ADHD in the UK
The situation regarding ADHD in the UK is highlighted through media headlines blaming parents once again this week.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, £90K of public spending is poured into each child's life between birth and their 18th birthday, well above the average investment per child in 30 other European countries.
However, the results of this investment do not compare well! The UK is a nation of Bad Parents, according to the report.
Britain, being ranked bottom of the league table in comparison to other European communities for health matters, lifestyle choices and standards of education.
According to this latest report Britain's youngsters are more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and teenage pregnancy and the problem is being laid firmly at the parent's door it would seem.
What it fails to mention is that a high percentage of these young people are likely to carry the tag of a behavioural disorder like ADHD and be more likely to be given Anti Social Behaviour Orders.
5% of young people are diagnosed with ADHD often carrying labels of other behavioural disorders at the same time such as autism, Asperger's syndrome and Tourette's syndrome.
Many others present similar symptoms and have not had a diagnosis.
Children who are diagnosed with ADHD, score a certain number of behavioural symptoms on a checklist which is not dissimilar to the checklist of behaviours which warrant an ASBO or ABC ( Acceptable Behaviour Contracts)! These children are often unable to control the symptoms they have which in the case of ADHD can result from a number of different reasons, ranging from inconsistent boundaries, inability to express and manage emotions, diet, poor lifestyle habits, core issues, negative patterns, family dynamics, inherited traits and inability to relax.
They very often are unable to succeed in the traditional learning environment because they are overwhelmed with sensory stimulation in such busy, noisy environments and are ill suited to mainstream types of teaching methods.
From the basis of the report, it would seem that the burden of blame should NOT be placed on the shoulders of parents and carers who find it difficult enough to support the needs of these young people.
The focus should be placed on questioning the very systems that are in place and failing those families by not proving a structure to meet their needs.
Programmes have been developed and proven to deliver the level of support that can make a real difference in turning around the lives of these young people and their families.
Where this huge amount of public funding should be invested is in providing programmes that address the causes of these problems and not just pill popping strategies and exclusion policies which only makes the problem worse.
It is the parents being criticised in this report that pay for the taxes that provide of this level of incompetence.
They are not any given choices as to how that £90k per child is spent, in light of the best interests for their child's individual needs.
For example, I know many families who have elected to home educate their child in light of the inability of schools to provide for their child's needs.
An expensive task and time consuming but they are unable to access any funding to help them in this role.
It begs the question why parents are the ones being blamed when in reality money is pouring into propping up outdated, unsuitable pill popping systems that fail to provide real solutions to healing and teaching children in partnership with the family.
Real solutions exist today that can deliver results and ease the impact that conditions like ADHD have in the UK.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, £90K of public spending is poured into each child's life between birth and their 18th birthday, well above the average investment per child in 30 other European countries.
However, the results of this investment do not compare well! The UK is a nation of Bad Parents, according to the report.
Britain, being ranked bottom of the league table in comparison to other European communities for health matters, lifestyle choices and standards of education.
According to this latest report Britain's youngsters are more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and teenage pregnancy and the problem is being laid firmly at the parent's door it would seem.
What it fails to mention is that a high percentage of these young people are likely to carry the tag of a behavioural disorder like ADHD and be more likely to be given Anti Social Behaviour Orders.
5% of young people are diagnosed with ADHD often carrying labels of other behavioural disorders at the same time such as autism, Asperger's syndrome and Tourette's syndrome.
Many others present similar symptoms and have not had a diagnosis.
Children who are diagnosed with ADHD, score a certain number of behavioural symptoms on a checklist which is not dissimilar to the checklist of behaviours which warrant an ASBO or ABC ( Acceptable Behaviour Contracts)! These children are often unable to control the symptoms they have which in the case of ADHD can result from a number of different reasons, ranging from inconsistent boundaries, inability to express and manage emotions, diet, poor lifestyle habits, core issues, negative patterns, family dynamics, inherited traits and inability to relax.
They very often are unable to succeed in the traditional learning environment because they are overwhelmed with sensory stimulation in such busy, noisy environments and are ill suited to mainstream types of teaching methods.
From the basis of the report, it would seem that the burden of blame should NOT be placed on the shoulders of parents and carers who find it difficult enough to support the needs of these young people.
The focus should be placed on questioning the very systems that are in place and failing those families by not proving a structure to meet their needs.
Programmes have been developed and proven to deliver the level of support that can make a real difference in turning around the lives of these young people and their families.
Where this huge amount of public funding should be invested is in providing programmes that address the causes of these problems and not just pill popping strategies and exclusion policies which only makes the problem worse.
It is the parents being criticised in this report that pay for the taxes that provide of this level of incompetence.
They are not any given choices as to how that £90k per child is spent, in light of the best interests for their child's individual needs.
For example, I know many families who have elected to home educate their child in light of the inability of schools to provide for their child's needs.
An expensive task and time consuming but they are unable to access any funding to help them in this role.
It begs the question why parents are the ones being blamed when in reality money is pouring into propping up outdated, unsuitable pill popping systems that fail to provide real solutions to healing and teaching children in partnership with the family.
Real solutions exist today that can deliver results and ease the impact that conditions like ADHD have in the UK.