Looking for help and answers with 9 year old with ADHD/ADD

[WilliamCave]

Morning

I am very concerned about my son I know he has ADHD/ADD

Seems the schools here and teachers don't understand this.

I had it until I went to college . I did very poor in high school and elementary because of it.

When I went to college it changed and I was the top in my class .

But what worries me in Thailand is the schooling system here has no clue about it.

And I see it is having a big effect on my son .

He is actually very intelligent to be honest he knows more and can do more than any other student in his class , in regards to having a real full English conversation with English people . Geography , history, about just about every animal and many things . He likes watching discovery Chanel. The learning Chanel etc.

The reason he told me he likes it because he is learning different tinge a d it is not boring.

He told me in school he is so bored because all they do is copy Copy copy from the board and are marked on there ability to copy and he gets to bored.

His mind is always going wanting to learn and see things ,

But I know he has ADHD/ADD

So does any one know we're I can go in (nontaburi ) for help or get a private teacher ?

I do have the facility for a class room

I want to through something else out there to, is there other parents that would be interested in tryin to find a good private teacher on the weekends we could split the cost I said before I have. New facility we can use for free it is in bang Yai behind the new central mall they are building

And would like to hear from teachers out there that have taught special needs kids and any advice please would be greatfull

Send me a private message if u want it chat more or are interested

Thanks in advance

[culicine]

Is your son on medication? I'm a teacher, and such children are very difficult to control, even though many of them are quite intelligent. Most of the hospitals here can have your son assessed. My son has also had numerous tests. His IQ is above average, but school scores are below average. He does lack concentration but not to the point I'd consider medication.

The few kids I know who have medication improved markedly at school work. Friends of my wife have two kids like this. There are doing much better now. I'm not a strong advocate of medication, but it's worth a try. You are correct in that schools either ignore such problems (put the kid down as being naughty), or don't have the facilities for dealing with them.

Have your wife, if you don't speak Thai, contact the local hospital and see what facilities they have. Sritanya hospital is where we took my son. That is in Nonthaburi. It is at the entrance to the Ministry of Public Health, off of Tiwanon Road. the entrance is close to the BigC on Tiwanon.

[WilliamCave]

Is your son on medication? I'm a teacher, and such children are very difficult to control, even though many of them are quite intelligent. Most of the hospitals here can have your son assessed. My son has also had numerous tests. His IQ is above average, but school scores are below average. He does lack concentration but not to the point I'd consider medication.

The few kids I know who have medication improved markedly at school work. Friends of my wife have two kids like this. There are doing much better now. I'm not a strong advocate of medication, but it's worth a try. You are correct in that schools either ignore such problems (put the kid down as being naughty), or don't have the facilities for dealing with them.

Have your wife, if you don't speak Thai, contact the local hospital and see what facilities they have. Sritanya hospital is where we took my son. That is in Nonthaburi. It is at the entrance to the Ministry of Public Health, off of Tiwanon Road. the entrance is close to the BigC on Tiwanon.

Thanks for your quick response .

My son does have a very high IQ . I talked to my wife and I showed her info on the Internet what parents should know.

She knows a university hospital that deals with kids with ADHD . I will go next week my self to assess the facility.

From my understanding I hope he does not need medication but if he does I will be monetfering it very closely .

I think the first step is for me to learn as much as I can about it so I know what to do

Because I believe it has to start at home with my family .

Thanks again for your excellent input and I do welcome more feed back

[stubuzz]

And would like to hear from teachers out there that have taught special needs kids and any advice please would be greatfull

I taght a girl with ADHD once. I had to keep her busy all of the time, or let her franticaly write/draw in her notebook. If she hadn't had her medication, i had to ingnore her and let her do anything that kept her quiet or be prepared for a verbal abusing.

[nabbie]

Hi, it sounds your son is wonderful & intelligent. ADHD/ADD is so confusing to everyone as their perspectives & the concepts on that subject are never always clear. At another hand I am dreaded to know if someone is labelling him as ADHD/ADD. If he is really happy in your family, so that is great. Also I am against the medication. I have a step daughter who has a very similar situation and she is very happy. I agree you the surrounding such as the educational environment is the problem. I believe the nature issues like the beach, the plants, etc should suit him. The idea of the private tutor is excellent if you can afford. You can find out whether the first trail session is workable before you decide the rest. Wish you all the very best of lucks.

[umbanda]

For kids with ADD, if its like physical activities, any sport that requires concentration, and effort is beneficial. In the US many kids are doing karate, judo, capoeira, not just because ADD. The activity takes it excess of "energy" and permits better concentration and school performance.

Anyway, any physical activity at any age, is beneficial for mind and body.

[ExpatJ]

Doesn't every single kid have ADD to some degree. It only became a 'medical condition' in the last two decades?

That's my impression but I admit my lack of knowledge (though I do have two kids of school age)

[claffey]

What about Home schooling him? He will learn a lot more at home. Socially some extra classes in Art, Taekwando etc would help him to see other kids..

Why are we in such a hurry to label kids/ people? I've taught kids here with ADD/HD. It was completely ignored by the school but some innovative teachers helped to keep the kids motivated and interested. Most of the kids made it to university!

Sometimes people use ADD/HD etc as an excuse for bad behavior. Kids need to learn what is acceptable behavior and what is not. I had a student before who threw a chair at another student. The excuse of his special needs assistant was that he had conduct disorder and was having a bad day!! That kid needed to be disciplined old school!!

[nabbie]

What about Home schooling him? He will learn a lot more at home. Socially some extra classes in Art, Taekwando etc would help him to see other kids..

Why are we in such a hurry to label kids/ people? I've taught kids here with ADD/HD. It was completely ignored by the school but some innovative teachers helped to keep the kids motivated and interested. Most of the kids made it to university!

Sometimes people use ADD/HD etc as an excuse for bad behavior. Kids need to learn what is acceptable behavior and what is not. I had a student before who threw a chair at another student. The excuse of his special needs assistant was that he had conduct disorder and was having a bad day!! That kid needed to be disciplined old school!!

What do you mean by saying "some innovative teachers"? I am somewhat little curious how they can pay the careful attention with pupils with learning/concentrating difficulties especially the large number in the class.

[gerryBScot]

I am assuming your son is mixed race and that his English is good by virtue of using it naturally at home with you and this being reinforced by exposure to media in English like books and TV? What is his Thai like? There is every possibility that his English will be better than that of his teacher. Who knows what kind of reaction this could cause from the teacher?

I would proceed very cautiously with the ADD/HD stuff. I'm not sure it is hereditary. It's also rather easy for a doctor and a teacher to diagnose and prescribe without regard for the long term consequences. Especially a teacher - I mean the reason for the behaviour could never be connected in some way to the teacher and their teaching?!

I teach Grade 5 - 6 here and I experience a lot of kids with what are described as behavioural problems. Most of them are very bright too and funnily enough they respond to positive teaching. I recently was introduced to a class I am working with on a temporary basis for a few weeks and told there were three AD/HDD cases on meds incapable of doing anything.I've got these kids reasonably well engaged and working and being productive.... the problem is that I have identified about six other kids who can't read. Everything is memorised so they appear to function well in rote learning/repetitive tasks. But I recently gave the class a gap fill activity, in which they would have to complete the missing part of a question and answer structure which we had been learning. The results indicated six kids were unable to make sense of the written parts. The so called AD/HDD kids performed adequately.

I am well versed in the copying and rote learning that pervades here. I am not surprised that school kids here are they way they are because a lot of what they experience in the classroom must be mind numbing and nonsensical. So I am not surprised that they cannot sit still or pay attention - for many of them their school experience is like being chained to a desk so that their heads can be filled with all manner of nonsense.

I would suggest you do what you can to help especially in English and reading in particular. IMHO his language skills are the key to his future learning...... learn to read, read to learn sort of thing. A lot of the research in the West indicates that boys and girls have quite different reading interests at this age. Boys like factual material, science, geography, social science themes as opposed to stuff about relationships; graphically rich material like books published by DK.

Sport, as someone else suggested is a good idea - maybe get him involved in football. Check out your local mini football pitches or swimming pools - there will be people organising club activities for kids of your son's age in these places and they'll always be happy to get new members. My five year old son attends football training three times a week, and even though he doesn't understand it, he actually loves the experience and the contact with other kids most of whom are slightly older than him. Indirectly I learn a lot of bad Thai from him as a result! More importantly he always sleeps soundly after it - the trainers include some former teachers (non-Thai) who actually know what they are doing and can accommodate a small boy with limited Thai and no real clue about what he is supposed to be doing.

Good luck

[Mooner]

I had this problem and I came to believe it's not a problem with learning.

Its just a problem with learning things that don't interest you. Some kids can learn across the board and some excel in certain areas.

Once I was exposed to favourable subjects I found my niche.

[Scott]

The are different types of learning and it might be worth exploring Kinesthetic learning or global learning which is different from analytical learning. Some children with ADD are actually kinesthetic learners.

It may give you some ideas of how to help the child learn.

[EmptyHead]

It is true ADHD has only become a problem in recent years (with standrdized testing) and becomes more of a problem the more we standardize tests.

This means some kids who don't really have ADHD are being diagnosed as such and the numbers are growing the more we say, "He isn't the same as her...they should all be able to learn the same way and achieve the same things etc etc"

You say it is havnig a big effect on you son, but you don't say in what way? The next paragraph totally contradicts there is even a problem. He is intelligent and top of his class, right? He tells you he is happy.

I have a boy in my class with this. He is top of his class, knows more about science than anyone i have met, and says he will be a scientist. Great! He is very happy and content with himself.

Be careful with medication. I recently witnessed a fellow on a CELTA course who was a prescription drug addict. I suspect medicated most of his life for ADHD. He was passing the course until he went on a binge 3 days from the end and never returned.

All the best

[EmptyHead]

Here is a good video on it.

"In this talk from RSA Animate, Sir Ken Robinson lays out the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools' dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD. An important, timely talk for parents and teachers."

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms

[gerryBScot]

Here is a good video on it.

"In this talk from RSA Animate, Sir Ken Robinson lays out the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools' dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD. An important, timely talk for parents and teachers."

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms

This is a brilliant TED presentation which anyone who is interested in education should watch - should point out that it only deals with ADD/ADHD in a very indirect way, a passing reference albeit very witty. Great stuff and thanks.