Anyone see this?

[Brook]

I think they will have plenty of comments.

 

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/a...ge_id=1770&ct=5

 

Whatever next?

 

Brook

[Tylers-mum]

[adamsmum]

I suppose they cant think of enything els to print. It's an easy target to pick on thes kids to sell a paper It's so wrong and makes live a lot harder for those effected. For once could they not print something that may help these kids But then i suppose they don't think it will sell papers

[TuX]

I'm thinking of a description of them right now[and some of the people who have replied] and it isn't something I'm going to write here.

 

I'm writing a reply to it now.

[Tylers-mum]

Go TuX!!!!

[oracle]

How many disabilities can be targeted and rubbished in this way before Joe Public realises that it's a blooming Conspiracy?

 

But when you take into consideration that the guy who fronts the DRC is an old DFES Spin Doctor (or so I am told) then maybe it makes sense.

 

Carole

 

Load the Gun the Firing Squad are a comming for me

[Rachelp2]

As if people have not got enough on their plates to deal with...that's all they need....More bad press.

 

It makes my blood boil just reading some of the comments on there - arn't people too quick to jump on the negative band wagon and judge!

 

Don't know what I'm laughing at, I feel sick

 

I've added my comments but not sure if they will edit or even print it!

Best Wishes

Rach

[helenl53]

I have been saying for some time that the problems with ASD's and ADHD have not been recognised and provided for by the services - so rather than own up and say - ######, we need to start listening - it is much easier to say it does not exist and we are cr*p parents.

 

I have been alarmed at the number of parents being sent on Positive Parenting skills courses - these figures are going to be trundled out as parents who acknowledge that they are cr*p parents!!! WRONG 0 they have asked for help and it will be used against them.

 

Sorry - but I am really alarmed.

 

I don't buy the Mail on Sunday as I have never liked it compared to the weekly and Saturday editions and I was told that it is another team that do the sundays - and I was surprised as the Mail has normally been fantastic for advocating fair play - such as giving double page spreads to Debbie Storey's story and to those poor souls in Essex who have had their children taken from them because they are not intellegent enough. Mind you I did notice that they ran a story about 10 days ago about the lad with ODD and then ran a double page spread which I felt questioned whether such a condition existed.

 

It is becoming rather a witch hunt with ASD's and ADHD and I suppose it is 'batter the underdog'.

 

Mrs Angry from the South Coast

[madmooch]

Well, I've replied to it

 

If they'll print it

 

Clare

[annie]

Ah, so now I know where I went wrong

 

We're a 2 parent family, married 24 years (no offence meant to single parent families)

Over the years, we've tried cutting out colourings and all the rest of it

Tried Ritalin for 2 years

We all eat a good diet

 

My boys were born 13 months apart, first born has Asperger's/ADHD, the second born, NT and at school doesn't even get a detention. Neither boys are 'thugs' either.

 

I must have been a 'bad parent' when my first was born and became a 'good parent' by the time my second one came along........but have continued being a 'bad parent' to my first

 

Am I missing something here????

[Guest flutter]

without wanting to get told off, i feal that there are situations where people lable thier kids whith such things as adhd cos they cannot be bothered to spend time with them, we live in an age where technology allows kids not to go out on thier bikes and "run" off normal energy like we used to. and parents are quick to label hyperactive! i lived witha hyperactive bruv, and have to say somtimes to people you really wouldnt know it if it bit u on bum.

i know of a couple of kids who have been diagnosed with something and i kknew the mother afore she had these kids and even then she was out to find as much money as she could in any way outa the system. There are always going to be peeps who shaft the system and those like us who will get nothing, always the way it goes.

[loulou]

Hi,

 

:wallbash

 

I'll definately be replying to this. I'm fuming. I'd like these people to spend a day in my house and try to tell me i'm a bad parent and my child is just "naughty".

 

I'm so cross i can't say anything else. Grrrrrrrrr

 

Loulou x

[rainbow queen]

OUTRIGHT DISGUSTING

 

ive added a comment-its not been put on yet.

i put they dont mock people with cancer? as that could also easily be caused through junk food

and as for absent fathers comment-it implys its us womens fault they r absent-more like they not fit to be a father anyway.

 

and now the goverments thinking hang on lets cut there cash too like incapacity we could save ourselfs pounds.

 

narrow minded fools who live in there own little life -have no compassion for others with real problems, they make me sick

[TuX]

Go TuX!!!!

 

Here's what I wrote[it has took me ages to write it,was hard to do it without mentioning how ignorant some of these people are]:

Myth 1-ADHD is fake.

Perhaps the people who think that should try living with it,or have a family member with it before judging what they don't know-do they want to take on my ADHD? for example-take on my lost childhood? take on my severely short term memory and attention span? take on my disruptive hyperactivity which stops me from doing certain tasks? take on my impulsitivity?

 

Myth 2-ADHD is caused by food colouring and bad diet.

This isn't true,food colouring intolerance and bad diet,can cause similar symptoms,but it is not ADHD.

 

Myth 3-People with ADHD are in it for the benefit.

ADHD is disabling to many on the moderate-severe end of ADHD,

it has a profound effect on the person with ADHD and their family,why shouldn't they recieve DLA if it's warranted?

 

Myth 4-Naughty child syndrome.

ADHD is not being naughty,someone who is being naughty knows what they are doing,neither is it an exclusive 'child syndrome' either-we do actually grow up!

 

That is all I could fit in.

Edited January 29, 2006 by TuX

[LizK]

I have a very low opinion of anything vaguely health related published by the Mail group of newspapers and this article just serves to reinforce that. I do believe that *some* children are incorrectly labelled as having ADHD when in fact what they are suffering from is inconsistent parenting or a disuptive home life. A friend who works at CAMHS often complains that some families want this label to avoid the real issues and there is the benefit of receiving DLA which is much harder to get if you have a diagnosis of a behavioural problem instead. However it doesn't mean to say that ADHD doesn't exist for other children, the service my friend works in has a good assessment procedure for diagnosing children who do have ADHD and deciding on the best treatment. Evidence shows that the best treatment is a combination of ritalin-like drugs and behavioural modification work. In an ideal world it would be great to treat these children with behavioural techniques but the cash strapped health service hardly has the resources to fund that. If the article said that ADHD was being overdiagnosed it might have some more credibility but to state that the condition does not exist is clearly flawed and does a great disservice to those who have it. It's hard enough parenting a child with those difficulties without having to contend with such attitudes. Surely another reason for the increase in diagnosis is like with ASD that it is being increasingly recognised rather than a condition that has been invented. Article also fails to mention the fact that ADHD is often a comorbidity with other conditions like ASD.

 

I wonder if this is the latest 'campaign' the Mail is embarking upon. There was an editorial several weeks back saying that ADHD is simply an excuse for poor parenting and wonder if the view of a particular journalist(s) is fuelling this

 

Lx

[helenl53]

Annie - how can you say you don't have any kids that are thugs- didn't one egg a car (allegedly )

[annie]

 

I forgot about that.........alledgedly

[Bullet]

My mum was telling me the other day that as a toddler I was so active and couldn't keep still and she felt that had I been that age today I'd have been diagnosed with ADHD. My parents gave us a very healthy diet, everything was homemade, we rarely had sweets, cakes or biscuits and never any junk food and they were very strong disciplinarians. It still didn't stop me being very very active though. I doubt I actually would have had the condition though, because although I am still fairly restless it's no more than the average person.

Ds1 is full of beans and loves walking round and round the place, climbing stairs, climbing onto the settee, flinging himself on the beds and trying to do forward rolls. But he's a toddler so has tonnes of energy. I wouldn't say for a minute he has ADHD and I think that a lot of the public's (those who don't have a child with the condition) misinterpretation of an ADHD diagnosis is based on a child like my Ds1 who is just very active. ADHD is a lot more complicated than that.

[sue1957]

Twenty years ago I was the parent of an ADHD child. It didn't "exist" then either and I was the one they wanted to get help, I apparently just needed psychological help for my first time mother anxieties.

 

I have a book on ADD/ADHD by a Dr Amen, he has a website with brain scan info on different types of ADD/ADHD..........

 

http://amenclinics.com/bp/atlas/ch12.php

[kirstie]

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Did you read the comment from some stupid p**** saying ADHD was yet another crack pot syndrome?

What the hell is wrong with people (some) ???

I replied too, don't know if it will be printed and i don't have a child with ADHD either but i know for a fact it exists i've seen it first hand and the effect it can have on family life. All we want is tolerance and understanding, what chance do we have with t***s like that writing c*** articles?

[curra]

What do these people want, calling children who have a brain problem "naughty"? This newspaper is showing incredible ignorance about a condition that has been recognised all over the world. I think this is just another one of those campaigns aimed at cutting funding for children with special needs.

 

Curra

[smiley]

 

Quite frankly - too pi**ed off to relpy

[lainey]

what a load of b######s my sister who by the way is a fantastic mum and doesn't recieve a penny for her adhd son and spends most of her time running around like a mad women would go balistic if i show her this who the hell are these people obviously there lucky enough not to have had a child with this . ba#####

 

[Bullet]

INCREASE IN TOTAS SYNDROME AMONGST JOURNALISTS:

 

Studies have shown that there is a rise in the number of journalists desperate to make a controversial name for themselves being diagnosed with TOTAS. TOTAS (which stands for Talking Out Their ar*e Syndrome) is a debilitating condition affecting several journalists every time they put pen to paper. Symptoms include an inability to think things through, a wish to make ill informed judgements based on little or no evidence and a desire to sell their papers regardless of the ethics of the article. One journalist (who wished to be unnamed) said: "I meant to write a thoughtful and well balanced piece on ADHD. But I made the mistake of gripping my pen between my ar*e cheeks. I couldn't control what I was doing and before I knew it I'd spouted off a load of vitriolic nonsense. The trouble with TOTAS is that it's contagious. So once my words were down on paper hundreds of people were also making illdefined and ridiculous comments on poor parenting, diet and 'all that's needed is a swift boot up the backside'".

Treatment for TOTAS is still in its infancy, yet it has been shown that a combination of drugs and therapy can work wonders. One of the drugs, Write-it-in is being cited as a possible benefit and journalists who've taken it reported an increase in their ability to sit down, concentrate and actually check the facts of something before typing.

[smiley]

Bullet Love it !!

[phasmid]

Very good response...did you post it to them?

[annie]

You should copyright that Bullet

[Strange girl]

good one bullet.

[madmooch]

Brilliant Bullet, A masterpiece

 

 

I sent a reply but they havn't printed it..................Surprise Surprise

 

 

 

Clare

[Brook]

INCREASE IN TOTAS SYNDROME AMONGST JOURNALISTS:

 

Studies have shown that there is a rise in the number of journalists desperate to make a controversial name for themselves being diagnosed with TOTAS. TOTAS (which stands for Talking Out Their ar*e Syndrome) is a debilitating condition affecting several journalists every time they put pen to paper. Symptoms include an inability to think things through, a wish to make ill informed judgements based on little or no evidence and a desire to sell their papers regardless of the ethics of the article. One journalist (who wished to be unnamed) said: "I meant to write a thoughtful and well balanced piece on ADHD. But I made the mistake of gripping my pen between my ar*e cheeks. I couldn't control what I was doing and before I knew it I'd spouted off a load of vitriolic nonsense. The trouble with TOTAS is that it's contagious. So once my words were down on paper hundreds of people were also making illdefined and ridiculous comments on poor parenting, diet and 'all that's needed is a swift boot up the backside'".

Treatment for TOTAS is still in its infancy, yet it has been shown that a combination of drugs and therapy can work wonders. One of the drugs, Write-it-in is being cited as a possible benefit and journalists who've taken it reported an increase in their ability to sit down, concentrate and actually check the facts of something before typing.

Bullet

 

Brook

[oracle]

Bullet

 

I really hope that you did mail your response it's ACE

 

Carole

[Bullet]

Aw thank you all . I refuse to mail it though as I don't want the Mail having me down as an avid reader of their paper.

[stressed out mum]

OMG does the writer have experience??

 

enough said!!!

[smallworld]

Bullet, that is the funniest thing I've read in ages

I'm with Smileymab, it makes me too p****d to even think about replying.

I tried to say something similar in a recent thread about EBD schools and the amount of money being chucked at 'parenting skills' courses.

 

I'm getting the impression that blaming the parents for REAL medical problems is the latest quick fix solution for those gov. bods with their heads in the sand trying to avoid thinking about the growing numbers of ASD/ADHD kids in our society.

 

wac

 

P.S. thinking about this some more I remembered that my HV said when talking about my son's hyperactivity; ' we usually view hyperactivity as a difference between the parent's activity levels and those of the child'

I took this to mean 'you are a lazy so and so !'

Edited January 29, 2006 by waccoe

[Pippin]

Hmmmmm! I've obviously been very clever then...I've managed to be a bad parent to one of my twins, and a good parent to the other...no wonder I'm so tired!!!

[Flora]

Oh my oh my oh my.

 

Just read this and all the readers comments. We really do have a fight on our hands. Some people just don't want to be educated.

 

The smug B******s

[UltraMum]

without wanting to get told off, i feal that there are situations where people lable thier kids whith such things as adhd cos they cannot be bothered to spend time with them, we live in an age where technology allows kids not to go out on thier bikes and "run" off normal energy like we used to. and parents are quick to label hyperactive! i lived witha hyperactive bruv, and have to say somtimes to people you really wouldnt know it if it bit u on bum.

i know of a couple of kids who have been diagnosed with something and i kknew the mother afore she had these kids and even then she was out to find as much money as she could in any way outa the system. There are always going to be peeps who shaft the system and those like us who will get nothing, always the way it goes.

 

I think you're right Flutter - there will always be those who try to milk the system - which causes problems for those of us with genuine problems ...

 

I've just completed my 10,110 word for the DLA form and now I'm going to write a message to the MOS - see if they print it...

[lil_me]

I have made a comment.

 

Yes there are parents who lie, I know a few. Some don't even have a dx and claim all kinds for children who are fine, just because someone else has managed to. Maybe this is why all the bad press has started.

 

But for those with ADHD and those living with it as carers, parents etc it is very real.

 

 

BULLET you really need to add that comment

Edited January 30, 2006 by lil_me

[oracle]

At the risk of sounding as if the altitude from my lost Mountain has got to me I do have a theory here about Joe Public.

 

Most of us in this world live our lives as sheep. We are led like sheep, and in my opinion pretty much programmed from birth. If you are jogging along quite happily and blissfully ignorant of the fact that your programme keeps being updated why would you need to question things that you are being told? Why would you care if it's not happening to you? Especially if you think that it could be costing you money - TAX

 

It's only when you have a life changing experience that you begin to have a look at what you have been told to believe and question your programming. You begin to realise that maybe we have been fed a corporate line and accepted this line because it is corporate. So if Joe Public is being told that a high % of SEN children are really badly behaved kids whose parents are bad parents, and that this is costing the Corporation loads of money that maybe they could be having - they believe it. It's only when Joe Public finds themselves in that situation themselves that they start to question what they have been told.

 

That's when the sheep change out of their clothing and often - like me - become a wolf, or as a Vicar once said to me a Shepherd and not a sheep. As I said the altitude has probably got to me but think about it - if it's easier to believe something that we are being told when it does not effect us, then why should we think about questioning what we are being told?

 

Carole

[Flora]

Bullett. Just read your post. Thank you for the best laugh I've had in a long time.

 

Lauren