Why French kids don't get ADHD

[Anonymous]

I hate these kinds of articles. Its of the variety my mother says -- when you kids were growing, there weren't all these disorders because of x, y,and z.

How does this help me now? Whether or nor the French have lower ADHD or autism rates than us, the fact of the matter us, we are in the U.S., my child is struggling and he needs real help, not a lecture about how he'd be a better kid if he lived in France.

[Anonymous]

I think one of the author's point was that CBT is more valid than medication for ADHD.

[Anonymous]

I had read something along these lines a while back and I don't think that this shines such a favorable light on France, as a French parent pointed out here. I've never studied in France but did study the language from junior high all the way through university and learned a lot along the way about the French educational system. It is great on many levels and highly meritocratic -- but it does not have room for learning differences. Noyer ou nager -- Drown or swim.

While people here love to rant about the so-called evils of Big Pharma and overmedicating, these medications can make a huge difference for kids. In our DS's case, effective medication has helped eliminate the guesswork over whether his school difficulties are "only" ADHD-related or whether there are also underlying learning disabilities.

Our system (educational and certainly medical) is not perfect but I would hate to be raising my DS in a country where medication is not readily available, the school system does not effectively reach kids with LDs or ADHD, and simplistically blames the parents. We have plenty of consistency and expectations at home, but people who don't have a child with ADHD or other issues don't appreciate how difficult this can be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are among the worst behaved from what a tour guide told me. German kids as well.

Good grief. That sounds like sound information you received....from what a tour guide told you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
I am French. My son has mild ADHD, as yet unmedicated, and has an IEP at a MoCo public school.
He is treated so much better here than in France. We have raised both our children, only one of whom had ADHD, in the same disciplined so-called "French" parenting culture that the article claims partially explains the dearth of ADHD diagnoses in France (and produce better-behaved children).

French pedopsychiatry and educational philosophies lag light years behind the US and Scandinavian countries. The French public education system expects children to mold themselves to traditional narrow-minded teaching methods (lots of desk time, listen to the teacher's lecture, no differenciation, etc). While academic standards are much higher than in public schools here, they produce excellent results on the "normal" children only, of whom I was one. The State could not care less about the minority of other children (gifted, twice exceptional, learning-disabled) who thrive in a different learning setting. There is no integration of these children in this kind of set-up, and indeed there is rampant discrimination and bullying of these children in the public classrooms. When my son had to be educated in France, I put him in private school.

This is not to say that one should medicate first, think later. I see that the US is going completely overboard with lax parenting and over-medication of childhood ills. Part of the problem is that early diagnosis tools label many young, immature children who end up "being cured" or "growing out of" their syndrome. Rubbish. Once ADHD, always ADHD (or Aspergers', or ASD). These are obviously mislabeled kids that skew the statistics.

However that may be, clearly this article is not giving you the full, dreary, picture. I particularly take exception to the causal relationship the author attempts to establish between a more structured environment and the emergence of true ADHD.

Thank you so much for sharing!

Often, the grass is always seems greener on the other side -- or pond

+1 from a mom of 2 ADHD kids who is raising them with lots of Midwestern structure and manners. Our kids will even tell you that they are happier and do better on Daytrana than before the medicine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, French women do get fat.

They sure do...1 fat French woman for every 100 American woman.
"How much cheese can you have on your burger?!" Chris Rock

[Anonymous]

yah I don't think it will work here

[Anonymous]

Could we stop pretending there is some mythical social/cultural/ethnic cure or preventative for special needs? It does nothing to help any individual family's or child's situation. And it just increases guilt for all of us.

How is this thread productive? How is it helpful? How is it informative?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the diagnosis discrepancy might be explained by how many more neurotoxic chemicals, shit in food, etc are legal here than in France.

you cannot be serious! you are an ignorant fool

[Anonymous]

Guys, a troll revived the three. Don't feed the troll and let the thread die on the vine.