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Has the ADHD dilemma been resolved at last?

News that a research team has developed the first biological test for ADHD should go some way towards resolving one of the biggest questions in contemporary childhood education ‚ is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder real or the creation of industry?

Kids in Perth - The Parents Paper has received many calls and letters in the past from people supporting or objecting to articles referring to ADHD. It's a topic that arouses considerable passion. Some believe it to be a modern myth but people whose family lives have been devastated by uncontrollable children always beg to differ. They point to the almost miraculous changes in behaviour that prescribed medication can deliver.

The primary evidence against the existence of ADHD has always been the lack of a specific test that differentiates ADHD children from their peers, and the fact that no one has been able to identify a cause of ADHD, which is a pathology recognised only by its symptoms. Some have gone as far as to accuse psychiatrists and drug companies of pathologising childhood itself.
Now the study conducted in Greece by the University of Brunel, UK, has led to the development of the first biological diagnostic test for the condition. According to the study leader, Professor Giorgos Pavlidis, ADHD is a real condition affecting perhaps as many as seven per cent of children, most of whom go undiagnosed.

Although the debate will continue to rage, it seems pretty certain that ADHD does exist and can now be accurately diagnosed. The next step should surely be to stop the squabbling and research ways to treat the condition that don't involve such potent and potentially nasty drugs. Parents have a right and a duty to insist that every possibility be explored before their children are medicated.

Return to balance
Victoria Carlton, International Centre for Excellence

We wish all of you a Happy New Year and hope this year brings peace, harmony and balance to your families. We have a new year; a new beginning. May this be the year we bring some balance into our busy, sometimes chaotic lives. May this also be the year we all learn to create harmony inside ourselves and share this with families and friends.

The International Centre for Excellence's motto for this year is 'Return to Balance'. ICE sees so many children who are 'unbalanced'. These children appear as unhappy with learning, hyperactive, angry, disorganised and lacking the ability to concentrate. The learning style they exhibit is often predominantly visual and they have great difficulties in classrooms that use mainly auditory learning strategies.

As these children have poor auditory memories they are always doing the wrong thing and have great trouble following instructions. No wonder they 'turn-off' to learning and become angry or withdrawn.

ICE has developed a new course called 'Return to Balance' to address the needs of these children. They are given specific multi-sensory strategies to improve auditory memory, capitalise on their excellent visual skills and improve all round learning. Kinesiology and skilled teaching are combined to empower these children to reach their potential.

The children are given intensive individual coaching to break through barriers and start the recovery process. When this is achieved they can stay in individual mode or join a supportive small group. All aspects of learning including basic literacy and numeracy concepts are covered. The course caters for all children needing extra help to reach their potential. High-school children also make very quick progress with this innovative program.

Research by ICE indicates that children with the following conditions gain greatly from the teaching procedures in this course: Dyslexia, ADD, delayed learning, learning difficulties, gifted under-achievers and children who lack confidence and belief in their own abilities.

ICE also offers family coaching to help you achieve balance and harmony in your homes. It is not always easy to sort out discipline problems and set up family structures when you are so close to the problems. Having an independent family coach can help you to identify potential problems and transform difficult situations and bring the whole family back to balance. ICE is holding a parent evening at its Guildford centre (Thursday, 3 March 7-9:30pm) to share some of its successful strategies to help all children reach their potential. Parents who attend will be shown many interesting 'hands-on' methods to help their children reach full potential and reach for the stars.

All tuition programmes are running this year and ICE is now able to offer its innovative Rainbow Learning Program. This is a highly structured and individualised literacy and numeracy programme with built-in rewards for each step as the children "fly through the rainbow!"

Call the ICE office on 9478 3323 or 0409 911 135 for details or visit www.ice-au.com to access information. There are centres in Leederville, Melville and Guildford.

When is extra tuition needed?
Julia Gilmore (M.Ed, B.Ed, Dip.Tch)

From Kindy to Year 12, when a student achieves success in the main subject areas of reading, writing, spelling and maths, the benefits flow on to all other aspects of schooling and to self-esteem.  Support from a specialist teacher and extra tuition at a learning centre or home tutoring can make a huge difference academically, socially and emotionally.

Some students are struggling in Maths and English, while others are just cruising along and could be performing at a much higher level.  A1 Learning has just finished a very successful holiday booster programme and term programmes are now underway. 

Parents bring their children for help or extension in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and maths and also enjoy the support and specialist advice they receive.  Teamwork with the school is one of the many options provided.

Students need a caring, supportive environment where they can take risks with their learning in a one-to-one style or in very small groups.  At A1 Learning they have specialist, individual programmes designed to remediate or extend them academically.

Programmes include:

ï 3 to 5 year olds: a fun introduction to reading, writing and maths for keen pre-schoolers.

ï Primary school reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and maths programmes.

ï High school English and Maths programmes.

ï Study skills for upper primary and high school students: time management, organisation, essay writing, research skills.

A1 Learning is excited on hearing that its students are becoming confident and scoring higher grades at school in English and Maths. Many Middle and Upper Primary Maths students received special excellence awards at their schools at the end of last year. 

High school students at A1 Learning proudly present their much-improved reports and the little ones (pre-schoolers) take off like rockets.  For some extension students, work they receive at the centre is the only literacy or numeracy work they ever do at their own high levels of operation. They are often lateral thinkers who need stimulation academically otherwise they run the risk of being trained to be ëordinaryí.

There are many reasons why parents seek outside help, some of which are:

ï Learning difficulties.

ï The need for a comprehensive assessment.

ï Boosting students who need extension.

ï Poor teaching.

ï Low self esteem.

ï Lacking in student motivation or boredom.

ï Gaps in learning caused by relocating students.

ï Co-operation and behavioural difficulties.

The start of a new school year is the ideal time to motivate students and set the standard for the year to come.  Students from all over the metropolitan and country areas either attend A1 Learning centres or have one of their team of excellent tutors come to the home.  Itís very rewarding for parents and us to see immediate academic improvements and positive changes in attitude.

Each child has unique needs and responds well to individual programming that closely matches current school curricula.  These programmes must be flexible enough to fill any gaps in language and maths skills and to extend the students so they can reach their full potential.

For specialist advice call Julia Gilmore on 9402 5080 or check out the website: a1learning.q-net.net.au