Black Males in Schools: Mental Health, Wellness and the Misdiagnosis of ADHD

[Yahcna]

I see my son suffer from ADHD everyday, even getting kicked out of kindergarten once before so I must say that accepting and embracing ADHD's existance as a chemical imbalance and getting treatment has really changed his life and improved his academic performance!

Peace

[Ivory06]

Hi Yahcna. Thanks for your reply. ADHD is not on the "Autism spectrum." By definition Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder and ADHD is a disruptive behavior disorder. The diagnostic criteria for ADHD clearly states that the diagnosis only applies if "The symptoms do not happen only during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder."

I do believe that any non-psychotropic treatment for inattention is effective for 5 year olds, including behavioral modification...BUT

[Yahcna]

@Ivory06 Thanks for the advice brother, but he's not five years old now, he is nine going on ten. There were many other incidents between that time period also. I was just recounting an incident when he was kicked out of school at age five. I was told told that ADHD was on the Autism spectrum, but experts are debating whether that is still true, but thanks for clarifying that information.

[Yahcna]

I can relate to what the speaker is saying in a sense, BUT..The African American community (my community) needs to accept that ADHD, ADD which are on the Autism spectrum, are very REAL disorders that affect our lives in countless ways.

It is speculated that masses of people have developed these disorders early in life due to immunizations, or being passed down from an affected parent. (continued).

[Ivory06]

@Yahcna Understand that 5 years is too young for anyone to detect a chemical imbalance. The brain is still developing, and spontaneous remission is a great possibility. Using psychoactive stimulants on a 5 year old is dangerous. Read the studies. There is no evidence that psychoactive stimulants leads to any positive long term results. All of the gains are short term. Behavioral management is much more effective. BTW, I also suffered from ADHD as a child and young adult.

[Gulfporter]

Women have taken over the public schools. They won't confess to it, and probably sincerely disagree, but most women are abusive to male children. I call it Chimpanzee Syndrome. A male child is like a chimp, one day he will be bigger and stronger than you, so for a woman to control him she must convince him from infancy that she is stronger than he is.

Male children need male teachers. It's an emotional compatibility thing. Women are sneaky, passive-aggressive, and manipulative.