You're in a tough situation because anything you say may be construed as if you are simply trying to make your life easier. But some things I would like to point out about medication and treating ADHD: Ritalin has been around for at least 60 years and is one of the most researched psychiatric medications. It is safer than aspirin. Long term benefits include a DECREASE in auto accidents, drug abuse and breast cancer. Ritalin is used in stroke patients, to bring patients out of a coma quicker and is given to astronauts to help them stay alert. By the way, research has shown that long term use does not affect growth. There is a long list of negative outcomes for those who have untreated ADHD. Increased risk for substance abuse, much greater risk of developing other psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder, to name some of the more common ones), earlier onset of sexual activity, less likely to use birth control, 9 times more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy, twice as likely to be fired from a job, 6 times more likely to have a suspended driver's license, more auto accidents and speeding tickets, more likely to be arrested, less likely to graduate high school and less likely to attend college, problems with money management, relationship problems,etc. These have all been documented and based on research.

Parents need to remember that they need to get their information from reliable, scientific sources and educated doctors who are knowledgable regarding ADHD. The media is unfortunately, one of the worst places to get information.

If their child had diabetes, asthma or another chronic condition, they would not hesitate to medicate their child. In my opinion, not treating their child's ADHD is setting that child up for failure and self esteem problems. Many of those with ADHD have been repeatedly told they are lazy, stupid or bad. This was most definitely my husband's experience growing up with untreated ADHD.

Our doctor, who has treated thousands of patients with numerous psychological disorders, strongly advises parents to treat their child's ADHD to avoid future problems, some of which can be irreversible.

Elaine

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ADHD drugs are not something to be taken lightly, IMHO. Parents should do the research before blindly agreeing to anything. There ARE dangerous side effects. Even vaccines have been known to be dangerous--ever hear of any being recalled? I have!

I had trouble accepting the whole ADHD thing because of the way teachers and schools handle it. Frequently, there seems to be the attitude of, "We think your child has ADHD".......he is lazy, irresponsible, loses things, talks too much........." in other words, on the one hand the person is saying my child may have a real problem, but on the other hand, there is the insiuation that this problem could be fixed, either by the child "trying harder", or my being a better parent somehow.

We finally got the ADHD diagnosis last year. He was reluctant to try meds, and saw me as a traitor for suggesting we try them. He did very well once he gave them a chance, but the side effects of no appetite and sometimes severe stomach aches and diarrhea, along with a sudden feeling of stigma, made him want to give them up again. He also says they weren't working, because he still forgot things and didn't process directions, etc.

Taking meds or not is not always as cut and dried and some folks would like to think. They are not an easy fix. Plus, a teen who is self aware may not like feeling that his or her personality has been altered. It must be hard to be a teacher with so many difficult kids out there. My son felt that middle school was a humiliating prison. THe kids with problems such as ADHD were often ridiculed by both peers and teachers and loudly questioned whether or not they had "taken meds today." That seems so wrong! It is a private issue and should not be handled with so little tact.

It was a kind older teacher who also tried to work with my son and other kids with learning issues that was the one who convinced me that I should try to get him some help--not the inflexible ones who resorted to daily shaming and zeros for every forgotten pencil and assignment.

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Let me tell you a bit about our story and why we are fighting not to put our kids on drugs - at this point in time. I know this is a bit long but maybe you can find something that will help.

I have twin six year olds that were preemies went to the public school preschool for 3 years with an IEP for "general developmental delay" They now are in K. They were supposed to go to regular K part day and be in special ed part day. However, the first day they were with one K teacher, the next they put them with a different teacher, and the third day they split them (for the first time ever) so each was with one teacher. Then the 4th day they had me come in for a conference and it went something like this (although things took longer and were said a bit nicer, this as a parent is how I took the whole conversation:

principal: "we think your kids have adhd and they are being pulled out of regular K and will never be able to attend regular classes unless you get it under control"

me "so you want me to drug them"

Principal: "well we can't say that, that is up to your dr. we can't diagnose adhd, its a medical problem"

me: "how are they actually doing accademically? " (Because I can see from the homework that they are learning a lot of the stuff, they just often can not sit down and do the work without prompting and redirecting)

principal: well they are doing fine, but they are to disruptive to the other kids so they can't go to regular class

me: (thinking to myself - "my kids are learning fine, but the teacher can't controlt hem so I need to drug them"... "so what do I do now"

Prinicpal: "heres the number to xyz mental health - call them"

and then we got stories of how their daughter & sister and such went on drugs and it helped and blah blah blah and then ended with something like if we can't fix them then they will graduate with a special ed diplomia instead of a regular diplomia and will have a horrible life.

Now I don't doubt that my kids have ADHD and may need drugs at some point. I am a social worker who has worked in the psychiatric field. I know how much certain drugs can help in the right situations. But I also know sometimes there are things other then drugs that work and that all drugs, esp psych have side effects, sometimes horrible ones.

I did call the people who they referred me too and then 15 other people including their dr and our insurance and I got 16 different answers as to what to do!

Our problems: 1) as stated, it is a medical dx not an educational one - we should have been refrred to our dr if the school can't help or at least to the school psychiatry/psychology dept who handles the intakes and testing. They at least were able to help after talking to 15 other people!

2) ADHD or not, kids need structure and a chance to get comfortable. The first three days of a new school year (1st time going all day) and you are going to change their school schedule, not once but three times and then say its not working????

3) "Ritalin has been around for at least 60 years and is one of the most researched psychiatric medications. It is safer than aspirin." It may be safer but even at the lowest doses I have seen it turn kids into zombies which to me is worse then the adhd.

4) " If their child had diabetes, asthma or another chronic condition, they would not hesitate to medicate their child. " Yes but in most of these cases, their is a strong likelyhood their child will die without meds. ADHD in and of itself will not cause death (although I realize it may lead to risky behavior that can cause death) but some of the drugs do list death as a side effect.

5) No mention was ever made about the fact that their might be something else going on such as dyslexia or some other learning disability that might interfer with their ability and desire to learn.

6) To some point this level of activity is normal in boys. You send them off to school at 7am, load them with carbs for breakfast and then tell them to spend 4 hours sitting down and behaving???? In our K their is no recess and even in the all day program it would have been after lunch. And even if they are still a bit active/impulsive for 6 year olds, remember they are developmentally delayed and act /emotionally are 4 year olds!

Needless to say I am very frustrated with the whole thing and I think a lot of parents are. Some points to keep in mind when talking with parents (although as we all know there are some that will never listen to reason)

1 - Don't start with or even come accross as "your child has a problem and you need to fix it or else" - that immediately puts parents on the edge. Even though everything was handled softly / gently with personal stories etc. as a parent all I could see was you were threatening me and my child.. Perhaps starting with "we have been seeing some behaviors in XYZ that concern us." Then have a specific checklist of activites that you can go over with the parents as it relates to their child of the behaviors you see and why you think ADHD might be a possibility.

2 - Know who to refer them to - their dr! But also have a list of people in the school and the community that they can contact such as the school psychologist, private psychs who do educational testing, and anyone that specializes in ADHD in the area. It is very frustrating as a parent to have to contact 100 psychiatrists to determine who can really help. Most parents won't go through the effort I did.

3 - Perhaps have a packet or page of websites that discuss ADHD in general so they can be educated

4 - point out that there are also other "alternative" treatments that do work sometimes and maybe have some information on those as well. Some parents who might not be inclined to give their kids controlled substances or think that their kids brain is screwed up (which is often how adhd is approached) might be willing to alter their kids diet and/or give natural omega 3s and such and while it may not help the individual child, you never know, if they try it, it just might.

No one knows what causes ADHD. In my opionion there are several factors (food & dye allergies, not the right nutrition, other educational dysfunctions and of course chemical imbalances) that can lead to the same set of behaviors. While the teacher and school are not responsible for diagnosising or treating how they come accross and what information they can provide can make a world of difference in how a parent reacts to the possiblity.

- Erica PS - We did get a hold of the school psych and they have already done a in school observation and filled out a home behavior checklists. In Feb they will do educational and psych testing. Then at that point we will have a better idea of what we are dealing with and feel more comfortable starting some kind of treatment which may or maynot include controlled substances..

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