I had a school teacher that would use a yard stick. That ***** was a master at it and not breaking it! Man, that stung...she'd hit you right on the calf muscles.
That's so you can't outrun her.
I had a school teacher that would use a yard stick. That ***** was a master at it and not breaking it! Man, that stung...she'd hit you right on the calf muscles.
That's so you can't outrun her.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding this whole situation. First, ADD/ADHD are not behavior disorders, they are cognitive/learning disorders. I have had plenty of students with ADHD, and some were very difficult behaviorally and some were not. The difference was not the severity of their ADHD, but the expectations and discipline within their home. PTSD is a different story and I think it remains to be seen what role that plays in this scenario. Second, the school resource officer should only be brought into a situation as a last resort when dealing with classroom behavior. If this student's PTSD manifests itself in a way that makes the student disruptive and unruly then the special education and administrative staff should have procedures in place for dealing with the student. Either there is not appropriate procedures in place, the student's behavior went beyond the capabilities of the school staff, or the behavior was not identified as attributable to his ADHD/PTSD. In the first case the school is at fault and the officer cannot be faulted for dealing with the situation like an officer. When someone, of any age, is unruly officers are trained to restrain them. The officer used the tools he had(cuffs) in the only way they would be effective. If it is the either of the last cases, the officer is in the exact same position. If the parents are really going to stick with the child's ADHD/PTSD as the source of the issue or as a rational for handling their child differently, they need to be suing the school for passing their child on to the officer who is not trained like school staff ought to be. If their child was acting beyond the capabilities of well trained staff using best practice procedures, then they really do not have a case and need to find and educational environment that works for their child.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding this whole situation. First, ADD/ADHD are not behavior disorders, they are cognitive/learning disorders. I have had plenty of students with ADHD, and some were very difficult behaviorally and some were not. The difference was not the severity of their ADHD, but the expectations and discipline within their home.
This is simply not true. The hyperactivity component of ADHD is very much a behavioral disorder. Some kids struggle more with the inattentiveness, and yes, that may be more cognitive.
If their child was acting beyond the capabilities of well trained staff using best practice procedures, then they really do not have a case and need to find and educational environment that works for their child.
After such nonsense as court rulings determining that illegal immigrant children have a 'right' to have their own personal translator if need be, how can we justify saying that a card-carrying, tax-paying citizen needs to find a different environment for his/her child whose needs are less intense than a personal interpreter? If the school is unwilling or unable to provide an education for this child, should the parents not receive a refund on the taxes they pay for the purpose? After all, any other alternative is going to cost them.
I'm all for school vouchers. I have no problem taking the money that is spent on the student and allowing it to follow him wherever he goes.
It is true. Certainly, the cognitive difficulties can have an impact on behavior and need to be taken into consideration when managing behavior. However, the cognitive issues of ADD/ADHD have to do with how stimuli is processed and handled in the brain. That is why medication is often the go-to treatment. The typical drugs affect the brains ability to focus in on some stimuli while ignoring others. The hyperactivity component to ADHD certainly needs to be addressed, but a student's hyperactivity does not automatically mean they are ever disruptive, do not follow directions, and need to be removed from the classroom, let alone on a regular basis. Just like any other student, a student with ADHD can meet behavior expectations with the proper support. On the other hand, they are going to have difficulties with learning that have nothing to do with behavior.
I think a good way to look at, as with most things, is to think of the "problem child" issue on a bell curve.
...I saw a teenager get handcuffed to a flagpole for two days.
I guess I really don't know what point you're trying to make. You implied that ADHD doesn't cause kids to struggle behaviorally unless their parents suck. I don't agree, at all.
My point is that hyper and distracted does not equate to defiant. A child with ADHD may need more correction and redirection because their mind is all over the place, but ADHD has nothing to do with whether a student decides to follow the directions of parents or teachers. It is reasonable to have the expectation that a child with ADHD will respond appropriately to correction, and then implement consequences if the child does not. On the other hand, the same expectation is not reasonable for a true behavior disorder like some conditions on the Autism spectrum or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Children with these conditions need to be addressed from a completely different angle.
Cola76 said:My point is that hyper and distracted does not equate to defiant.
Cola76 said:A child with ADHD may need more correction and redirection because their mind is all over the place, but ADHD has nothing to do with whether a student decides to follow the directions of parents or teachers. It is reasonable to have the expectation that a child with ADHD will respond appropriately to correction, and then implement consequences if the child does not. On the other hand, the same expectation is not reasonable for a true behavior disorder like some conditions on the Autism spectrum or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Children with these conditions need to be addressed from a completely different angle.
Symptoms of ADHD fall into three groups:
Not being able to focus (inattentiveness)
Being extremely active (hyperactivity)
Not being able to control behavior (impulsivity)
Not all non-compliance is defiance.
I think your understanding of ADHD may be missing an important component.
Source
The impulsivity symptom is what you are missing in your understanding of the disorder. Not all ADHD kids have it, but those that do will struggle with controlling their behavior.
It is important to distinguish this from defiance. This may be hard for folks to grasp if they have never experienced it, but I'll explain it as best I can.
Kids get impulses to do things. When they're babies, those impulses almost instantaneously transform into actions. No forethought, they just get the impulse to do something and then do it. As the child develops, he should learn to pause for even a fraction of a second before that action and think about it. Will this get me in trouble? Will I hurt myself? Will I hurt someone else? If the child thinks about it and then does it anyway, that is defiance. However, if the child's brain doesn't even give him that momentary pause to consider those questions before he acts, that is impulsivity.
They may be difficult to distinguish in the classroom sometimes, but there is a difference. For these kids, medications can sometimes help. It takes their brains out of overdrive and gives them that extra fraction of a second to make a better choice.
I hope this explanation makes sense.