As overtired as I am, I could hardly put this book down. It's intended to be a children's book but I think it should be required reading for adults who have anything to do with kids, for they will certainly encounter several Joeys in their lives.
The book is written in a humorous, juvenile style, yet I got choked up a few times while reading it and once almost cried. It's just so real. Though I enjoyed the style, I actually didn't find it funny at all.
Joey is a regular, bright kid with serious ADHD. His father also had it and it was never addressed, which led to a sad family situation. The book takes you into Joey's mind for a most dizzying rollercoaster ride, all the way to a proud finish. (can't say more because I didn't finish it yet myself, but took a peek at the last page...)
Give it a look, and it will give you a look into a whole new world.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
A worthy read
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10 comments:
BrooklynPublicLibrary, here I come... Is it like The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time? That's a story told from the Autistic pov.
I'm trying to remember that book... I don't think it's similar at all.
Finished the book. The ending was pretty satisfying, though I'd have liked to see more about the treatment process -- the only part that they really went into was finding the right meds. I'm planning to look for the sequel next time I'm in the library: Joey Pigza Loses Control
That's funny! A friend kept telling me to read those books and I started reading one, but I guess I didn't give it a chance cuz I didn't really like it, but the way you describe it, I really should have liked it...
Whatever. Maybe I'll try it again
:-)
(Hello?! No kidding you were so tired today! 3:18 AM!!)
Of course you didn't like it... it's no fun to be living inside a run-on head...
Or then again, maybe you're just too intellectual to chill with a good kiddie book... smarty pants. :-P
All I can say is ADHD is very overdiagnosed. Two factors that play into this are 1. Parents that don't set limits or inconsistent rules and 2. Poor nutrition.
Parents play a role in this.
Growing up I had prents that set incosistant rules and took their anger out on me and of course this made it difficult for me to be calm and conentrate. However, I don't have this problem now. Here is an article from Michael Savage's website from the NY post of the side effects of these medications including stunted growth.
From the NY Post.
treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in kids have no long-term benefits - and actually stunt their growth, a study shows.
A SUNY Buffalo study that tracked 600 kids since the early 1990s concluded that drugs like Ritalin and Concerta worked for a while, but not after three years.
Report co-author Dr. William Pelham said he believes earlier findings on the drugs' effectiveness were overstated.
Thankfully when I had an issue with my family the docotr I had only wanted to put me on medication for a short period of time which was only 2 months.
"I think that we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study," he told the BBC yesterday.
"We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case."
Instead, he said, the kids "had a substantial decrease in their rate of growth so they weren't growing as much as other kids, both in terms of their height and in terms of their weight.
"In the short run, [medication] will help the child behave better, in the long run it won't. And that information should be made very clear to parents," he said.
It's sad that every problem today has to have A DIAGNOSIS.
Yes, ADHD is difficult to diagnose because there are so many look-alikes. That's why there are so many criteria that need to be ruled out before a diagnosis is made.
I used to be totally against medicating kids, believing that alternative methods and therapies should be used. However, I have since worked with kids who have the REAL ADHD, both on and off medication. Now I get it!
Meds should not be used as an easy answer to subdue any hyperactive kid. But when the kid is so totally off the wall that he cannot pay attention to the therapist long enough to get a word in edgewise, how are you going to work with him? The purpose of the medication is to get a person to the point at which s/he will be able to learn how to control him/herself (the pill is not a cure!) Then, after some time in behavior modification and social skills therapy, they can hopefully be weaned off of the medication and still be able to control themselves.
I can tell within seconds when one of my students didn't take his meds that day. It's like there's no one to talk to: rewards, punishments, reasoning, love... don't reach him at all. When they're on their meds, we can work with their behavior so that they can eventually become just like ordinary kids.
Again, not everyone is a candidate for medication, and not every wild kid has ADHD. But when a kid needs medication, to deprive him of it because you think he'll just grow out of it, or you can "cure" him with vitamin supplements or something... well, that's practically neglect. Poor kid is headed for disaster.
Bas--
Well, excuse me, missie! I happen to enjoy the young adult fiction genre more than any other!!!
We can discuss this in further heated detail...
:-P
IT IS VERY SAD COMMENTARY FOR OUR COMMUNITY THAT DRUGGING BOYS DOESN'T BOTHER ANYBODY. These are synthetic drugs Basmelech and it is likely duling there senses. If a kid has a chaotic home of course he is going to have dificulting concentrating unless you sedate him which is likely what THESE SYNTHETIC DRUGS ARE DOING.
How did people survive before THESE DRUGS.
And as I said Basmelech some studies are showing very serious side effects from these drugs.
Many doctors are concerned about it ok. Stunted growth is a horrible side effect. If it was you would you want to be put on drugs so fast. I can tell you myself Basmelech I wasn't have the concentration as a kid because of my environment but I can concentrate without any drugs and I am have happy I HAD A DOCTOR THAT DIDN'T WANT TO DRUG ME FOREVER AND ONLY DID IT FOR A FEW MONTHS. But drugs are in place of good mothers and good fathers and drugs helps you look like a good teacher. I understand.
OK, so you don't have ADHD. Good for you. That doesn't give you the expertise to make blanket medical decisions for anyone.
Imagine that one of the people reading this has a child on meds for ADHD. He made that decision after a lot of careful consideration, with the advice of top experts in the field, and out of utmost concern for his child. I imagine these comments can make this person feel terrible, insecure, doubtful... and open up all the worrying that is constantly hovering just beneath the surface of his consciousness.
So I just took out the sequel. So far it's not as good, just a continuation of the story that's quite average for this genre. (CP-my favorite, too! But that's not where you pick up the kind of vocabulary to make the GRE "fun")
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