[blindkid] ADHD testing

[Sarah Thomas]

I don't know anyone in DC but I would tell your friend to be very careful finding a tester.  My son (blind) had some testing done many years ago and the tester reported that he was "impulsive," etc. because he touched things.  The tester had no idea what blindness is about, never asked him not to touch things but may a diagnosis based on her view of how kids should act.  The school wanted to label him as ADHD and recommended that we medicate him.  The problem was that the normal classroom is a disaster for a curious blind kid.  Even sighted kids are bored but they at least have the visual stimulation of all the posters and displays present in the modern classroom.  Now that the classroom activities are more intellectually challenging rather than visually oriented, things are better at school.  My son's teachers always comment about how engaged he is in discussions and how much he contributes to the class.  

If the parent doesn't think that the blind child acts in a distracted way anywhere but the classroom, I'd question whether the diagnosis of ADHD is appropriate.  

Sally Thomas
On May 23, 2013, at 3:38 AM, Aliza Sperling <alizasperling at yahoo.com> wrote:

> A friend asked me about psychoeducational testing for a patient of hers who is blind and might have ADHD. Does anyone know of someone in the greater Washington DC area who would be able to do this?
> Thanks,
> Aliza 
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindkid:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/seacknit%40gmail.com