Posted on 08/27/2004 11:41:39 AM PDT by Joe Republc
They probably worked very hard. We're so sedentary that I believe that has more of an effect on us than the fat in the food. They worked it off, we sit and watch tv or play on the computer, etc. My father loved fried ring balogna. He used to fix it all the time. He died of heart trouble at 71. Mxxx
Hi Joe,
My 10 year old son would no doubt be advised to be on this drug, but we homeschool and he is not on it.
He does very well when fed wholesome foods with low sugar intake, and we steer clear of colorings and additives.
He does well in his schoolwork and better when physical activity and work are included. He goes along with his dad on thursdays and works in the office shredding paper and alphabetizing files (the company owner recognised him with his own Jr. Exe. business cards at the last company dinner). He also has a lawn service that he and dad do as an aside. He makes a couple of hundred a month with the two jobs, and that makes him want to do well in school. And throw in plenty of tennis, swimming and target practice to round it out.
Having a lot of other children around causes excitement (classroom setting). Homeschool reduces this stimuli.
He reads and learns about things that he likes along with math and grammar ect. This has turned him into a reading machine.
Our work-hard, play-hard, and study-hard encouragement has worked well and this 10 year old has a very bright future.
I have one "normal" child and one ADHD child. There IS a difference. :-D
Medication has been a lifesaver for my ADHD son. BUT . . . and here's the big qualifier:
Lots of kids ARE overmedicated. ADD and ADHD are like Alzheimer's - there is a core of people who really have the disease, surrounded by a much larger group of people who have a few symptoms that suggest it but don't really warrant medication, and (sadly) a group whose relatives (or teachers, or doctors) WANT them to have the disease because it gives them a label.
Here's what I would do (actually, it's what we did.) Don't rely on the pediatrician's word. Get recommendations to a highly qualified testing psychologist AND a good psychiatrist. People that your pediatrician knows well and trusts (assuming you trust your pediatrician - I would trust ours with our lives.) Check them out - credentials, publications, reputation in the community. THEN have your son thoroughly tested. Only if you get a solid and unanimous recommendation from your testing team would I resort to medication - and then carefully controlled and supervised. Note also that Ritalin is not the drug of choice for many kids. There are some other medications on the market that aren't stimulants (that seems to bother folks, even though stimulants careful controlled and dispensed can help.)
If your son is a borderline case, diet and exercise may help. But my pediatrician just told me about a recent study that showed no statistically significant results from the diet therapy. We DO make sure that our kids don't eat a lot of sugar and processed foods, just because that junk is so inferior to real, wholesome food. (Maybe you can make a deal with your wife . . . since you're concerned about his diet and exercise . . . won't go on Ritalin right now, if she'll help with getting him to improve his diet and lose weight. Meanwhile, you can begin the process of looking for a good testing team to get to the bottom of your son's situation.)
The other good news is that this is NOT forever. For most kids, puberty seems to hasten brain maturity and in most cases will reduce or eliminate the need for meds. My son just turned 13, and we have begun reducing his medication, and he's doing well.
But he was an extreme case. Before we put him on medication, he could not learn to read. He WANTED to learn, was very frustrated, but couldn't remember the letters and phonics long enough to grasp an entire word. You had to see it to believe it . . . it was awful. Once we got his medication dose correct, he was reading short chapter books in less than two weeks. He's very bright, he just could not focus on anything.
(Except video games. It's very typical of ADD and ADHD children . . . the quick tempo and constant whirling change of your typical shoot 'em up video game is just their cup of tea. Forget video games with riddles or problem solving though!)
You are in our prayers. Hope everything works out.
FYI, my screen name is a sarcastic comment about the over-medication of kids in an era when parents have forgotten how to discipline kids and prefer the easy way out. Ritalin is a serious drug. I personally believe that its best to be avoided.
True. Good point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.