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For the kids that really need meds they are a Godsend. There was one boy in our old school that literally could not concentrate on anything. He could not function in school and spent a good portion of the day wandering (all known by his parents, teachers, etc). They were trying to find something that worked for him. In 3rd grade they found a med that worked and he turned into a totally different boy. It was AMAZING. This boy would never have had a chance without his meds.
I don't want to second guess anyone's decision, but what did we do before Ritalin etc? In the 1970s and back, what did we do with kids who were 'inattentive'?
I don't want to second guess anyone's decision, but what did we do before Ritalin etc? In the 1970s and back, what did we do with kids who were 'inattentive'?
I hate to say this, but at the private school I attended they kicked them out.
I think those kids were classified as "weird kids," and possibly ostracized by their peers. I remember one particular boy from my elementary years. He was scary-smart, and probably bored out of his mind in a regular public school classroom. He acted out and would make weird noises instead of answering questions and things like that. A lot of the kids were mean to him. Could he have benefitted from medication? Maybe. He probably could have also benefitted from being in an appropriate classroom/program for his abilities. Or maybe he had autistic tendencies and could have used help for that, I don't know. I think it's interesting that I only remember ONE such child from 5 years of elementary school, though, as compared with the numbers of children who are medicated now! (Granted, my 7- or 8-year old mind was not focused on other children's issues, but while I remember other "class clown" types who probably did not make the teachers' jobs any easier, I don't remember there being staggering numbers of children who truly were not able to function in the classes.)
I have an energetic child. And, yeah, he can be a trial at times.
That being said, I think the vast majority of ADD and ADHD cases aren't due to the disease at all, but really lazy parenting. As in not teaching one's child how to behave, not giving one's child basic structure in their life, and not reinforcing the boundaries and expectations.
Also, another poster brought up the nutrition question. If your kid strolls downstairs every morning and wolfs down some Froot Loops or a Pop-Tart, you're basically guaranteeing that child will be on a sugar bender all morning long. It may not hit his bloodstream until you drop him off at school, but it will.
When our youngest son started really acting up in school, we took him off all cereals in the morning. He got toast, some scrambled eggs, or some fruit. Guess what? A large proportion of the behavior problems went away almost instantly.
But a lot of parents will just take the path of least resistance and dose the child with Ritalin while blithely serving up heaping helpings of Sugar Smacks, never realizing that the two are working at cross purposes in the child's body.
I would review his diet first. Too many sugars, dyes, processed food chemicals will make kids act like this.
My friend was put on this in highschool. It improved his grade and he joined more sports.
He wasnt brain dead. I think the dose is too high if thats going on.
But I wouldnt give the kid a drug at this age right off the bat. Grades dont really matter at this age and maybe it was just best for his maturity level to be held back.
A lot of the greats in history were late bloomers.
Good idea! i'm reading up on a lot of this stuff because i'm curious how my son is going to do once he gets in school by his behavior now. let me just say, i work full time so my son spends his day over at his aunts house. she's a couple years younger than me but has a lot more experience with kids. she's the family "babysitter" because out of all of us, she's the one that doesn't work and always watches the kids. anyways...over there its like party house. she's great with them, takes them to fiesta texas and to sea world...plays with him all the time...takes the kids everywhere! but in the process, spends a lot of time eating mcdonalds, or lots of kid sized snacks like fruit snacks, cheez its, rice krispie treats...drinking lots of sunny d or kool aid jammers...anything that can be easily carried around for him. this means a lot of sugar!!! he eats good meals too, don't get me wrong. but a lot of time his "snacks" throughout the day consist of lots of sugar. when i pick him up, he's coming down from his sugar rush and is hyper until about 7:30. then he starts to get cranky. he eats his dinner at about 6:30, then i let him eat fruit or veggies as a snack later on when he gets hungry. or a low sugar cereal with milk since he can't drink milk too late before bedtime. (heartburn). he can't fall asleep until almost 10 or 10:30 because he's so jittery and hyper or grouchy. i have to literally spend from 9-bedtime in quiet time. he gets his bath and i have to almost keep him away from all distractions just to get him ready for bed. on the weekends...when i'm feeding him all day - he's great!! takes his scheduled naps, eats healthy all day, plenty of low sugar drinks and snacks...goes to bed with no fuss and usually pretty early from all the physical activities i give him throughout the day. swimming in our pool, going for a walk, or even just a lot of wrestling through the house.
i do think that a lot of kids nowadays get prescribed medicines that they don't need just because their parents or their teachers don't know how to deal with them. the first sign of attention problems and they go for the easy out. i'm glad to see that the mothers on here that have spoken up about their kids being medicated took so much time and dedication to learn about their childrens symptoms and medicines before they just jumped to conclusions. you should all be very proud!!
I hate to say this, but at the private school I attended they kicked them out.
I went to private school (all girls) and predictably, we didn't have any ADD or ADHD kids (usually they're boys). Buy my brother also went to a private school, a military school no less, and no one was ever kicked out. Even things like stealing were 'handled'. Not sure how, but they stayed on the straight and narrow!
I don't want to second guess anyone's decision, but what did we do before Ritalin etc? In the 1970s and back, what did we do with kids who were 'inattentive'?
Amphetemines have been used prior to the '70s for ADHD as I was on them in the '60s. What they did around that time and before as I remember was either lable you a "probelm child/discipline problem" and beat the snot out of you to get you to comply or isolate you/kick you out since you didn't know how to behave. The other treatment was to put you in with retarded kids since obviously you were mentaly defective. The unfortunate part is we're (for the most part) highly intelligent but can't direct it for any legnth of time. As an example, I slept through freshman geography, yes I actually snoozed through the whole year but passed the final with a "c".
You also get the "thrill" of learning how to run for your life or hide as bullies and their packs tend to target you for the fun of seeing you explode and get suspended, you are pretty much shunned by the "normal" kids and teachers for the most part roll their eyes and sigh when they have to deal with you. Yeah, a real fun way to grow up...
As for the diet thing, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it just reduces the triggers. We've noticed our son who could not eat any red dye as it would make him explode in fits has grown out of that finally.
I don't want to second guess anyone's decision, but what did we do before Ritalin etc? In the 1970s and back, what did we do with kids who were 'inattentive'?
These are the kids that failed school, got held back, were labeled trouble makers and are probably the ones staffing the assembly lines today. There weren't options for these kids then--Ritilin was around in the 60's and 79's though.
Our kids' pediatrician in our old town is ADHD and would NEVER had made it in school/med school without his meds. He is very open and candid about things before and after meds and is a great resource for families in that town that have kids that are truly ADHD/ADD. Do I think it is overdiagnosed, absolutely, but there are kids that are ADHD/ADD and 99% of the time you can tell the difference between kids that are just brats vs kids that are ADHD/ADD. Just watch their eyes as they try to do a worksheet in school and you can see the difference.
I took Ritalin for almost 10 years. I can tell you the difference firsthand on how things were when I took the medication and when I didn't. To my teachers, they appreciated that my parents took the extra time to get a proper diagnosis (with the still experimental brain scan back then) and the extra time to make sure the dosage and medication was correct.
There was a major difference back then on days I took the medication and days I didn't. With the proper medicine and dosage, zombification does not happen.
I stopped taking the medication because I didn't want to deal with the hassle and side effects. Though the medicine helped me function and get through the school day without getting bored and being overly mischevious (ooh the stories I can tell...), all medications have side effects.
My family's history is above average height. My own mother is six foot tall. Me? I pretend to be 5'2". I also have digestive issues that are permanent and the result of being on the medication for so long.
Nowadays, I can function decently without medications. However, it took 3 years of monthly/weekly visits to a psychiatrist and psychologist. I still regularly visit them both.
Oh, and I still have to multi-task or I lose focus quickly. A constant distraction is the best thing to keep me focused on my taskings.
So, please don't look down on those who use medications on their children. Try seeing it from the child's prospective - better focus leads to better grades, which leads to a better college, etc. No judging necessary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal
Just watch their eyes as they try to do a worksheet in school and you can see the difference.
Also, watch their feet and hands. According to my doctor, people with ADD/ADHD simply cannot go without fidgeting their fingers and toes. I don't even realize it 99% of the time when I'm doing it. Another interesting thing she showed me is that it is easier for those with ADD/ADHD to speed read. Instead of focusing on a single word at a time (like most), the brain processes more information quickly - so absorbing an entire sentence (or a paragraph for me) at a time is actually better to keep focus on the reading.
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Could he have benefitted from medication? Maybe. He probably could have also benefitted from being in an appropriate classroom/program for his abilities. Or maybe he had autistic tendencies and could have used help for that, I don't know. I think it's interesting that I only remember ONE such child from 5 years of elementary school, though, as compared with the numbers of children who are medicated now! (Granted, my 7- or 8-year old mind was not focused on other children's issues, but while I remember other "class clown" types who probably did not make the teachers' jobs any easier, I don't remember there being staggering numbers of children who truly were not able to function in the classes.)
