Newsletter #37 for Internationally Adopting Parents
October 29, 2006
PAL Center Inc.
In this issue


Russian Speaking
Professionals of
Bilingual Extension at BGCenter

Reader's Response
to the article
What to do when kids go off their meds: brain-based learning strategies for ADD/ADHD

Deaths in the children population are always tragic. When they are related to medication given to them by their parent it probably results in a life time of guilt for parents trying to help their children be more successful. It is important that they get the most accurate of information before making a commitment to medication.

I find the article above by Kelly Nault both misleading and irresponsible. “…possible links” and “pretty dangerous” are word choices I find irresponsible and a disservice to parents trying to make a difficult decision. The article takes a complicated issue and oversimplifies it.

If my math is right, there is a one in 8,000,000 chance of a fatal accident with Ritalin per year. What are the odds for other medications having dangerous results, skateboard accidents, or other domestic events? I have heard from sources that Ritalin is one of the most researched and safest medications for children. Instead of alarming parents you should provide them the big picture and help them make a decision with the facts.

I agree however, that parents need to do their end to manage and organize their environment. They need to improve their parenting skills. That information was helpful.

Respectfully,
Mike Lisi CAGS
School Psychologist

From the Editor

Dear Mr. Lisi, thank you for your response and thoughts about the article. We appreciate your opinion, and want to remind our readers that the International Adoption Articles Directory is a free forum for every viewpoint on adoption-related issues: we do not censer or select specific opinions though we try to weed out hundreds of articles sent to us that do not have any other purpose but their author's advertisement or are unrelated to adopted children, parents and parenting.
Getting back to medication for ADHD, at BGCenter we generally believe that a proper combination of medical and non-medical management (counseling, therapy, social skills training) may be an optimum solution for this catchall, widely spread condition.

You receive this newsletter as a former client or correspondent of the Center for Cognitive-Developmental Assessment & Remediation, or a former student of the BGCenter Online School, or a user of the International Adoption Articles Directory.

Copyright@2006


Latest Articles
from the
International Adoption Articles Directory

Dr. Noel Swanson
What is ADHD and How Do You Manage it?
There are some children who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). What are the symptoms and how is ADHD Managed?

Nivea David
Communication Tips Helping Parenting
Through parenting we can prepare our children to survive and thrive in their environment. The environment that today's society provides children is full of challenges and big issues like drugs, violence, and sex. That is why it is so important for children and parents to communicate openly.
Speech Pathologist's Corner

Talk To Me: A Child's Plea For Sensitive Communication

Failure to communicate is the responsibility of both a speaker and a listener.
Listen, really listen, to a person with attention difficulties and language processing problem.
Your child may not have any attention deficit language processing difficulties, but none the less these techniques are very useful for your child.

  • Please be patient with me. I'm interested in what you have to say.
  • Please help me pay attention to what you say. It's hard for me to keep my attention.
  • Please make sure I'm listening. I don't always know when I'm not.
  • Don't get angry with me. It's already hard for me to attend and understand.
    The extra pressure will only distract me.
  • Sometimes long complex sentences confuse me. Please keep them short.
  • Simpler vocabulary usually helps me understand.
  • It's OK to repeat what you said. I won't be insulted. It helps me understand.
  • Don't get irritated when I ask you to repeat. It only means I want to understand you.
  • Can you rephrase what you said before? Saying it in a different way may help me understand.
  • Please explain that abstract word. I didn't understand it.
  • The slower you speak the more I am able to listen and understand you.
  • If I appear distracted, please help me refocus. I didn't fade away on purpose.
  • Please allow me time to think about your information. I really need the extra time.
  • I didn't mean to be short with you. I couldn't help it. Next time I'll try to take my time
    and think before I act.
  • I am a good person. Please give me the same courtesy you would anyone else.
    • Compiled by Natalia Likhtik
    Licensed Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
    www.bgcenter.com/BE/NLikhtik.htm
    www.bgcenter.com/BGCenterServices/SpeechandLanguage.htm
Questions and Answers
Q. We adopted our son a year ago, and he is now 12 and in the 5th grade. He is in a special education class (inclusion), has ESL 30 minutes a day, and speech 3 times a week. He is keeping up with his classmates and he enjoys school and all his teachers. We have a tutor, who comes twice a week to help him with his homework. In addition a speech pathologist comes to the house 2 times a week to work with our son on differentiating sounds and correct pronunciation. I have older children that spend time with him - listening to him read and helping with homework. My question is: Why is our son still not speaking in correct sentences? He is well aware of singular and plural, and past present and future tenses. It seems to me that he chooses not to speak correctly. If he thinks before he speaks, his sentences are better. He is doing a lot of writing in school which I hope will help him, but so far, he writes the way he talks. What can I do to help him with the English language that does not make him feel self-conscious if I correct him too often?
A. It appears that functionally your son is fine: he understands and is able to express himself at home and in school. It's a more advanced level of language, called cognitive/academic language (with proper grammar, word usage, age-appropriate vocabulary) that is lagging behind. It will take more time to build up this aspect of language. On the other hand, your son had delays in the same aspect of his first language, and we may suspect some deeply trenched difficulties that impede his ability to master the same aspect of the English language. In such situation a special and intense remediation of this aspect of the language is needed:
  • Ask your speech pathologist to observe the child carefully and make a detailed list of his typical errors.
  • Use pathologist's findings in your letter to the school, requesting a meeting for changing your son's educational classification to Language Impaired (removing his status as ELL student).
  • Start language remediation using the Wilson Reading System or a comparable methodology to work specifically on the cognitive/academic aspect of his language.
    • Boris Gindis Ph.D.

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