The statement “Step on the ADHD brake” raises an incredibly important topic. More and more children are being diagnosed with, not only ADHD, but also autism, school refusal, anxiety, self-harm and eating disorders. In line with that, the demand for special arrangements for these children, who do not function in the general learning environment, is increasing. Based on observations, I want us to be able to expand the understanding of normality, strengthen parental intuition and limit the school’s responsibilities and tasks. The schools are overwhelmed by requests, individual measures and demands for arrangements. It is very challenging for schools with classes where up to half of the children have some form of adaptation. The schools are not staffed for this, and it is not always possible to bring in staff with relevant specialist expertise. For schools with several hundred pupils, it would also not be right if all the extra resources go to one or a few children. I have seen teachers handle medication handed to them in a loose bag, go with urine samples and face potentially dangerous complications with children who have a serious illness, with little or no support. They stand in it. They are there. They stretch incredibly far. I meet many good, wise and present parents. These parents are placed in a society that constantly questions what they do. The patronage of experts and public authorities has for many years been quite dominant. Security in the parental role is weakened. The “This-did-you-not-know-that-you-have-done-wrong-all-your-life” campaign, which is run in newspapers and on social media every single day, may have also contributed to creating doubts about one’s own abilities and knowledge , which creates an unnecessary amount of fear in the parent group. I see a tendency for parents to be so afraid of doing harm that they don’t dare talk to their own children about things that are difficult. The good days are good, but the hard days become unmanageable. “The specter of expert rule” is breathing down their necks, and they have begun to doubt their assessments of their own children and the intuition they have for teaching children everyday coping skills. Many people doubt their own ability to give their children the tools they need when the days are not so good. The understanding of normality is greatly narrowed. Natural phases in a child’s life and development are problematized and morbid. The illness does not only come from the environment, but also from the child himself, who has made his own tik-tok diagnosis. Children today are not homesick, they have separation anxiety. They don’t have a favorite jacket. They have a tactile hypersensitivity that limits the range of jackets. They no longer dread tests. They have panic attacks. They are no longer shy. They are on the autism spectrum. The complicated tik-tok diagnoses are of little clinical relevance. Beyond this, the diversity of normality no longer has a natural place in society. Narrow understanding of normality becomes a source of segregation. We have a societal problem. It is not the fault of the teachers, the parents or the children. It is our society that creates these problems. It’s social media. It is the stark division into different subgroups and subcultures. It is the illusion that all days should be good days, instead of the recognition of the realities of life and its ups and downs. Today, children’s success, happiness and identity are analyzed to a far too great a degree. They are divided into an unnecessarily large number of subgroups and diagnoses that require individual measures and considerations. We have created a situation where people have been given so many rights, but the community has no opportunity to honor this or make corresponding demands. Sometimes one can be in doubt as to who the diagnosis benefits the most. Is it the child? I wish that we, as professionals, could strengthen parents to a greater extent in helping their own children. That we could help teachers to just be teachers. I wish all children could be accommodated as the individual they are, and that you don’t need a diagnosis to explain or excuse. That all children can be loved, accepted and feel belonging where they are, as who they are, and that there is room for them. By increasing the community focus, expanding the concept of normality and strengthening the general knowledge of universal measures in the learning environment for everyone (including those with needs), we would come a long way. There will always be someone who it is right to refer to BUP or who should receive special education, but when the increase is as striking as now, we have to stop and ask why. There is a lot we can do without labeling or restricting the child. It would probably increase the well-being of the child and be far cheaper for all of us. FOLLOW THE DEBATE:
ttn-69
The ADHD brake and the other brakes – Speech
