Posted on 10/27/2006 2:42:44 PM PDT by wagglebee
Yet another reason to NEVER turn children over to the government.
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Lol! This article is a joke. ADD is real and the medications offer a crutch while people try to find other coping strategies. It has literally changed peoples lives and for the better. I'm not in favor of government requiring anything, but Ritalin is not a poison...
We had a cure for ADD/ADHD when I was growing up. Its called spanking. Worked every time.
Yes, many children are probably misdiagnosed with this diease but for those that truly have it, the medication is a godsend. It makes them able to function on an acceptable level. ADD is most closely related to Autism for those that have it and they need help to function.
People who say a spanking will cure it are kidding themselves. A spanking won't knock depression out of you any more than it will make a person with ADD able to control themselves and focus. It is not willful misbehavior but a total inability to focus and retain information.
i agree.
No. One of my kids was on it for many years. It saved his life as far as we are concerned. He was having a horrible time in school and nothing we did at home helped.
He eventually graduated from one of the top universities in the country with great grades and is working for a software company. This article is full of a lot of BS.
The government had nothing to do with putting him on it. He was at a private school and it was our decisions and wasn't even suggested by a teacher. When he started on it, the change in his schoolwork was instant and dramatic. It was a stable school and we are a stable family. Nothing was driving him nuts. He was born that way and we could tell immediately afteer he was born that he was going to be different. He never slept more than 6 hours in one day until he was in high school. He never took a nap. These are NOT exaggerations.
We are thankful for the help received from a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic.
I agree with your statement.
I tend to see many mental conditions just like physical conditions.
People vary greatly mentally just as they do physically. Should we begin declaring that skinny kids have "Muscular Deficit Disorder?"
That's not to say ADD doesnt exist or to make light of the situation...I've seen firsthand people who really benefit from Ritalin, as well as people who should not even be diagnosed with ADD. In fact, a couple of my college buddies would brag that they managed to get diagnosed just so they COULD get Ritalin. wow.
The author is:
Tom DeWeese is president of the American Policy Center and Editor of The DeWeese Report , 70 Main Street, Suite 23, Warrenton Virginia.
(540) 342-8911
Not a doctor. I am quite sceptical of widespread use of drugs like Ritilin.
Psychologists can't write prescriptions. They need an MD to do that.
So I for one, would be far more convinced by medical facts from a doctor, than from political ramblings from somebody jumping all around about Hillary Clinton.
As if she was behind the Ritilin abuse situation.
The article is both right and wrong, there are many people who these drugs, such as ritalin, are godsends. They allow the person or student to focus on tasks and be productive when they would normally not be able to do so. I've worked in a pharmacy and was able to see the changes in people first hand (I sware half the people I worked with were medicated at times).
On the other hand I also had the druggies push their wares on me when I was in high school and jr high. The first diagnosis for depression was completely misdiagnosed, and after tossing the medication six months later my grades actually improved by a letter grade. The second diagnosis was more on point ADHD/Anxiety, and at the very least the anxiety part was correct. However I realized even as a freshman in highschool any medicating of the problem would eventially end up being a crutch and one that I wouldn't want to depend on. It was better to deal with it in the short term, and not have to worry about medicating it in the future.
Yup. And the vocal "but its real my shrink said so crowd" which even permeate the fr will never believe it.
Amen. My oldest son has never been near a government school. I ask the critics to live a day in our lives and then say there is no such thing... Unfortunately, he does not tolerate any stimulants, so we are fumbling along with other meds as best we can. And we never fail to tell our son about all the incredibly intelligent, successful people who have it. It can be an asset.
I'm sick to death of hearing people try to discount it. And there isn't any form of discipline that will resolve the issues, believe me, I've tried. You could beat him to death, it simply isn't an issue of wills.
Luke 21:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 
Amen. My kid couldn't even copy the homework assignment off the board. He would look at it and then forget it by the time he put his eyes back on his paper. This was a kid who eventually got 1500+ on his SATs and I think a 33 or 34 (out of 36) on the ACT. Was third highest GPA in his HS class of 350. He came a long way.
I don't usually get so blunt with people, but (I decided to delete what I had typed). I don't want to get nasty, but you DO seem to be calling me and a few other people on here liars. Please see posts 17 and 19.
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