Why french kids dont have ADHD...

morah

Tue, Nov 19 2013, 9:32 pm

My French dad has strong opinions on all these "the French do it better" claims, and not positive ones. The only thing they do better according to him is drinking wine. I will just say that ADHD is very real, take it from someone married to guy who has it (and who was spanked and quite harshly disciplined as a kid).

Also, the source of this article is of, shall we say, dubious credibility. This same publication stated that CIO causes brain damage (funny how this article praises the French for doing just that). Now, I'm pretty anti-CIO for a lot of reasons, but there is ZERO scientific evidence that it causes brain damage. Psychology Today is known for making broad claims on thin and shaky evidence.

amother

Wed, Nov 20 2013, 12:54 am

MaBelleVie wrote:

Not sure what inattention has anything to do with the above. If anyone can tell me how parenting and discipline contribute to making an inattentive child able to focus, please do fill me in.

I see this in my own life. My husband is stronger than me. He is structured. Our children behave much better with him around. They also pay more attention to their academics and achieve better grades. My husband doesn't physically discipline our children. They have a strong loving bond.

I have a child with adhd - the complex kind. Experienced educators and Drs can't get this child to focus without meds. My husband can. DC dovens beautifully and sits nicely and learns well. There is no fidgeting or inattention because it is not tolerated.

I only have it in me little to be stern and I am not structured.

amother

Wed, Nov 20 2013, 2:11 am

amother wrote:

What do the French imamothers have to say abt it? Ruchel do they have ADHD in your country?

I live in france and I do not recall any children around me being diagnosed with adhd. From what I see when a child has behaviour problems they see all different types of therapists, and are helped a lot through different activities, help with learning etc
From my own experience I have a son who I found to have adhd tendacies so I took him to an osteopath kinesologist which helped a lot he did excersised to create new pathways in the brain, loads of games to do at home, diet :no coke, ice tea, ( coloring is bad so we only have sprite now)eliminate as much as possible processed stuff , nush, candy esp green and red coloring,and depending on the moment had to keep him off diff foods ( once it was apples) depending on what was making him jumpy, and he even tested my laudry detergent, I brought him a few samples and only one was okay...
He also gave me bach remedies to treat the emotions side, I couldnt believe that emotions had anything to do with his finding hard to concentrate etcbut guess whàt? Bh he is doing really well in school now, ( besides last week when they had siyum, birthdays etc nush overload and his behaviour and grades n

FranticFrummie

Wed, Nov 20 2013, 3:11 am

amother wrote:

What do the French imamothers have to say abt it? Ruchel do they have ADHD in your country?

This is a great example of the point I was making earlier. IF, after trying all of these other coping strategies, a child still clearly needed help, THEN it would be a good time to discuss medication with the doctor.

Unless you're dealing with a life threatening situation, medication should be the last thing to consider, not the first.

(And this is coming from me, a person who take a handful of meds twice a day.)

MaBelleVie

Wed, Nov 20 2013, 7:37 am

amother wrote:

MaBelleVie wrote:

Not sure what inattention has anything to do with the above. If anyone can tell me how parenting and discipline contribute to making an inattentive child able to focus, please do fill me in.

If ONLY your husband can work this magic, and experienced educators and professionals can't, it sounds more emotion-based than anything else. Surely these professionals know how to create structure, etc.

I'm not claiming that structure and loving discipline don't affect a child's behavior. On the contrary, I'm a big fan. I am saying that a child with ADHD won't be able to magically overcome challenges caused by a brain that is structured and wired differently. Because that's what ADHD is: a neurological condition.

m in Israel

Wed, Nov 20 2013, 10:40 am

imasinger wrote:

Bruria wrote:

I believe it has to do with the level of tolerance with children. Kids act like kids, sometimes they don't feel like sitting down or obeying grown ups, and "suddenly "they have ADHD!! Ppl should understand that kids are kids!!!Most of them don't need Ritalin, just enough time to grow up and mature!!

I have taught at many schools for many years, and have never seen a kid on medication who didn't need it. I believe this whole "we throw meds at kids at the first sign of normal disobedience or activity" is a myth, and a dangerous one.

Imasinger I completely agree with you. I worked in special ed in the NY area for many years, and if anything I found parents were too slow in agreeing to try medication -- we had students who clearly suffered from ADD/ADHD for years whose parents wouldn't consider medicating until 4th or 5th grade -- or even not at all. These children were not necessarily behavioral problems -- but most of them performed very poorly academically despite being smart.

There are specific diagnostic criteria for ADHD, and although it is diagnosed primarily via questionnaires, which do contain an element of subjectivity, most practitioners require multiple people to respond (teachers, parents, etc.), and look at behavior in many settings (not just the classroom). Are there some random pediatricians here or there who are too quick to prescribe Ritalin? Of course, just like some are too quick to prescribe antibiotics. But my general experience is that most providers are responsible with their diagnosis.

But in any case, treatment and diagnosis are two very different things. No one disagrees that there sometimes other effective treatments for ADHD -- but that doesn't mean the diagnosis was wrong. Not everyone with ADHD requires Ritalin.

causemommysaid

Wed, Nov 20 2013, 12:08 pm

bigsis144 wrote:

There's a whole industry based around the American fetishization of the French, and though I've never been to France, I'm sure the French are actually just as mundane as Americans and have their own issues.

I've been to France.

I don't know what issues they have but they definitely have better bakeries than America