02-26-2007, 06:20 PM
Child's tale dispels ADHD myths
Girl feels she `can't do anything right'
Feb 24, 2007 04:30 AM
Helen Henderson
Imagine going to school one day and finding rabbits hopping all around the classrooms and down the hall.
That's what happened to a little girl named Skippy, who had been asked by her teacher the day before to clean out the bunny cages. Just as she was finishing the job, Skippy thought of something else she wanted to do and ran off, forgetting to lock the rabbit cages.
The other kids thought having rabbits all over the place was funny. But the teacher scolded Skippy, who ran off in tears.
The thing is, Skippy was always getting into trouble for not paying attention and darting around. As a new book from author Gayle Grass explains it, she didn't understand why but she always found it hard to concentrate.
At school, "the sounds in the halls, the shouts and laughing of the children in the yard, even the lights in the classroom, bothered her. She tried to avoid them by moving around in her chair but this got her into trouble. Often the best way to ignore the noises was to daydream."
Sometimes, Skippy confesses to her friend Iris, the gentle swamp dragon, "I get so frustrated I get really angry and I think I'm going to explode.
"It mostly happens when I feel I can't do anything right. Then I scream at my mom and break things. I feel really bad afterwards as my mom tries so hard to help me."
So begins Skippy's journey to understanding what has been labelled attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, or ADHD. Through her friend Iris, she meets a young horse who has hurt his knee. Together the two learn to achieve their dreams.
Catch A Falling Star, the first book in the "Iris the Dragon" series, helped children, their families and teachers see how to get over the stigma and cope with mental health issues. Lucky Horseshoes looks specifically at ADHD.
Coming as they do in the midst of what can only be described as a crisis in children's mental health services in this province, they are welcome resources.
More teenagers and young adults die of suicide each year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, pneumonia, influenza, birth defects and stroke combined, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Of the 20 per cent of Canadian children who need help for a mental health problem, 80 per cent receive no treatment, it says.
As the Star's Andrea Gordon reported this month, unless the province provides significant new money in its spring budget, advocates say children's mental health services will have to be chopped, adding to already over-lengthy waiting times and putting more children unnecessarily at risk.
Children's Mental Health Ontario, which represents more than 80 centres, notes that demand for services is increasing, while wait times range from three months to more than a year.
An estimated 1 in 5 children is dealing with a mental illness or behaviour disorder, the group says, adding that suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth.
It has called for a $40 million increase in children's mental health funding in this spring's provincial budget.
Author Gayle Grass started writing her Iris the Dragon series after one of her children was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
"He was 18 at the time and just finishing his first year at university," she writes by way of explanation.
"The illness was new to us and while we sought answers and understanding of the illness, we felt very isolated because we found so little support in the community.
"...People were still very much afraid of the words and connotation that mental illness brings to mind."
That's still very much the case today.
For more information on Catch A Falling Star, illustrated by Coral Nault, and Lucky Horseshoes, illustrated by Linda Crockett, see iristhedragon.com, write Grassmere Farms, 1545 Rideau Ferry Rd., Perth, Ont. K7H 3C7 or phone 613-267-5601.
Girl feels she `can't do anything right'
Feb 24, 2007 04:30 AM
Helen Henderson
Imagine going to school one day and finding rabbits hopping all around the classrooms and down the hall.
That's what happened to a little girl named Skippy, who had been asked by her teacher the day before to clean out the bunny cages. Just as she was finishing the job, Skippy thought of something else she wanted to do and ran off, forgetting to lock the rabbit cages.
The other kids thought having rabbits all over the place was funny. But the teacher scolded Skippy, who ran off in tears.
The thing is, Skippy was always getting into trouble for not paying attention and darting around. As a new book from author Gayle Grass explains it, she didn't understand why but she always found it hard to concentrate.
At school, "the sounds in the halls, the shouts and laughing of the children in the yard, even the lights in the classroom, bothered her. She tried to avoid them by moving around in her chair but this got her into trouble. Often the best way to ignore the noises was to daydream."
Sometimes, Skippy confesses to her friend Iris, the gentle swamp dragon, "I get so frustrated I get really angry and I think I'm going to explode.
"It mostly happens when I feel I can't do anything right. Then I scream at my mom and break things. I feel really bad afterwards as my mom tries so hard to help me."
So begins Skippy's journey to understanding what has been labelled attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, or ADHD. Through her friend Iris, she meets a young horse who has hurt his knee. Together the two learn to achieve their dreams.
Catch A Falling Star, the first book in the "Iris the Dragon" series, helped children, their families and teachers see how to get over the stigma and cope with mental health issues. Lucky Horseshoes looks specifically at ADHD.
Coming as they do in the midst of what can only be described as a crisis in children's mental health services in this province, they are welcome resources.
More teenagers and young adults die of suicide each year than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, pneumonia, influenza, birth defects and stroke combined, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Of the 20 per cent of Canadian children who need help for a mental health problem, 80 per cent receive no treatment, it says.
As the Star's Andrea Gordon reported this month, unless the province provides significant new money in its spring budget, advocates say children's mental health services will have to be chopped, adding to already over-lengthy waiting times and putting more children unnecessarily at risk.
Children's Mental Health Ontario, which represents more than 80 centres, notes that demand for services is increasing, while wait times range from three months to more than a year.
An estimated 1 in 5 children is dealing with a mental illness or behaviour disorder, the group says, adding that suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth.
It has called for a $40 million increase in children's mental health funding in this spring's provincial budget.
Author Gayle Grass started writing her Iris the Dragon series after one of her children was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
"He was 18 at the time and just finishing his first year at university," she writes by way of explanation.
"The illness was new to us and while we sought answers and understanding of the illness, we felt very isolated because we found so little support in the community.
"...People were still very much afraid of the words and connotation that mental illness brings to mind."
That's still very much the case today.
For more information on Catch A Falling Star, illustrated by Coral Nault, and Lucky Horseshoes, illustrated by Linda Crockett, see iristhedragon.com, write Grassmere Farms, 1545 Rideau Ferry Rd., Perth, Ont. K7H 3C7 or phone 613-267-5601.