Educating an ADHD child in Ontario schools

Hi,

My name is Peter and I am from Canada. I live in the city of Brantford just one hour from Toronto. 

Your questions are good and you must be a very good mother..thats the way it should be.  My son is 11 and /we went through some very tough times with him and the school system. we were in the Catholic sstem which I thought was the best as I myself was educated in this system.   I did to move him 3 yers ago to the "public" system. While this may sound inferior its not. The public system I believe has more resources.  Both school systems have allownaces for "special needs" children.  ADD ADHD has been a very "popular" label for some years now.  Teacers love to give kids thatlabel or get them diagnosed with it so the child can be medicated and will siticely and co-operate in the class  with minimal disruption.  The teachers really wanted my son to get medicated.  We didn't do this (after some research and testing) and finally my son has basically out grown it.  So we don't know if he ever had it or was just a "spirited" child.  You of course will have to make those decsions and already have.  We eventually moved my son from the Catholic system as he came home one day and asked to be moved..a very sad day when a child wants to move away.  The teachers were picking on him and had him labelled for some years.  Moving to a new school worked out very well and he has progressed steadily and positively.  However we had a private tutor for 3 years , perhpas 2 -3 hours a week. This was crucial, but gave him confidence and the one on one he needed. 

What I suggest for you in short is this: Tne level of help will depend on the school itself and school system.  Their are othe children with higher needs than your and they will come first for resources.   I would suggest to you that you get a tutor and work with the teacher (hopefully you get a good teacher(s)).  Focus on your childs mental spirits as well. Often when they fall behind they feel inadequate.  One thing we did was have my son take karate since he was 5 until about 9. Accomplishments from the karte grading helped him. Karate gave another opprotunity to focus in a diffrerent enviroment.  These things worked for my child, but each child is different.

In short I wouldn't rely on the "state" education system but would formulate your own educational program incorporating the schools curriculum, teacher along with some private tutor.

My son is not an "A" student but he is now getting mostly "B's" ABD SOME "C'S". However he does this on his own and we no longer use a tutor.

I wish you the best and happy to answer any questions you may have.  I do realize every child is different, and only shared what worked for us.  It was a long haul though!

Good luck!

Peter from Canada

Hello Peter,

From a former Hamiltonian (also lived in Vancouver BC for 28 years) who knows the Brantford area quite well I must agree with your assessment of the Ontario Public School System. Actually my two oldest attended North Park Collegiate in Brantford when they were children and I still have relatives who reside in Brantford.

As a teacher myself I can confirm that the level of education throughout Canada is known worldwide for excellence. The Ontario Public School System and the various municipal Boards of Education devote a great deal of resources to "special needs" children, so jax2013 should be more than satisfied with the education and care provided for her daughter in whatever school she is eventually enrolled in.

I also firmly agree with you observation that teachers are quick to label children as being ADD/ADHD out of convenience. I went through the same situation with my youngest son in Vancouver (Richmond actually) and was in an ongoing battle with both his mother who pushed for the diagnosis for personal reasons (resulting from our divorce) and teachers who wanted him medicated as opposed to try to help him cope with the break-up of the family and loss of contact with a father who had always been the primary caregiver.

Unfortunately for him, my ex-wife's father is the Senior Partner of one of the largest and most influential law firms in Western Canada and I was singlehandedly fighting an invincible foe from day one. Even when I finally found a teacher who was willing to back my position and work together with me and the child's physician since birth to help address his real problems, my ex and her battery of high powered lawyers managed to have the teacher fired and my son removed from his family physician's care. He is now twenty-seven years of age and completely screwed up as a result. Interestingly, once they managed to strip me of my parental rights she put him out on the street at the ripe old age of 14 which was essentially the straw that broke the camel's back.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your reply and the information that you provided about the school systems in Brantford.

It is interesting what you mentioned regarding the push to have students labeled with the expectation that to have them medicated will result in a compliant child. My daughter has been on Ritalin and now Concerta. There is no way around it. We tried behavioral management and other strategies, but sadly we admitted that we needed to try meds. However, she still has difficulty being attentive and motivated mainly because she is extremely oppositional. This has been experienced by her teachers, even when the classroom size is 7 students. So there is a false presumption by educators to believe that meds solve all of a child's problems in an educational setting. I strongly believe that ADD/ADHD is largely a diagnosis for schools. Insofar that a student needs to sit in a traditional classroom and 'learn' the curriculum.

I will most likely reside in the GTA. So I wonder if the same can be said of the Catholic and public school systems in Toronto, as you have experienced in Brantford. I have heard from both a principal friend and a professor in a Teacher's college program that services in Ontario are hit and miss.

I will continue searching online to get the information I need to make a decision about which school district has more educational assistants, and such resources to work with me to help my child be successful at school.

thanks for your good luck wishes,
Jacqueline