ODD & Scouting

[DeanRx]

I think a couple of you might be overstating the facts a little, but yes, the diagnosis is on the rise in the past generation.

 

ADD/ADHD, OCD, ODD, whatever label you'd like to use, is likely over diagnosed in a lot of cases.

 

You get a lad who can't sit still in class, has his recess and PE time truncated by an overburdened and underfunded school system and we sonder why these cases are on the rise?

 

The other facet is BOTH the parents and the school system (and society at large to a degree) are quick to absolve a youth from RESPONSIBILITY once a diagnosis is made, "Oh, thats just how Johnny is, he has ADHD you know...."

 

Well no, I don't know and I'm pretty well trained in this field. I'm not a pediatrician, nor a head shrinker, but I just don't get why once you label the condition, it "frees" the patient from the responsibility of the symptoms. Yet, that is all too often what happens. The diagnosis becomes a crutch, an excuse, a reason to misbehave and a reason to fail in school, in social settings, and in life.

 

I'm not suggesting that the lad in the OP's thread is not a true ODD case. But it sure sounds like mom and dad are at best using BSA as a respite and babysitter for their wayward son and at worse are not only taking respite, but using his diagnosis and condition as an excuse for not addressing his unacceptable behaviors. Happens all too often.

[Tampa Turtle]

Well these things are as much a training thing for the parents as the children.

 

I really don't care much beyond the labels anymore for my boys I just want strategies to try.

 

As for the excuse argument the lad needs to "own" his disability. I tell my boy that even though he has a disability, Tourettes, he needs to try to mitigate what he cannot control. Accidentally say something insulting or hurtful then you need to apologize. If your sensory issues are bothering you (like my son hates the sound of my wife smacking her lips at dinner--which is almost inaudible)then you need to remove yourself, get earplugs, or get used to it.

[WasE61]

"... but I just don't get why once you label the condition, it "frees" the patient from the responsibility of the symptoms."

 

Not in my house it doesn't! I've always maintained with my two boys (one ADHD, one ADD) that the condition was never an excuse for poor performance or misbehavior at any level or in any setting.

 

While the medication provides relief from the negative effects, it is still their responsibility to achieve and succeed.

 

I truly despise those parents that give the kid a pass because "he's off his meds" (at the end of the day)...if it's that's the case, switch meds or get a secondary for the second half of the day.

 

[Tampa Turtle]

I have had to learn about the ADD/ADHD stuff but because of my boy's (co-morbid as they say in the trade)other stuff we can't medicate them. I do not know how folks manage the stimulant curve--it is by no means a constant.

 

But yeah we tell our boys they HAVE to adapt the best they can. Use the advantages it may bring, work around the problems, and work longer or find new strategies. Sometimes there is no great solution but it IS a disability and sometimes the answer is "no you can't".

 

That said I am constantly amazed at what any of the Special needs scouts can do when working with another caring adult--often it is much more than the what the parents can do--and at those times I am glad I and my boys are in scouting.