Kayla Tolan

Dr. Lynch - Biniek

College Composition
23 April 2016
From the Other Side of the Desk
I will never forget the first organization test I had to take in fourth grade. The task was
probably one of the simplest my class had ever been asked to complete: have a permission slip in
a certain folder. If we opened up our Social Studies folders, and the permission slip was where it
was supposed to be, then a student would earn a one hundred percent. If not, the student would
get a zero.
I had completely forgotten that this day were to come. As a matter of fact, I was so
scatterbrained that I could never remember the days that assignments were due or the days that
tests were to be taken. When that day came, a quick shock went through me. I do have that
paper, right? I always have good grades. I never get zeros.
My teacher walked around, giving one hundred after one hundred to each student she
passed, and each time, my heart sank more and more, because I had remembered with each
passing second that my papers were all in my math folder. Then, my teacher finally got to the
third seat of the last row: me. Avoiding eye contact, I slinked down into my chair as I opened an
empty Social Studies folder, making myself the first and only student in the class to have gotten
a failing grade for being scatterbrained.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, otherwise known as the CDC, eleven
percent of children aged 4-17 are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit

Hyperactive Disorder, and unbeknownst to me at the time, I was one of those children. I was
officially diagnosed with ADD when I was nine years old.
Over the years, I have noticed quite a number of misconceptions of ADD and ADHD, and
most of them are in the classroom. Even if educators are trained in the realm of attention deficit,
there is still a strong need to enforce Individualized Education Programs and Section 504 Plans.
There are some helpful and not - so - helpful ways to acknowledge a students attention deficits
in the classroom. For some reason, I have experienced total adherence to policies and laws in
regards to ADD, and I have experienced total ignorance as well, along with everything in
between. There are many educators who are not even in the special education field who may be
very educated on the signs and accommodations for my disorder, but that does not mean it is
common to hear from a student on the matter. There are four main aspects of these disorders that
I will discuss, and they are as follows: professionals, parents and students in IEP meetings, the
dispute of the existence of ADD and ADHD, educators misconceptions versus educators
knowledge, and the pros and cons of labeling disorders.
In the book Culture in Special Education: Building Reciprocal Family-Professional
Relationships, author Beth Harry describes the typical (or not so typical) setting of an IEP
meeting, also known as an Individualized Education Program meeting. Harry questions the setup
of these meetings in schools with little to no enforcement of policies and procedures of IEP
meetings. These meetings are used for children who are students deemed as needing special
education. At these meetings parents meet with teachers, counselors and psychologists in a
school setting to create or update goals set for the specific child in question. Harry informs the
audience of a certain hierarchy in the meeting room - the psychologist knowing all about the
students ailment, the guidance counselor of the student, the special education teacher(s) who is

trying to give the child the education that the child needs, the regular education teachers who
may have some role in classroom inclusion (the ideal of special education students occasionally
or permanently integrating into regular education classrooms) and the parents, who typically feel
unprofessional and uneducated on their childs specific needs and disabilities (Harry, 71). Harry
also talks about the actions and language of any one of the parties mentioned affecting the
opinions, actions and participation on behalf of the other parties. Harry explains how sometimes,
with different parents of different cultures, how differently an IEP meeting can go just based off
of communication customs alone.
Though I do not dare question Beth Harrys expertise or experience, (since she is a holder
of a Ph-D and an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the
University of Florida) I do feel the need to share my side of what I have seen in IEP meetings
from childhood to adulthood, and some things she may have left out. An IEP meeting goes just as
smoothly as all the individual members involved make it. I am a student, now in college, who
was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder at the age of nine. To be clear: ADD is considered
to be one of, if not *the* most mild of a disorder that can exist. My disorder is quite simple: I
have trouble concentrating and paying attention.
I am disorganized.
I am scatterbrained.
ADD did not qualify me for Special Education. After clarifying this, I can imagine a
pretty viable question: Okay, so why are we talking about an IEP meeting if it is only for
students with certain disabilities who need individualized attention, who are also deemed special
ed.? What do YOU know about that if you do not really qualify for either of those criteria?

My answer is quite simple: I am actually on the other end of the special education
spectrum. I didnt need help with work, I needed more of it. At age seven my teacher sent in a
request to the school district for me to have an I.Q. test taken, and I scored pretty high at one
hundred and fifty-two. The problem with that is that everyone, myself included, assumed I would
be fine. I wish I didnt know my score, because it never showed for itself. The score never helped
me. From my experience as a student, I have seen from regular ed students and people outside of
the academic realm the common misconception about a high I.Q., gifted children, and advanced
children: that we will be fine. We dont have to do a large amount of work to get the same, if not
better, academic results as anyone else. THIS IS FALSE. An Intelligence Quotation is simply a
number given to you to label your brain to see how well you can learn information.
With all of this said, how do I know anything at all about IEP meetings? I dont. I have
only been in GIEP meetings. They are essentially the same, just with the word gifted thrown in
front of it, but for me there was a Section 504 plan incorporated to accommodate the ADD. I
have been in about four of these meetings in my life, and each one has been extremely different.
In this section of the textbook I am reading, Harry informs the audience that generally, the only
person in the room that understands absolutely everything that is going on during an IEP meeting
is the psychologist. Since ...the psychologist enjoys the highest status...the general education
teacher is at the bottom of the hierarchy for professionals (Harry, 72). Harry highlights the
ideal that parents are uneducated on whatever it may be that their child is experiencing, and are
therefore on the very bottom of the IEP hierarchy. Harry states that the parents ...participation
is defined by the professionals. (Harry, 72), so since they are so lacking in knowledge about the
topics, terms and documents at hand, many things can be easily miscommunicated or entirely
misunderstood. Harry referenced a specific case about which she had read, discussing a parent

who ...was not even aware that a meeting she had attended was an IEP meeting. (Harry, 72).
This greatly worries me for the sake of the child involved, which Harry lacks to even mention. If
the student involved is past the age of fourteen, he or she should have been a part of the IEP
meeting too.
In my personal experience, I have been at one GIEP meeting per year, along with a few
other smaller meetings with specific teachers, particularly in middle school. Harry illustrates the
image that if there were a problem in an IEP meeting, that it usually stems from the parent and
their reaction to poor communication or lack of understanding of something said in the IEP
meeting. I have never had this problem, and I have been at all of my GIEP meetings first-hand. I
am very fortunate to say that I am a part of a pretty rare case, however: my primary parent is
extremely educated in the special education field. My mother was a special ed. teacher for years
and is now even a Director of the entire Special Education Department (and then some) at a
school district in Pennsylvania. So, if anything, she was the most educated one in terms of
knowing what I needed and didnt need in the classroom. My mother knows me as a kid at home
and a student in the classroom. My parents were never a part of any problem that arose in a GIEP
meeting for me - my teachers were.
My GIEP meetings were always set up with my Gifted teacher, with whom I usually
visited for a class once or twice a week, my Guidance Counselor, all of my teachers for advanced
classes, my parents, or at least my mother, and then myself. I had no psychologist present,
however.
The only time that problems arose was when I wanted to use my rights as a student with
ADD in the classroom. Basically, those rights, which are part of a Section 504 Plan, include

extended time on tests, lists of due dates far in advance, sitting in the front of the class, and the
teacher grabbing my attention when it appeared as if I was losing it.
I had some teachers who were extremely kind and understanding - some who loved the
idea of going an extra mile or two for me, if it meant I would actually be able to use my brain.
On the other hand, I had teachers that would argue and cause a scene - how dare we?
How could there be a student in their advanced class with a disorder? The idea seemed like an
oxymoron to some. It saddens me to say that I have had a few teachers in my life who simply
saw everything as black and white: a kid was either smart, or they werent. One of my teachers
had even gone so far to say that they like teaching kids who were considered advanced or
accelerated to get away from learning disabilities and complications. All of my teachers were
raised and educated in different ways, at different places, causing them to have very different
points of view, even though there should be a common ground. There should be a common
enforcement applicable to all schools. My teachers all had their own challenges with helping me
or refusing to help me in the classroom, as well as different ways of trying to communicate that
with my parent.
My family and I had to fight some educators very hard for me to get the education I
deserved, and, as Harry says, Differences in interpersonal communication style serve only to
increase further the barriers to collaboration between parents and professionals. (Harry, 75).
There are some people who even question the very existence of Attention Deficit
(Hyperactive) Disorder.
In her book Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Special Education, Dawn Behan assesses
two works in which one author, Evelyn Kelly, talks about all of the many ways ADHD is
documented, defending its' existence. Kelly also acknowledges the possibility of misdiagnoses in

children. The counterpart to Kelly's claims is harbored by Sami Timimi, who claims that ADHD
does not exist because there is no official 'test' for it to prove its existence.
More than anything, I found it rather amusing to read both sides of the argument on the
existence of ADHD. The main reason why I was so humored by reading Kellys and Timimi's
'arguments' about all different aspects of ADHD, such as diagnosis, medications, and culture was
that in my opinion, a lot of what these women claimed is wrong.
Starting with Evelyn Kelly's article, I want to point out that there is no cut-and-dry way
to diagnose ADHD. All human beings are different and all human beings with disorders may
respond to certain symptoms more than others. That is just how things are. Kelly notes that in the
diagnosis process, "...there are no concrete medical tests to diagnose ADHD, which therefore
makes the diagnosis of ADHD subjective." (Kelly, 278). While I do agree with the previous
statement, I think that medical professionals with that kind of mentality need to be very careful
so they do not diagnose children with ADHD too frequently or, even worse, diagnose someone
with ADHD who has an entirely different disorder.
This lack of a medical test for ADHD is exactly Sami Timimi's argument that ADHD
does not exist. "Lack of acknowledgment of the subjective nature of our psychiatric practice
leaves it wide open to abuse." , so Timimi goes on based solely on that assumption (Timimi,
281). In my experience, every psychiatric professional I have met acknowledges that not
everything in the field is simple and clean. Not everything is clear, so sometimes subjective
judgement is indeed needed.
Another astounding claim I saw from Kelly in regards to diagnoses is her idea that
"ADHD is not thought to be a disorder relating to the brain and nervous system." (Kelly, 277).
Then... how is it a mental disorder? Even Kelly seems as though she is contradicting herself.

Kelly does not discuss medications in her article at all, but Timimi mentions them: "...in the
international consensus statement (Barkley et al., 2002) the authors still believe that less than
half of those with ADHD are receiving treatment." (Timimi, 282). Timimi goes on to describe
how certain treatments may have long-term effects on the children that take them, but fails to
acknowledge how that may happen, how the medications are indeed treating ADHD, and all she
is acknowledging with that quote is that more children with ADHD are still waiting around for
some kind of treatment. Now she is acknowledging its' existence, just refuting how it is coped
with.
Even on both sides of arguing the existence of ADHD, it becomes a lot more than that. It
becomes obvious that those who are familiar with its existence still have trouble defining exactly
what it is and who it affects, and even those who claim not to 'believe in' it realize that there is
something a little off that all of these people with attention and behavioral issues have in
common.
Three psychologists, Mark J. Sciutto, Mark D. Terjesen, and Allison S. Bender-Fran,
published an article (Teachers Knowledge and Misperceptions of Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) of a study done in the state of New York to anonymously test
teachers knowledge of ADHD and to test what they believed to be true.
There are many different aspects to attempting to obtain a diagnosis for ADHD, and there
are quite a few people involved, such as the teachers, the adults, psychologists, counselors and
sometimes even the child. I personally believe that the teacher is the one who makes all the
difference. If a teacher is dramatic over one child not obeying something one time, drastic
assumptions may be made. The same is also true for the opposite. In their research, the three
authors of this article found that "only 22% of children referred to a specialized ADHD clinic

were given a primary diagnosis of ADHD." (Sciutto, 2) This shows that 78% of children believed
to have ADHD are found to have something entirely different and unrelated. This is where the
study comes into play.
One hundred and forty-nine elementary school teachers from New York were given a
voluntary test to show the conductors what misperceptions they had versus the knowledge they
had, along with what they did not know in respect to ADHD.
A 36-item rating scale called the KADDS (Knowledge of Attention Deficit Disorders
Scale) was used for statements on ADD/ADHD and three possible responses corresponded to
each one : True, (T), False, (F), and Don't Know (DK). These responses were designed to help
differentiate what the teachers knew and what the teachers thought they knew.
The five statements that got the most (T) answers but were actually false were as follows:
"Behavioral treatment of ADHD focuses primarily on attention problems rather than noncompliance." (Sciutto, 6)
"ADHD children have more problems in novel rather than familiar situations." (Sciutto,
6)
"Reducing dietary intake of sugar or food additives is effective in reducing symptoms of
ADHD." (Sciutto, 6)
"ADHD occurs in approximately 15% of school-aged children." (Sciutto, 6)
"Symptoms must not be present before the age of 7 to be diagnosed with ADHD."
(Sciutto, 6)
All of these statements are false, and some are even ridiculous. Teachers were found to
commonly assume that dietary habits and parenting were among the two most contributing
factors in the ADHD of a given child, and both statements could not be further from the truth. As

for the truth, the five most frequently (T) answers to statements that were actually true went as
follows:
"Children with ADHD often fidget or squirm in their seats." (Sciutto, 5)
"Children with ADHD are frequently distracted by extraneous stimuli." (Sciutto, 5)
"It is possible for an adult to be diagnosed with ADHD." (Sciutto, 5)
"Current diagnosis of ADHD identifies two clusters of symptoms: inattention and
hyperactivity/ impulsivity." (Sciutto, 5)
"Parent-training programs are not based on the rationale that ADHD is caused by poor
parenting skills." (Sciutto, 5)
This information is very valuable because anyone can make mistakes or misunderstand
information - we are all human. I find it interesting and ironic that these are the things that seem
so 'common-sense-like' to teachers, yet something as silly as diet is not logical. It is very
important to see the differences to help clear the air when it comes to recognizing ADHD and its
symptoms in children.
One of the roots of misconception in terms of disorders like ADD and ADHD could be
that there are so many different disorders in the world, with more and more being created and
given new labels every day, and it can be considerably difficult to try to keep all of them
organized. It is time to analyze what these labels can mean for kids and their parents, and how
they can sometimes be beneficial, but at other times be detrimental in different settings.
During my research, I found an article published called Swimming in Deep Water:
Childhood Bipolar Disorder. This article starts off with an emotional story from Gwyn W.
Senokossoff, a mother of two boys, and one of which had Childhood Bipolar Disorder. Her son,
Matthew, was mistakenly diagnosed with ADHD and later diagnosed with CBD instead. The

woman sharing Senokossoff's story along with informing the audience on treatments for CBD is
Kim Stoddard.
My intent was not to discuss CBD, but since ADHD and false labeling is mentioned in
this article, it is very important to include here. People sometimes seem to be offended when
others label things as certain psychiatric disorders, and through my research it is shown that
psychiatrists are occasionally uncomfortable with diagnosing children. The reason why is
highlighted very well in the introduction to this article: psychiatrists are only human, and
sometimes have to diagnose using their judgment. Sometimes mistakes are made and certain
remedies may not work, because they are given to those whom they are not intended for. For
example, Senokossoff's son Matthew was diagnosed with ADHD after having tantrums and
playing with fire frequently, although neither of these things are proven to be related to ADD and
ADHD. It is a common misconception that students with ADD and ADHD have behavioral
problems. Matthew was given medication to help him focus and "...eventually an antidepressant
to combat his anger; however, the tantrums continued." (Senokossoff, 89). This is because
medications for disorders are created very specifically, and if someone is misdiagnosed and
given those medications, usually there are no improved results. Stoddard points out that "Many
psychiatrists are reluctant to diagnose children.", probably due to the error margin, especially in
terms of ADHD, which is one of the most commonly misconceived disorders in the world
(Stoddard, 93). In this specific case, the audience is shown that "...many children are born with
bipolar disorder and may not be diagnosed until adolescence.", which is unfortunately the case
with quite a few disorders and disabilities since so many symptoms can seem to overlap with
ADHD (Stoddard, 93).

On the other hand, in Scott M. Shannons article Please Don't Label My Child: Break the
Doctor-Diagnosis-Drug Cycle and Discover Safe, Effective Choices for Your Child's Emotional
Health, he discusses his experiences as a parent and a child psychiatrist, including incorrect
labels, multiple labels, and the common labeling of ADHD. Shannon argues that labels of
disorders and other issues can harm the child at hand as opposed to helping them. When a child
is misdiagnosed, they seem to be adhered to that label, and that is all anyone sees. This can be a
problem because the child is being treated for the wrong disorder once an official diagnosis is
made, causing everyone to ignore any other symptoms of other disorders they may exhibit.
Over my period of time researching, I saw a common theme arising - that teachers,
parents and other faculty in schools are misinformed on what ADD and ADHD are, and therefore
are the reason that students with ADD and ADHD are treated as if they have behavioral disorders
or mental illnesses. After reading this article, however, I have realized that perhaps the situation
is reversed. Perhaps since so many psychiatrists and psychologists are misdiagnosing ADD and
ADHD so often, they are sending students back into the school environment with only that label.
The only problem is that those labels are incorrect most of the time, so some students could have
Bipolar Disorder, while others have Schizophrenia, and maybe a select few are a part of the
spectrum of autism - but they could all have the same incorrect label in their file: Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This would create many false assumptions about ADHD in the
minds of educators, even when they think they are gaining experience with this disorder.
Shannon informs the audience that "There is no blood test or brain scan we can use to diagnose a
condition like ADHD.", which is probably why it is subject to judgment for diagnosis, along with
so many other disorders (Shannon, 1). Also, misdiagnoses can lead to a child never being
diagnosed with the proper disorder they have, leading to them never getting treatment. As an

example, Shannon narrates how foolish this can make surrounding adults seem: "...when a child
is labeled ADHD, the adults around him may then miss the fact that his symptoms indicate a
stress reaction to some traumatic experience or signal the stress brought on by an undetected
learning disability." (Shannon, 2). Sometimes, there may not even be a disability, someone could
just be stressed. These are all reasons why this field is difficult to have experts in and to keep
people educated in.
The next time a student seems disorganized and scatterbrained, try to imagine being on
the other side of the desk. Try to think about all of the miscommunications and
misunderstandings between parents, students, and teachers. Think about the Individualized
Education Program that student may be involved in. Think about the different levels of
cooperation, or lack thereof, that the student has to deal with, not only from peers, but from
educators. Think about how that student feels when certain people question if their disorder is
even real, along with the pros and cons of the labels that student may have.
More than anything, try to broaden your horizons and realize what educators know, and
what they think they know.
In return, I will promise to try, too, from the other side of the desk.

Works Cited
Behan, Dawn. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Special Education. McGraw - Hill. 2016. Pages
272 -282 . Print.

Kalyanpur, Maya, and Beth Harry. Culture in Special Education: Building Reciprocal Family Professional Relationships. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. 1999. Pages 71-75. Print.

Kelly, Evelyn B. Encyclopedia of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders. Greenwood Press.

2009. Pages 277-278. Print.

Sciutto, Mark J., Mark D. Terjesen, and Allison S. Bender-Frank. Teachers Knowledge and
Misperceptions of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Psychology in the Schools. 2000.
Pages 1-10. ERIC. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

Senokossoff, Gwyn W. and Kim Stoddard. Swimming in Deep Water: Childhood Bipolar
Disorder. Preventing School Failure. Taylor and Francis Ltd. 2009. Pages 89-93. Print.

Shannon, Scott M. Please Dont Label My Child: Break the Doctor-Diagnosis-Drug Cycle and
Discover Safe, Effective Choices for Your Childs Emotional Health. Rodale Press. 2007. Pages
1-2. Print.

Works Cited Continued

Timimi, Sami, et al. A Critique of the International Consensus Statement on ADHD. Clinical
Child and Family Psychology Review. 2004. Pages 281-282. Print.