Posted on 08/27/2004 11:41:39 AM PDT by Joe Republc
My pedetrician has just recommended that my 10 year old boy use Ritalin.
The issue of Attention Deficit Disorder has come up every so often throughout most of his life, but this is the first time our pediatrician says it's time to try medication.
What questions should I be asking?
What do I need to find out?
Any good resources?
Thanks,
-- Joe
P.S. My wife is in a hurry to do this, now that the doctor says so. I'm not.... my wife and I had some strong disagreement about this last night ;) When I ask around, it seems like men are less inclined to go for this than women.
How interesting will it be if Joe's son turns out to be one of the many who respond to treatments that do not include Ritalin.
How cool if it turns out to be only a food allergen or a problem with processed sugars, something he may not have even considered had it not be brought up here.
Maybe his son will go on Ritalin and Joe will know he did his research.
Debate, the offering of many sides and much information is exactly what Joe needs.
Hold on a minute, there. I've heard many, many parents say that an elimination diet didn't work for their little Johnny because they tried it and there was no real improvement. When I ask how long they tried it, the longest I've ever heard was one month and that was with only eliminating one item. My son's pediatric GI said that it normally takes six long months before the kid's body and brain can begin to recover from "food poisoning". What parent tries a complete elimination diet for six months? How can you say that diet alone can't help some children when it is NEVER tried in the most effective manner?
Can you imagine how much work it is to go for six months feeding your kid only meat, potatoes, rice and veggies without knowing that what you're doing is working? Who would go through that? But my kid's GI said that over the last 30 years of his medical practice, he's "cured" EVERY SINGLE BEHAVIOR ISSUE FACED BY HIS PATIENTS WITH DIET ALONE. Without exception.
Joe, There's a lot of good responses from our FR crowd, despite it being a political forum. It's also a family of sorts, so you have nothing to apologize for in posting your question here. My youngest son, now 27, was also told he had ADD. The school psychologist made this evaluation. He was in the 5th grade. They said to put him on Ritallin. We chose to have him evaluated by the Gesell Institute in Connecticut. It was a great decision. No ADD, just an eye muscle problem for which they put us in touch with an eye specialist. Luke got glasses and many eye muscle exercises. You know what? No more problems within 6 months. Stay off that drug. It's way over prescribed and dam dangerous. Here's link to the Gesell Institute. Check out the bottom of the first screen and go to Assessment. It's worth every penny! Best wishes for your son. (www.gesellinstitue.org)
In the info packet they gave me when the school wanted my kid evaluated for getting Ritalin, buried among a hundred pages of legalese and psychobabble, was the tidbit that (in Pennsylvania) if I refused to get her evaluated, they had the option of petitioning to have her seen and evaluated WITHOUT my consent, during school hours. But first they had to get my signature on a form saying I declined to have her evaluated. Instead, the next day I put in the paperwork for homeschooling her. She's been doing great ever since
I may not be able to answer your direct question, but I do know that for my daughter, Ritalin has been a godsend. It saved her life. Say what you will. I am glad we made the right decision.
This is a good site to bookmark if you have to go to war with the school district. If you want a few more key books to own & web sites to browse, ping me.
Thank you!
If I were you I would just let the wife and doctor get him some medicine. You might be surprised at the difference it makes. You'll probably wonder why you did not do it sooner.
I know of a man who did not any medicine for his son who was completely out of control with Turrets syndrome (sp?). His wife wanted to give the boy medicine and her husband finally gave in. The boy is much better now.
Sorry to jump on you. Skimming too much.
Most of the people here (who have not had it or had to deal with it) were offering sound advice....
We were being dismissed because we didn't have it...
We strictly followed the feingold diet for over 6 months, to no avail. I was very very opposed to going a chemical route. 2 years we tried alternatives to meds. It may have worked had we tried to stay on it for years, but our family would have disintegrated.
Sound just like my son.
I remeber that they wanted me to not let him go into 1st grade and I said no. Let him sink or swim and we'll take it from there.
My sons always been about a C grader and it's OK with me.
Anyway my son did make it through HS and is now going to community College, works part time, has a girl and is a front man for a band (he's now 20 BTW).
My daughter on the other hand went to University and was an a/b student.
Diversity is OK.
Let's all thank god for what we have even if it is not Grade A.
I think this boys life is probably permanently ruined.
It has existed for a long time. Kids just used to get stuck in the corner with a dunce cap.
You are trying to deny it's existence? That's like trying to say cancer didn't exist hundeds of years ago because the doctors had no way to properly diagnose it.
So, if he has an Attention and HyperActivity Disorder, how is he able to pay Attention to a video game and not be Hyperactive for hours on end?
It's a different type of brain stimulation. NASA has even done research on "treating" ADHD with video games.
I don't know all the science behind it. I just know for some kids - mine being one of them - it was true.
Actually, I have done research on ADD, and there are a number of doctors and psychologist believe that ADD may be "caused" by watching TV and playing video games a great deal. Because things change so quickly on the screen, children get used to having a certain amount of action going on at a time. Therefore, when they are forced to sit in a classroom for hours listening to teachers discuss things that they are interesting in, they have difficulting paying attention. This may also contribute to your sons difficulting in reading. Books tend to be slower paced than tv and video games, so again it may be a focusing issue rather than ADD. As one who has worked with teacher, I have heard how quickly they label children ADD. Some children may have truly have this problem, but for most of the rest, medication is not neccessary. I would suggest getting your son into more active activities and strictly limiting his TV and Video Game time. I hope you do some research into ADD and try other options before trying Ritalin. I wish both you and your wife luck
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