide what the student needs, then the district needs to find a placement for the student that will work - even if it is in a very expensive private special school for LD/ADD or whatever the disorder or disability is.

Answer 4

I hear you saying 2 things:
One, you need more help for YOU!
Two, you see your friends need help too.
It's hard to help the other kids at this point, but maybe in the future you will be able to.
Now, are you a special ed student? Do you live in US? If so you should be on a 501 or IEP plan. Ask your teachers, principal etc.
What do your parents say? Are they going to meetings to plan your IEP or are you of legal age?
If I were you I would make an appointment with the principal or counselor and tell them exactly what you say here. You sound like you are capable of advocating for yourself, and you should!
Good luck
(By drugs, did you mean medication for adhd?)

Answer 5

Your initial question asks "...what do you think the SCHOOL (my caps) should do?"

You are getting many answers not really related to the question.

However, since you ask:

The first and most important step the school MUST do is "educate the parents." Many, if not most, will be in denial and until this changes, the school will find that most of it's other efforts in dealing with the issue will be less than satisfactory at best.

Once the parents are sincerely "on board" there are a number of things that can be tried (including medications). Successful treatment will depend on the individual and the personalities involved in the treatment. Methods and treatments are too numerous and "case related" to mention here.

However, if you or a family member has "first hand" concerns, I would add that my experience as a teacher, school administrator and as an adult with ADD for 70+ years has proven to me that we do adapt! And life goes on and on and on and .......

Answer 6

I feel like drugs are not help at all too.

there are a lot of articles on this subject on the internet too.

Answer 7

drugs are not a help