Posted on 06/07/2010 8:12:07 PM PDT by Maelstorm
Here's just one statistic that Danbury school psychologist Charles Manos worries about: 42 percent of all kids in foster care are taking three or more mood-altering drugs.
"All kids in foster care have some story of trauma, like abuse or neglect, so we need to ask the question `How are we dealing with trauma?'" Manos asked.
Overall, children are receiving more prescriptions than ever before to treat medical, emotional and psychological problems, according to a May report from Medco Health Solutions.
More than one in four children with health insurance in the U.S., and nearly 30 percent of all children from 10 to 19, take at least one prescription to treat a chronic condition. The most substantial increases over the past nine years have been in antipsychotic, diabetes and asthma drugs, according to the Medco report.
In some cases, students take medications at home. In many cases, school nurses dispense it.
For instance, Danbury schools health coordinator Sue Levasseur said 80 middle school students receive asthma medication each day at school and another 14 to 15 children receive a psychotropic drug at school.
Part of the school system's job is to educate parents, said Manos, who has worked in local schools for more than 30 years and also has a private practice.
"I think we have become a society that says it's OK to medicate the symptoms of kids. Medication is easier. I think as a society we are quick to change behavior rather than understand it," Manos said.
(Excerpt) Read more at newstimes.com ...
Very true & very sad.
Agreed. Unfortunately, it’s just easier to give ‘em a pill and send them on their way. Healing takes hard work.
Too many kids in this country with a lack of Ritalin in their diet.
Dope ‘em up, that’ll calm the little buggers down.
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I am absolutely convinced that if my kids had gone to public schools, they would have been labeled ADD/ADHD and they would have insisted on putting the kids on medication.
All they ever needed was enough exercise. When they were active enough and could burn off the extra energy, they were happy and well behaved (usually).
You can't just go sticking boys at desks all day and expect them to be perfect, self-controlled little angels. Boys need to move. They are meant to move.
Just watch the sci-fi movie, “THX 1138” directed by George Lucas. It shows children taking mind altering prescription drugs.
As Bob Dylan once said:
“Everybody must get stoned.”
Interestingly you mention it. I have it on my netflix instant queue.
I agree with your concerns. What gets me is how little science goes into some of the ideas behind diagnosis of some types of disorder while individuals with obvious behavior disorder are labeled normal. A child that asserts they desire to be a member of the opposite sex is catered too while a boy that desires to run and play is considered abnormal. We live in an increasingly insane culture that selectively applies reason based upon desire for certain political and activist outcomes. One big desire of the left is the deconstruction of masculinity.
You can watch the whole thing on YouTube.
“What gets me is how little science goes into some of the ideas behind diagnosis of some types of disorder while individuals with obvious behavior disorder are labeled normal.”
It’s about taking the easy way out. That’s the whole point behind this medication. Parents don’t want to parent or actually have children with minds of their own. In their minds, children are to behave like dogs, showing endless devotion and obedience.
With the actual nutcases, they keep trying to ‘understand’ them while the people around them suffer.
“These kids who have been abused are going to be just as angry, suicidal, and screwed up when their prescriptions run out and far too many are having their futures stolen from them in the name of helping them.”
And I can’t fathom what they will do to their parents when they are at the mercy of their children.
Same here... with our middle son. We always knew what the school would say. He fits the stereotype so perfectly:
Boundless amounts of energy. Always laughing and joking. But, his attention flits from one thing to another. Often he'll talk nonstop, and then he's changing subjects - and no one can follow along. I can't even explain it. You'd have to see him in action to understand. Up to recently, he rarely looked straight at anyone talking to him, either. He always had difficulty keeping his eyes focused on me or anyone else who's talking.
But, what most people don't realize is that he's LISTENING the whole time. And he'll REMEMBER everything you said, if he deems it important enough. And his behavior changes when he's interested in something. He'll sit for hours to focus on something that interests him. He's very creative and imaginative. And, if you want something done, he's the kid to ask. He just jumps in there and does it. Fast.
The last doctor noticed some of his behavior and accused me of neglecting his socialization by homeschooling, even though my other sons were sitting right there behaving very differently. I was just glad she didn't try to diagnose him with something. They'd have to kill me first before I'd let anyone medicate him. Really. I would fight them off to my death. I truly believe these children have a special gift, and the rest of the world just doesn't know how to handle it. My husband says these kids are wired for instantaneous information in the internet age, but the educational establishment is stuck in the Stone Age.
Anyway, I'm always looking for inspiration. My husband's grade school report cards serve as my inspiration now: Every single one of his report cards, through the eighth grade, says: He's disruptive; he can't stay in his seat; he can't keep his hands where they belong; he doesn't listen courteously when other people talk; he interrupts; he has to be reprimanded daily. And on and on. By high school, those comments end, and he's at the top of his class. :-)
Also, once, I attended a seminar held by researchers, and it made so much sense. The researcher told me most of the students diagnosed with ADHD are usually kids who just use a technical/confluent learning pattern. Here's more info for anyone interested.
I also came across a special school advertised on the internet for "boys with ADHD." It called them the "Tom Sawyers" of their generation. It takes these boys out into the wilderness for adventure and hands-on learning.
Thanks for the link. My middle son was a problem for the school. The school wanted him on meds & we said no. I don’t agree with the child study teams who just want to drug children.
“These kids who have been abused are going to be just as angry, suicidal, and screwed up when their prescriptions run out ...”
The libs are ‘counting’ on this. More need for the social worker and nothing mom or dad can do without getting arrested.
The BEST part is how society is SELLING our kids on the idea of medications! My teenage daughters have “begged” me to get them a prescription for Adderol (sp?) so they can “focus” better.
I told them to shut the damn cell phones off and they’ll be able to “focus” just fine. No one can focus when a text message comes in every 3.8 seconds that “must” be responded to. I also told them to stop chewing gums with phenylalanines and quit drinking anything with HFCS in it.
(I shut off the texting on the 14 y.o.’s phone and there has been an amazing shift in her overall well-being...no more “cattle prod” effect with the texts - she can relax!)
It takes an adult’s faith, time, patience, wisdom and love to heal an emotionally broken child or a handicapped child. Since all intangible human spirit has been erased from our public culture and replaced by Marxism, it is no suprise that all the State has to offer foster children is drugs.
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