[Jason Kauppinen]

I wonder how much mainstream coverage this case will get?

[Ronin]

Great!!!!!

If there is one issue that scares me spitless it is the doping down and drugging of kids at school.

Hats off to this Mom for courage!

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

The doctors are also accused of diagnosing Michael with additional psychiatric problems, instead of realizing that the ADHD drug Ritalin and the drugs Paxil and Dexedrine were responsible for his anxiety attacks, insomnia and other ailments

I have a difficult time believing that. That being said, I have to wonder how a mother and father would dare consent to *any* medical treatment for their child without dilligent research of the subject in question??


...prescribed a combination of Dexedrine and Paxil, although both drugs, alone or combined, are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for children.

Not quite accurate. While Paxil is contraindicated in children under 18,

Dexedrine is FDA approved for children three (3) years of age and up

[demkicker]

I wish them a speedy trial and may they win so big that school districts everywhere will take notice.

[BossLady]

This story sickens me! May the mother and child get retribution on these inept practitioners!

[BlackbirdSST]

Sorry, but $75G's isn't the lesson these scum need to learn, more like $75mil, now that would send a message. Blackbird.

[gridlock]

Parents: If the school district attempts to drug your children, get him out of there. If you have to sell the house, work three jobs, homeschool, or whatever, get your child out of there. It is bad enough that they are filling his head with mush without using pharmaceuticals to soften up his brain.

This sort of thing just makes me sick.

[bimbo]

I thought the schools drugged these little boys to try to turn them into little girls … Ritalin, Dexedrine, Paxil, and Risperdal ?? They were trying to turn this boy into something completely new!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I hope they win.

[Aquinasfan]

I smell a class action lawsuit. Paging all lawyers...

Dyslexia is highly correlated with "attention defecit disorder" (kids who can't read get restless) and "whole language" (pictographic) reading instruction. John Taylor Gatto outlines the sorry history of this whole mess in The Underground History of American Education.

[Vic3O3]

Just another reason to homeschool!

[Carry_Okie]

$75,000 is not enough. This one should be over a million.

[Fred Mertz]

ping!

[sparkydragon]

ping

[connectthedots]

Before anyone jumps on my case, please read all of my comments:

The article does not argue that ADHD/ADD is not real. It does clearly state that this child was improperly diagnosed by individuals clearly unqualified to render a diagnosis.

ADHD/ADD does exist in some individuals, and many very intelligent FReepers will attest to this fact ABOUT THEMSELVES (including me), not just in their children; so the parents are simply doping their kids because they can't control them argument is flawed. Most parents who decide to try ADD/ADHD medications, after a proper diagnosis by a qualified MD (usually a psychiatrist), do so only after much consideration and pretty much as a last resort. Of course there are those parents who really don't care whether the diagnosis is correct or not, and it is important to hold the schools accountable in those situations.

It should have been obvious that the kid did not have ADHD/ADD when his ability to focus not only did not improve, but got worse; along with all the other later problems. The surest sign that someone has been misdiagnosed is when the results are exactly what happened in this case. This is why a qualified doctor almost always starts with a very low dosage and gradually increases it to the proper level for someone who has been properly diagnosed.

ADHD/ADD medications have a far different effect on someone who actually has ADHD/ADD. About the only observable behavioral difference is that the person is able to focus on what they are doing to a much greater degree. ADHD/ADD medications are stimulants similar to amphetimines, usually with some other stuff mixed in. The brains of people with ADD are different than non-ADD people. Also ADD varies greatly in those that have it; and yes, everyone does have some characteristics associated with ADD, but within 'normal' ranges, whatever that means.

Many people have commented on the figure of $75,000 and that it is inadequate in this case. Please note that the story said at least $75,000; not only. The $75,000 number is significant because it is the threshhold amount necessary to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts.

If the story accurately reflects the facts, and even though I know ADHD/ADD is real, I hope the parents prevail and win a huge award against the school and those involved if for no other reason than to put schools across the country on notice that they had best be very careful before encouraging/intimidating parents into putting their kids on the medications without a proper diagnosis of a qualified medical doctor who has no vested interest or association with the school.

Many MDs qualified to diagnose and treat ADHD/ADD readily acknowledge that ADHD/ADD is mis-diagnosed far to often, and by people who have absolutely no business making an evaluation.

Contrary to the lawyer for the kid and his parents, ADHD/ADD is not a disease. It is a natural condition.

People with ADD, and not complicated by other 'problems', can be very successful in many careers such as sales, emergency services (including law enforcement, paramedics, firefighters, ER doctors), trial attorney, pilots, business owners (if they have an assistant good with the detail work which most people with ADD tend to overlook), jobs requiring an ability to focus intently (A little known fact is that when an ADDer is really interested in something, they can block out all the irrelevant 'noise' around them and hyper-focus on what needs to be done). They also tend to be very creative and good problem solvers (as long as someone else is available to implement the solution). They can also be very funny and charming, but also pretty blunt (as a group, not the most tactful; but you will know what they think).

When everything is going to 'hell-in-a-handbasket', the person who keeps his wits about him, and comes up with the solution in very short order, likely has some ADD traits, along with good thinking skills.

[galt-jw]

if anyone had told us 30 years ago of a nation that had state run schools which drugged their children in order to modify behavior and PACIFY students, we would have assumed it was some tryannical government, like the Soviet Union, East Germany or Romania.

time to wake up. this is the US, we aint free, and if it dont change, the place wont be worth having.

[FLAMING DEATH]

Welcome to my world. As a teacher, I face stuff like this almost every day.

At best, the administration of drugs makes children believe that they are not responsible for their behavior. Just today, I was assaulted with the F-word by a 7th grader. The reason? He hadn't been given his medication. A pop of a pill, a pat on the head, and little Johnny is sent on his way.

At worst, the medication can actually be harmful to the student, at the present (psychotic episodes) or in the long run (liver, kidney damage, etc).

And the most wonderful part, many of these students who are medicated are also protected through the magic of the Individualized Education Program(courtesy of the Federal Government), which can absolve them of responsiblity for their behavior. Basically, it can be written as a different set of rules for each student, dependent in part upon what the parent wants. If the IEP says that the teacher has to stand on his head while lecturing, then by golly, the teacher better do it or face the consequences.

I have actually seen disciplinary actions overturned after parental conferences because the child had certain things written in their IEP which, in effect, made them unaccountable. Administrators or teachers who disregard the IEP can be held liable in court.

And the kids know all of this. I have had children tell me they did what they did because they didn't take their "hyper-pills" (their terminology, not mine).

As with any group, teachers can be good or bad, and based on some that I've seen, I certainly wouldn't give blanket approval to those in the education field. But, I can honestly say that most of the problems with schools lie with legislators who tie teachers' hands and then let them take the fall (and bad press) for the consequences of very stupid legislation. I can assure you that there are many (but of course, not all) school personel out there who are doing all they can to turn things around within the school systems. And, many are being fought at every turn by legislators who present laws which clearly will not work, but will ensure their own re-election.

Many days my colleages and I feel as if we are rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic.

If you want to change the school system, start at the top. Petition local boards, state governments and federal legislators to start introducing common sense into school law. And, find out who's voting for this crap, and make sure they get un-elected this November.

Or, even better, find the time and resources to home school.

[Hildy]

Last night my store hosted a party of 27 eight year olds. I can understand why people would want to medicate them...it's the easy way out.

[Rome2000]

This mother is a moron.

SHE agreed to dope up the kid, nobody put a gun to her head.

These government school "psychologists" have to justify their salaries and positions, thus the wholesale doping of kids for no reason.

It's up to the parents to tell the headshrinkers to go jump in the lake, or approve the treatment.

If they agree to the treatment, they have no justification to sue.

The entire ADD disease is a crock, I can't see how she is going to prove the doctors misdiagnosed something that doesn't exist.

A slap in the head would work wonders on her precious kid, all these kids need is someone to put the fear of God into them.

This nonsense doesn't go on in Catholic schools.