What is your occupation?

[RETIRED]

OK children, I know that I probably started this digression but lets get this back on track otherwise Derek might start cyber billing everyone.

[outback]

Give up , this thread has irretrievably been lost, .

Lok on the bright side, it took us 10 pages before we lost the plot, surely thats some sought of record.

[Bob Willson]

10 pages? (I said with a little yelp)

What resolution are you using? I'm running at 1280 * 1024 and using a 17" LCD screen and I only get 4 pages. So am I missing out or are you just using a VERY large font?

[burn]

a. I'm a computer programmer ... I develop and maintain a real time operating system which runs disk drives (ie the firmware that runs inside a disk drive, not on the computer)
b. I enjoy my work most of the time
c. I enjoy it when I am implementing new features and surprisingly, fixing bugs, I hate it when the smallness of our company means we have to solve things the long way as we can't afford machines/systems that can automate solutions ( ... then again this could be a positive as it stretches my abilities further each time

[outback]

NO, Small Font

[Dan]

10 pages? (I said with a little yelp)

What resolution are you using? I'm running at 1280 * 1024 and using a 17" LCD screen and I only get 4 pages.

A page usually has 15 posts but you can change it if you want via the user control panel.

[GregLee]

Hi Rocker

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hy[eractive Disorder) is a very real disorder, unfortunately mostly misunderstood by much of the public, and often by many professionals as well. Most of all, the media are responsible for such incredible misinformation that the diagnosis now comes with a cloud of mistrust.

As a sufferer of ADHD and the parent of two children. One with Cerebral Palsy and another with ADHD I have to agree with Derek about the media being responsible for so much misinformation. It doesn't seem to matter what ailment it is. The media will try and generalise or simplify the condition to where it is meaningless to most people.

My six year old who is treated with medication (dexamphetamine) in the mornings is like Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde in reverse.(When medicated he has an attention span and can behave to a degree) without medication or when medication wears off he absolutely can't sit still. He fidgits, jumps, kicks out at things, can't stick to any task for longer than a few minutes. It is just like chalk and cheese between the two kids.

Whilst I'm saying he is different when medicated. It doesn't appear to change his personality. It just seems to give him a chance to slow down and think about what he's doing before he does it. It seems to reduce the compulsive behaviour.

Anyway, back to the subject of the thread. I'm a Consulting IT Architect. This means I consult, design and cost computer systems for large corporates and government.

[Bob Willson]

A page usually has 15 posts but you can change it if you want via the user control panel.

Ah ha. That explained it Dan. I have mine set to 40 posts per page.

[Alastair]

To return to the original digression!!!

Does anyone else who was at school in the 60's remember anyone in their classes who was allowed to carry on like a lunatic; or excused the norms, on account of ADHD? I can't. We had good kids, we had naughty kids (got beaten) we had little horrors (got beaten regularly) and we had "slow" kids, (who probably did not get the help they really deserved)

The point being that anti-social behaviour was not tolerated in school. What is more important, it was not tolerated at home, and god help you if you came home and complained that you had been "unfairly punished " by the teacher, you probably got a second helping.

Seriously, behind the Neanderthalisms, kids were required to stay within limits set by parents (& teachers) and were pulled in line when these limits were exceeded. This did not necessarily stop the behaviour, but its unacceptability was unquestioned. I now see that kids grow up without limits, or respect. Not for parents, and definitely not for schools.

I can see that the ADHD issue probably was there in my day, and was probably a contributor to those slow learners, and from that point of view we have progressed. I feel however, that on the behaviour front, it has become a cop-out by parents who will not take the responsibility for the shaping of an immature personality, and then try and blame others for not fixing their mistakes.

Incidently, I have kids of 11 and 13. I clash with them all the time as to what constitutes " reasonable limits". While this was autocratically done in their earlier years, they now have grown onto great kids, who can have an input into the "reasonable limits", and in general are not far from our interpretation.

Sorry for ranting on disjointedly; rant over

Alastair

[echnidna]

"Does anyone else who was at school in the 60's remember anyone in their classes who was allowed to carry on like a lunatic; or excused the norms, on account of ADHD?"

I can remember that happening all the time at school in the 50's.
It was our music teacher - not any of the kids.

[derekcohen]

Alastair

ADHD kids are often "badly behaved". Meaning that they are more likely than non-ADHD kids to tantrum and be oppositional when they don't get their own way. I won't even begin to list the rebellious and amotivational features here. These are usually what brings them to the attention of professionals in the first place.

It must be emphasised that there is never any excuse for rudeness, aggression, and other antisocial acts. ADHD is not an excuse for any of these things. And if one considers this to be ADHD, then the point is sorely missed. As I said before, ADHD is not a behaviour disorder, although it may present as one. It is a neuropsychological disorder. And this is what must be treated. At the same time, "bad" behaviour is not tolerated or excused because these children are more susceptible. They just have more work to do to deal with this, and the sooner we have parents, teachers and professionals who understand that they require a different path, the better. These kids are hard to work with, but they can be very workable given the appropriate treatment (usually a combination of medication and behaviour training).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Caliban]

Anyone want to swap jobs now?

[journeyman Mick]

Anyone want to swap jobs now?

I did 2 lots of teaching prac a few years ago when doing a B. Vocational of Ed. I worked out that:
a) while I love teaching I didn't make a good baby sitter, I was used to training apprentices who listened to what I told them.
b) being self employed for most of your working life (and being foreman or similar when you do happen to work for someone else) does not prepare you well for working for a large bureaucracy.
I was employed as a teacher's aide at the time, this meant that I actually got paid for some of my prac . I decided to go on holidays and went to the office:

"Oh by the way I'll be gone for 7 weeks from the end of next month"
"that's not the school holidays"
"no but that's when my wife and I want to go away"
"You'll have to fill out a holiday requistion form and I'll pass it to the principal who may or may not allow your leave"
"Ummm, what happens if I don't get permission and go anyway?"
"Don't know, it's never happened"

The adminstrator's husband was a builder though and she was pretty good, she knew I was going to go no matter what, but it certainly made me rethink my career change plans. That and a 16 yo boy assaulting a girl (punches to the head). I had to restrain myself from knocking him down and dragging him off to the office. I want to teach, not do crowd control or babysitting.

Mick

[bitingmidge]

Does anyone else who was at school in the 60's remember anyone in their classes who was allowed to carry on like a lunatic; or excused the norms, on account of ADHD? I can't. We had good kids, we had naughty kids (got beaten) we had little horrors (got beaten regularly) and we had "slow" kids, (who probably did not get the help they really deserved

Ironically perhaps, the slow kids and the bright kids used to cop the brunt of the floggings...slow kids were always behind in their work, bright ones finished early, distracted the slow kids and paid the price.

Only the mediocre alliance made it through unscathed.

A bit like the tax system really!

Cheers,

P

[kiwigeo]

1. Geologist on an offshore oil rig.

2. Enjoy the job? Yes 25% of the time, No 75% of the time.

3. Good points: money (not overly paid but no longer have a mortgage and have been able to afford to build a new workshop), see some interesting places (eg Trinidad during carnival), meet some interesting people, extended periods of time off.

Bad points: long periods away from home, lots of travelling, long hours, lots of time spent dealing with difficult people and their egos, seeing some not so interesting places, not being able to plan too far ahead.

Martin