ADD a "Developmental Disability?"

[Geoduck]

Article from NPR. Warning, this will not pass what my scientist hubby calls, in his very scientific language, the “sniff test.” Read it anyway…I know…you have ADD… just read it:

<http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/05/23/136582348/cdc-developmental-disabilities-affect-1-in-7-u-s-kids?sc=fb&cc=fp&gt;

First: How is ADD considered a “Developmental Disability?” In my case, I have always met all growth markers, physically and mentally. As far as I know, ADD has not hindered this development. Social development, maybe, but mentally, aside from having three kids who drag the intelligence quotient down occasionally, I’m fine. I’ve scored very well on the internet IQ test, anyway If ADD is considered a developmental disability, why and how?

Second: How can this study be considered legitimate when it includes lay diagnosis (school teachers) in the statistics. Certainly they could refer a child for diagnosis, but they should never diagnose a child. This should be done by a professional, and only statistics of professional diagnosis should count.

First question is the one I’d like somebody with more psychology under their belt to answer. I’m actually interested. I’ve also notice a lot of lumping ADDers in with people who have Autism. I know that Autistic people tend to exhibit some ADD signs, but that doesn’t make all ADDers autistic. Are we “on the spectrum?” Or is this more bad science.

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[Wgreen]

Want some insights into medical research? Read this: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1998644,00.html

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[ellamama]

One may consider ADHD a “developmental disability” like learning disabilities and, I suppose ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders). Over the years definitions of various “maladies” have changed. My favorite catch-all term for “us” is still “minimal brain dysfunction”. Descriptive, yet non-specific!

IMHO, a developmental disability is not a diagnosis, per se. A developmental disability is a condition in which an affected individual’s development (i.e., how they function in terms of cognition and behavior) is “outside the curve”. By “outside the curve” I refer to the so-called bell curve which is used to describe the range of a given attribute in a group.

Consider height: As Rick Green has correctly observed, everybody has some height. Some have more than others. If you gatherered all the adults in the world together and measured them all and then plotted their heights you’d find the plot (graph) looked bell-shaped. Most folks are medium-sized. Few are very short; few are very tall.

Now, consider a developemental critera, like reading or attention (what’d I just write?). Then measure that. Folks who are too far one way or another are “outside the curve” and–depending on the circumstances–are “disordered” on way or another.

I’m not sure if this responds to your question. There’s always bad science out there (see, there’s even a curve for that!).

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[Curlymoe115]

I think that this statistic is asking how many children “deviate” from the behavioural norm. Now I am not arguing that ADHD is a developmental disability. Obviously for the vast number of people who have ended up on this website ADHD/ADD has had a massive impact on their mental development. That is not to say that we are all “impaired” but a significant amount of the people who end up here are impacted in one form or another. A lot of it tends to cluster around organization and social development. And pure ADHD people who are diagnosed as children significantly act out as children because they have a hard time waiting their turn, blurting out answers, extreme talking, wiggling, unable to focus, ect. They therefore take a lot of educational instruction time away from the “normal” students just like any other child with a significant impairment. Therefore this article is asking that they be classified to attract funding for additional classroom help.

Makes sense when I just consider myself and my children. That is not to say that we are not capable of learning, but it certainly was not sitting in a desk, head down working diligently and quietly until recess. After kindergarten “normal” children are trained to sit and listen for longer and longer periods of time with no break. I get the wiggles after 15 minutes. If a question is asked I have to answer whether this is appropriate or not. And I am 42. In College I got better grades then 90 percent of my classmates. Because I have a phenomenal memory, and I could spend hours on the internet researching. You were allowed to get up, leave to get a drink, walk around the classroom. Borrow the overheads if you didn’t complete everything. Yet schools are still educating children as they have for 60 years. Until the educational model changes to allow more freedom for these young students then “lay diagnoses” are going to have to do. There will need to be more educational aids because we do not bring our kids up like 60 years ago.

Todays parents encourage their children to ask questions, and think outside of the box. They expose them to as many social and physical activities as budget and time allow. They are scheduled for play groups and lessons from morning till night, often starting when they can hardly move. So from the time they are babies until the start of grade 1 (but more and more kindergarten) these kids are encouraged to think, develop, and play to their hearts content. We tell them that they are the most important person who was ever born, we dote on their every comment and whim, we make sure that they receive recognition for even clearing their throat, they have participation stickers and awards for everything they have ever attempted. Then they get to school with 30 other special children. We then force them to adhere to a teachers schedule. So teachers are told not to use red ink. Don’t correct spelling or sentence structure. Try and make time for every student equally because they are all special. Then you have the child that acts out, and can’t sit still. You have to spend a few extra minutes with Blyth and Gabriel resents it because her mother told her that she is the most perfect person in the world. So then Gabriel goes out of her way to make sure that people like Blyth have no friends, and everyone hates them as much as she does. And Dear Gabby’s mother calls the school to ask why Blyth is even allowed in the same class as her special princess. Because of course she has had all these lessons and she needs to be in a nurtured educational environment so that she will continue to sparkle. It isn’t that she is spoiled and needs to have empathy for others, they just don’t belong there. Then Gabby’s mother starts talking to other parents in the class, teachers, school board officials and finally she is harassing the parents of Blyth. They should ask that their son be removed from regular programming so that he can get the attention he needs because it is just not fair that the classes are so big and Blyth is being left behind. Gabby says that Blyth is always the last one to get his assignments done, and no one plays with him because he is always crying. So what do we do.

Teachers have to teach curriculum, students have to learn. Classrooms are getting bigger because there are less resources and therefore teachers have less time for students. Every child is told that they are the centre of the world, and that they are deserving of only the best. Gym time is cut because there is simply no time for everything to get done to meet educational standards. Teachers want more prep time so there are no after school or recess activities. There is no time to spend with that one student (or in some cases many) who need extra help. These students are trapped in desks for hours every day and scolded for not sitting and learning. Tell them they are bad enough and they really start acting out. Put them out to recess with little supervision and 29 bullies that resent them and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

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[trashman]

so ,then I would like to know if older adults have a higher iq then the younger kids in comperasion . in other words do you know your iq nunbers, and if you have children what are those. are most of us having a higher iq or a lower one or are we all just very average. Iam just curious .

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[Anonymous]

Your IQ should remain fairly consistent throughout your life, unless you suffer brain trauma of some sort. My son’s has certainly stayed pretty much the same the two times he has been tested. And he has a “high average” IQ, and ADHD. Average IQ is 100, and the majority of people will be close to that, including those with ADHD.

In response to the subject of ADHD being a developmental disorder – I think it certainly qualifies. My son is below his IQ level when looking at mental maths, written language, ability to express ideas fluently, and reading ability. The best example to explain what I mean is that of reading. Despite having very good reading comprehension, as well as reading ability, he cannot put the two together to read, understand, and follow the story when reading a novel. His ADHD does not allow him to focus on both reading the words AND comprehending the story. His reading comprehension (when read to) is at a 15 1/2 year old level, but his reading ability (including understanding) is at a 12 year old level. He is 14. So he has not developed in a way that his IQ would predict, and he has not developed in the same manner as his “average” peers. There are obvious holes in his academic development, social development, and ways of thinking, that can be attributed to his ADHD. He met all his early developmental milestones, but milestones become more difficult to assess as a child ages, so where do you draw the line at saying whether a disorder is one which affects development or not?!

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