Is your ADHD teenager trafficking drugs?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0108/1224287042366.html

YOUNG PEOPLE with attention deficit disorder problems are at a significantly higher risk of misusing drugs and alcohol.

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Conference organiser Rose Kavanagh said there is still widespread ignorance over the links between the disorder and substance abuse, even among health professionals. “All the research points to this link, but there needs to be much greater awareness about the problem,” she said.

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US research indicates that at least one-fifth of 17-18-year-olds with the disorder had some form of substance abuse problem.

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Until recently it was thought sufferers outgrew the condition. But recent studies show that around 60 per cent of those diagnosed with the disorder in childhood will continue with a modified form of the condition into adulthood.

Well ... gollee! For years, I have been amazed that our health professionals could believe that a kid, after some years on Ritalan, or the alternatives, could 'grow out' of the need for legalised speed when they become adults. This has to be a contributing factor the self-destructiveness of so many of our teenagers. Road rage - and any other rages - should be evaluated to see what proportion of this behaviour could be attributed to the use of these drugs prescribed to manage ADHD in our children.

Let me tell you a story. Back in the 1990's, a fourteen year old in my care came home from school with a foil of Ritalin tablets. He had bought them from a classmate who had been prescribed them for ADHD. That kid was already a 'drug dealer' selling his tablets to his mates. Logic suggests that he didn't need the Ritalin if he was able to sell it rather than taking it. That beg's the question, how many teenagers are fakinhg ADHT to be a hero 'selling drugs' to their friends.

Sykes: Local gap year students ‘dudded’ by Labor

Source: (State MP for Benalla) Bill Sykes Media Release

Over 100 students in the Benalla electorate, currently in their university gap year, will be forced to reconsider whether they can afford to take up their deferred tertiary place in 2010 because of the Labor Government’s ill-conceived changes to Youth Allowance, Nationals Member for Benalla Bill Sykes said today.

“The Labor Government simply does not understand the ramifications of their proposed changes to the independent Youth Allowance,” Dr Sykes said. “By making the changes retrospective, students who in good faith at the end of their 2008 VCE year made the decision to defer an offered tertiary place in order to qualify for Youth Allowance have now been caught short.

Dr Sykes said almost all those country students who deferred their studies for a year did so to become eligible for Youth Allowance.

“This is the most important issue to hit rural Victoria for years and the On Track figures released reveal the full impact of the Youth Allowance changes,” Dr Sykes said.

The On Track report, prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research, showed that the rate of deferral in country areas was twice that of Melbourne students. The report also showed a lower uptake of tertiary study by rural students.

“It shows, for example, that 84 per cent of the 64 students from Benalla College were offered a university or TAFE place and that 37 per cent deferred. That’s 24 young people from just one school who have been hit by the change. By comparison, in a Melbourne school of comparative size VCE numbers 93 per cent of the 62 students were offered a university or TAFE place and only 6 per cent deferred.

“In spite of a high percentage of offers 18 per cent of students were actually university enrolled.

“Of the 49 students from FCJ College 94 per cent were offered a university or TAFE place and 50 per cent deferred. That’s another 24 students from Benalla who have been hit by the change. While FCJ College however had no students looking for work 23 per cent of students were enrolled at university.”

While the statewide deferral rate was more than 12 per cent, many regional schools had rates in the high 20s and even into the 30 per cent range with one school at 50 per cent.”

Dr Sykes said that if the Federal Government does not scrap its Youth Allowance changes next year’s On Track figures will show an alarming decrease in the uptake of tertiary places by country students because without Youth Allowance higher education is not possible.

The Federal Government argued in Parliament this week that changes to Youth Allowance involve more than a single issue and were designed to weed out those twisting the rules to get the money.

“In arguing that case,” Dr Sykes said, “they again missed the point, and that is that Electorate Offices, state wide, are not being contacted by people who know they should not get Youth Allowance but by people who are halfway through their gap year and are now not eligible.”

Earlier this month Dr Sykes direct mailed a petition against the changes to Youth Allowance to over 800 young people in the Benalla Electorate with many more distributed to homes and schools. He has since made three presentations of signed petitions in Parliament.

“I will present more petitions when Parliament resumes next week and call on people to return all signed petitions to my office as soon as possible,” he said. “At both State and Federal levels, the fight against these changes has been led by Nationals MPs and we will maintain the pressure to have these controversial changes scrapped.”

Continuing underfunding of Catholic schools exposed

Source: Sykes Media Release

The Brumby Government’s underfunding of Catholic schools was further exposed in Parliament this week in a debate initiated by Nationals MP for Eastern Victoria, Peter Hall.

Local Nationals MP, Bill Sykes in strongly endorsing Mr Hall’s comments said, “Figures provided to me by the Minister for Education 12 months ago confirmed that students attending Catholic schools in Victoria receive State Government support which is well below the national average.

This week in Parliament, Mr Hall, quoting from The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2006, highlighted that Catholic students receive $1,283 per year compared with the Australian average of $1,666.

Dr Sykes continued, “The impact on local Catholic schools of this continued underfunding is significant. It means that Catholic schools have to self fund important services such as support for students with special needs (State schools are funded $15,000 per student with special needs whereas the corresponding amount for Catholic schools is $5,000).

“Claims by the Government that they have increased funding for Catholic schools by 60% are not disputed – the problem is that costs have risen by 69% over the same period leaving the schools 9% worse off in real terms.

“The Brumby Government’s response to this situation is to say, “It’s the parents choice – they can pay higher fees”.

“This ignorant and callous response ignores the financial hardship being experienced by many Catholic families (along with non Catholic families), especially in country Victoria.

“22% of students in Victoria are educated at Catholic schools – this results in a significant saving to the Victorian taxpayer.

“The least the Brumby Government could do is to increase State Government grants for Catholic students to the Australian average.”

Dr Sykes concluded, “The Liberal-National Coalition solution to this injustice is for an extra $390 million to be allocated to Catholic schools over the next four years. I call on Mr Brumby to adopt the Coalition policy.