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Vicki,

I have probably 5 boys in my den of 13 who could be diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, but only one who has a true disability. I have to admit I am only responding to your post because of a quote from the link you posted. Please don't think I am shooting the messanger here, I saw some good info for that one boy. But This quote from the home page of that site set me off:

 

"This website is dedicated to the parents of children who endear themselves to us with their creativity, humor, good nature, and spontaneity, yet infuriate us with their inability to stay organized and on task."

 

Aside from being a scout one of my other interests is personality types. I have always been fascinated by what makes one person different from another. That quote is the perfect definition of Keirsey's Artisan type. I firmly believe that most kids who get diagnosed (not all) are not suffering from any disorder at all. They are just not accepted for who they are.

 

An Article I would recommend folks to read is: http://keirsey.com/addhoax.html

 

The Article itself is very good, but if you read some of his other work(most notably "Please Understand Me II") You can really get a sense of how some kids are getting the short straw just because they are different from the majority that gets to decide the rules.

 

Again, not trying to start an arguement, just offering a different perspective.

 

Shane

 

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Shane, I had read the article you posted (along with a LOT of others) while deciding how to best deal with my son's LD/ADD issues. Living with him, I know he is disabled. I also know it bothers him. I haven't said anything about whether or not he's medicated, just that he has that particular set of issues. And I happen to agree with you that there are a lot of kids out there who are being medicated out of expediency.

 

But the main issue, to my mind, and one of the other posters already mentioned it, is dealing with the behavior - no matter what is causing it. As scouters it's not up to us to do anything else. The original question was OGE with "How do you do it?" The URL I posted has some specific thoughts on handling the behavior which is why I posted it - not to get into the larger debate of society and its ever-increasing lack of ability to handle non-conformity.

 

Vicki

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How do I do it? Education.

 

A good football coach calls plays to take advantage of the talent he has on the team. A not so good coach insists that he has to establish his running game even if his talent lies with his QBs arm and his recieving corps. As parents, we should use what works best for our children. What works best for mine may not work best for yours. Heck, I've got three kids and what works best each is very different. That makes my duties as a parent more difficult but I deal with it (with help from my spouse). The same should be true for Scout leaders. This American fantasy that we all should be treated the same is a legal nicety but is disaster in reality. Learn the talents of the boys in your troop (their troop?). Adjust your teaching and mentoring approach appropriately.

 

I've had boys in the troop who had been physically abused. Quick movements startled them. Some of the boys were so impulsive in their speech and actions they were a definite safety hazard. Some had true physical disabilities. Some were star athletes. Some had learning disabilities. Scouts is a great vehicle for bringing people of different economic, social, physical and educational backgrounds together. Learn from it.

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Vicki,

I didn't want to start a debate, just wanted to offer up some additional information to folks. I have to apologize, I just realized that the page I posted the link for doesn't link back to the home page of the site. If you go to just www.keirsey.com there is a lot of good info on dealing with children with all types of personalities and problems.

 

Shane

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  • 3 months later...

Hello all,

 

First a little about myself. I have been in scouting for about 15 years now. I started as a cubmaster nad then scoutmaster. I retired from scouting when my son achieved eagle. I was out for two years when the troop's cor in our town approached me to take the troop and rebuild it. I have two scouts with ADDhd one of which also has JRD {juvenile rhumitide arthritis}, short term memory and takes about 15 meds a day. I think I am a pharmicist some times on campouts but I have the parent give me expliciate directions for his meds. Both boys at times are a handful to say the least. I find myself making sure they understand what is going on. I do this by having my SPL & ASM work with the other boys whil I & ASPL work the two other boys. We go over what is comming up and adavancement. We might only get two or three things like two scout laws or part of the oath covered during the meeting. I have asked my council for definitions from national about special needs definitions but it seems national has none. I know these boys want to be treated as equal as well they should be. My problem is that these boys get dicouraged because they see other boys advancing much fater that they are and can't understand as to why they can't get there like the others are. Let me say this to I wouldn't trade these two boys for any other boys in the world. Yes they might try my nerves but they are why I am here. Thanks

 

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nutz, I would really hate to saddle a Scouter with the total range of possibilities inherent in an ADD/ADHD diagnosis. Individual followup with the parent as to the specifics of their son's issues will be a lot more valuable to the leader. For instance, when I discuss my son's med form (which would be filled out exactly as you describe) I let them know the accommodations that need to be made in a group setting - there aren't many and for confidentiality reasons I'm not going into them here. My son may read this someday! The only time it was really important was when he attended JLTC. Our troop has another scout with issues similar to my son's but slightly different and yet another scout with Asperger's Syndrome along with ADHD and medications.

 

All by way of saying - the parents are your best source of information. You can Google ADD/ADHD to get the background and it might be helpful.

 

Vicki

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Vicki, The camp medic isn't going to meet you, unless your there with the troop. Think of the parents who send there scout off to camp,

with meds. And then the medic gets ALL of the meds, at once,at check in. The meds are not supposed to stay at the troop campsite,& are to be dispensed by the medic,hired by the council.

 

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Vicki, The camp medic isn't going to meet you, unless your there with the troop. Think of the parents who send there scout off to camp,

with meds. And then the medic gets ALL of the meds, at once,at check in. The meds are not supposed to stay at the troop campsite,& are to be dispensed by the medic,hired by the council.

 

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nutz, obviously done differently council to council (probably based on state regs). Our meds are kept at our campsite unless they need refrigeration. For JLTC, I met with the ASM when I dropped my son off and passed along the necessary info at that time. Even so, the answer remains the same - the troop person on campsite should be the most knowledgeable person concerning an individual scout's condition and should get that info from the parents. Even if meds are involved, the person dispensing doesn't know that scout from any other kid his age.

 

Vicki

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  • 2 months later...

I am a ASM with two boys in Scouting, one is ADD and the other is ADHD. Last year at summer Camp an incident occurred that I wanted to share with this forum. One of my Scouts was sent home early from Camp because of statements he made to an ASM in our Troop. After being agitated by some other boys, he stated that he wanted to commit suicide. The ASM who was informed about this, not knowing the Scout's history pushed the panic button, notified the Camp Leadership and so began the process of shipping the Scout home ASAP. I was notified by the Camp Leadership to establish a Suicide Watch over this Scout and await the Parents arrival the following day.

This incident could have been avoided if a pre-requiste of Parents with ADD/ADHD Scouts had been established. Do you agree?

I am looking for information and resources that I can share at my District Roundtable that will help Scout Leaders understand kids diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

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What kind of a prerequisite are you talking about? A complete medical history? An indepth listing of possible behaviours?

 

If a Scout has ANY major problems (physical, pyschological, medical, etc) the parents should talk to the leaders who will be responsible for their child & give them a heads up on any possible accomodations needed or problems that might occur. There should also be an emergency number where a parent will ALWAYS be available.

 

Kids (even perfectly healthy ones) are always saying stupid things. The problem is when do you believe them & when do you ignore it. In your case the ASM must have had some reason to believe what the boy said. The camp must have contacted the parents & the parents must have agreed the need was great enough to have their son placed on suicide watch.

 

There is no one single type of child or set of behaviours that is ADHD. There are many, many variations of ADHD, and to add to it, ADHD seldom is the only problem.

 

Here are some sites that might help you:

 

http://www.chadd.org/

 

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm

 

 

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cstrainer, perhaps I am a tad overcautious in this area, but I think I probably would have pushed the same buttons as the ASM in your post. If the boy is going to make statements like that, then he needs to know the potential consequence (he gets sent home and his parents are REALLY inconvenienced). Another thought, if the one time the scout called "wolf" and you didn't listen and he did commit suicide, would you be able to live with yourself? Not to mention the subsequent legal liability on the part of the BSA for not following established procedure in this area.

 

Vicki

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