In the age of magic bullets and "take a pill" to fix things coupled with the stress of raising an intense child I can certainly understand the temptation to 'fix' difficult and challenging kids with a pill. It is understandably easy to go with the flow when you're at your wits end and everyone, the school, the doctor and your family are saying that some or another perscription will make everyone happy, and life will be 'good' with the help of medication.
Consider....
"In 1998 at the National Institutes of Health Consensus on ADHD, the following
statement was issued: "We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there
is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction".
Labels like ADHD, ADD, ODD, LD etc are in no sense true diseases. There are no
reliable diagnostic methods. Psychiatrists cannot even agree among themselves about
how to diagnose ADD/ ADHD. In addition, your child needs to, be put on a medication
that is a close cousin to amphetamine because of the ADHD labeled."
This is an excerpt from an article called "Death By Ritalin-The Truth behind ADHD" that is a current Health Discussion topic at Medical Science Forum.
We all want to be the best parents we can be and we want to send our 'best child' out into the world - so when over and over again we are told that our child is not his best, caving to the pressure to medicate happens - it's almost like preying on the most vulnerable - the tired and weary parents of a spirited child are easy targets.
I'm not saying that medication is never needed. I am certain that there are genuine cases in which children need treatment to assist them in life but I'm just as certain that there are as many, if not more cases in which normal, spunky, energetic, creative, intense children are being treated for their brand of normal.
Take The Girl for example. It wouldn't take much some days to convince me that medication would be a good thing to calm her down if I thought that it would put an end to the screaming banshee stage. Luckily, even though my patience are at the near side of empty and my frustration level is soaring, I have Dervish.
I've been reminded twice this week by different people that my Dervish was exactly the same at her age.
My mother noted the many times I pulled the car over and took him outside for a calm down talk because he was screaming and unreasonable.
Perhaps if he hadn't 'mellowed' somewhat since then I'd be racing to the doctor for the magic bullet but fortunately he has mellowed. NOT that he is "mellow" he just doesn't scream like a banshee at every turn any more.
No, it didn't happen on it's own (I think it didn't happen on it's own anyway!) it took patience and guidance and dicipline (teaching) and a few grey hairs and a few tears to get through that stage but we did get through it and we will get through it with The Girl too.
Before you medicate - do your homework. Know what you're doing and why you're doing it. Get MORE than one opinion (I mean more than one doctor) Try working with diet and lifestyle changes, ask parents who have been there for suggestions and ideas.
The one big thing you have going for you is that ADD ADHD are not life threatening illnesses. It's not like denying a diabetic insulin - it CAN wait until you are sure.
Comments
Tue, 01.02.2011 15:28
In regards to the sentiment that teachers are in the lower 25% of college graduates, being an educator makes me a member [...]
Tue, 03.08.2010 08:59
Thank you, we're not alone! My daughter will be 5 soon and she's crying ALL THE TIME at school. The teachers are [...]
Thu, 29.04.2010 08:12
THANK YOU! My son is 5 and has been a pretty emotional child. My father-in-law passed away about a year and half ago and [...]
Thu, 11.03.2010 14:08
EVERYONE PLEASE LISTEN. Now that I have your attention. My 2nd grader is currently being bullied by his teacher. [...]
Wed, 17.02.2010 09:05
I know you posted this forever ago, but if you're still out there I would love to here how things turned out, if the [...]
Wed, 10.02.2010 18:47
if teachers were paid an appropriate salary for the level of education and effort required, you could get rid of these [...]
Wed, 16.12.2009 07:53
I have a 7 yr old step daughter that comes from a mother who has alot a mental health issues, tho my daughter seems to [...]
Tue, 27.10.2009 10:48
Child Behavior Modification is so tough. There are moments that yelling at them is not enough. Tantrums in toddlers [...]
Thu, 17.09.2009 16:26
I appreciate your sharing of this situation and applaud your directness with the principle that your goal is to remove [...]
Sat, 29.08.2009 17:03
Hi there, I am totally with you with the no spanking. I was telling my mum the other day about my 2.4yr old son hitting [...]
Mon, 06.04.2009 20:06
My seven year old son cries alot. I can completly relate with the parent. It is something you worry about when [...]
Tue, 24.02.2009 16:31
This is great stuff! My husband and I were wondering what was happenig to our son who just turned 7. He was very tough [...]
Sat, 03.01.2009 23:49
Thanks for the article, It was important to hear the part about not bottling up emotions otherwise later in life, that [...]
Wed, 24.12.2008 00:11
my two year old daughter cries all the time and i don't know what is wrong.she gets up at night and scamming and then [...]
Wed, 12.11.2008 21:10
I did this one time, my kids had slept over at a friend's house and were up 'til all hours and super crabby the next [...]