The President of the ADHD society in Singapore, SPARK, organized a talk last Saturday. It was about Understanding the Student with ADHD.
There was a lively discussion on medicating, and managing the behavior, of the child with ADHD. As a member said, there could be a chaotic discourse on the condition.
An allied educator assisting Physical Education teachers expressed her concerns with one of her students, whom refused to listen to instructions in the name of his label, and hence disrupting the flow of the class. She claims the student is bullying the whole class, and people with ADHD can be bullies. It took the President of the Club to note that more children with ADHD get bullied than bully other people, and even if they bully, they do so out of being provoked. Such irresponsible behavior should not be tolerated, she mentioned, but they are rare cases, and she has no solutions other than individualized attention to such issues. The teacher then went out of the room with a glum face, while the President?s face immediately turned cold and defensive thereafter.
Another parent shared about her experiences feeling helpless looking for the ADHD diagnosis in the child, as the doctor refused to diagnose the child and give him medication, claiming the 4 year-old but clearly active child needs better behavioral management. The Club President did agree with the Doctor?s diagnosis, and shared about her experience managing the behavior of her child with ADHD.
The crowd went wild. Some parents talked about their children being disciplined and have to be responsible for their actions, regardless of the ADHD label; other parents mentioned that their children are helpless dealing with their own failures, and the ADHD label only serves to confirm their thoughts.
A teacher mentioned about her school reaching out to all primary schools near her school, to make transition to the secondary school she teaches smoother. A parent then rose up, and pointed out that the neighborhood schools in Singapore, those normal ordinary public schools, are far more supportive for students with ADHD than branded schools. A parent even went all out and stated ?I went to a certain prestigious primary school in Singapore who is really ignorant on ADHD, even asking ?what is ADHD?, so I sent my child to another school instead?.
Then a parent mentioned about making the class size smaller to 20 or lesser children, where it would have an impact on students. He remarked that in Singapore, teachers don?t teach, as tuition teachers teach the children anyway. The teachers also went puzzled, as I presume they had done their teaching duties well, with the support of the students? parents and the school management.
Overall, the talk left more questions than answers for parents.
If we cannot answer these big questions now, when are we going to answer such questions in the future, when they students in ADHD grow into adults and are supposed to be in the workforce, whereas the parents retire with little savings or resources for the children?
I suggested that adults with ADHD do face considerable issues in employment, just like their counterparts with ASD. I even raised the example of a person I know, who lives by his conscription savings, and live only on malt drinks and biscuits. A parent later did mention that such a lifestyle is ?meaningless?. We all might have to face persistent unemployment because we simply are not ready for jobs, we may not have the positive features that enable employers to hire us, we will always be the top most people on human resource managers? minds of new hires not to be employ, and so we need welfare like they do in the Netherlands. The same parent (a mother) was disappointed, and proceeded on to quip, ?surely you can give more solutions, no?? I said I?m trained to collate opinions, put them to group discussion, and to brainstorm solutions as a group. I cannot help the parents much, and may even need the parents? help. I even mentioned I feel lucky because my parents are okay with me unemployed, but my other peers are not as lucky.
Although I was under the weather, I was not feeling well and I even lost appetite, I think I really digested quite a bit of information SPARK did process throughout the talk.
There was a lively discussion on medicating, and managing the behavior, of the child with ADHD. As a member said, there could be a chaotic discourse on the condition.
An allied educator assisting Physical Education teachers expressed her concerns with one of her students, whom refused to listen to instructions in the name of his label, and hence disrupting the flow of the class. She claims the student is bullying the whole class, and people with ADHD can be bullies. It took the President of the Club to note that more children with ADHD get bullied than bully other people, and even if they bully, they do so out of being provoked. Such irresponsible behavior should not be tolerated, she mentioned, but they are rare cases, and she has no solutions other than individualized attention to such issues. The teacher then went out of the room with a glum face, while the President?s face immediately turned cold and defensive thereafter.
Another parent shared about her experiences feeling helpless looking for the ADHD diagnosis in the child, as the doctor refused to diagnose the child and give him medication, claiming the 4 year-old but clearly active child needs better behavioral management. The Club President did agree with the Doctor?s diagnosis, and shared about her experience managing the behavior of her child with ADHD.
The crowd went wild. Some parents talked about their children being disciplined and have to be responsible for their actions, regardless of the ADHD label; other parents mentioned that their children are helpless dealing with their own failures, and the ADHD label only serves to confirm their thoughts.
A teacher mentioned about her school reaching out to all primary schools near her school, to make transition to the secondary school she teaches smoother. A parent then rose up, and pointed out that the neighborhood schools in Singapore, those normal ordinary public schools, are far more supportive for students with ADHD than branded schools. A parent even went all out and stated ?I went to a certain prestigious primary school in Singapore who is really ignorant on ADHD, even asking ?what is ADHD?, so I sent my child to another school instead?.
Then a parent mentioned about making the class size smaller to 20 or lesser children, where it would have an impact on students. He remarked that in Singapore, teachers don?t teach, as tuition teachers teach the children anyway. The teachers also went puzzled, as I presume they had done their teaching duties well, with the support of the students? parents and the school management.
Overall, the talk left more questions than answers for parents.
If we cannot answer these big questions now, when are we going to answer such questions in the future, when they students in ADHD grow into adults and are supposed to be in the workforce, whereas the parents retire with little savings or resources for the children?
I suggested that adults with ADHD do face considerable issues in employment, just like their counterparts with ASD. I even raised the example of a person I know, who lives by his conscription savings, and live only on malt drinks and biscuits. A parent later did mention that such a lifestyle is ?meaningless?. We all might have to face persistent unemployment because we simply are not ready for jobs, we may not have the positive features that enable employers to hire us, we will always be the top most people on human resource managers? minds of new hires not to be employ, and so we need welfare like they do in the Netherlands. The same parent (a mother) was disappointed, and proceeded on to quip, ?surely you can give more solutions, no?? I said I?m trained to collate opinions, put them to group discussion, and to brainstorm solutions as a group. I cannot help the parents much, and may even need the parents? help. I even mentioned I feel lucky because my parents are okay with me unemployed, but my other peers are not as lucky.
Although I was under the weather, I was not feeling well and I even lost appetite, I think I really digested quite a bit of information SPARK did process throughout the talk.
