Teresa

A child with severe ADHD, who has no impulse control without their meds, can do serious harm to themselves or others, and could die, so it IS relevant, at least in my life, with my child.

__________________

Wife to Barry
Mother to Brian,Adrienne and Amy
Christianity is not a religion like most people think. Christianity is a life of imitating Jesus.

.:Kalli Rae:.

I think children are over-medicated. My son is one of the sweetest, calmest kids you could ever meet but he was diagnosed as ADHD in kindergarten. (He was never put on meds) He did great in 1st grade, but in 2nd grade it got tough. His teacher told me he wasn't doing good in school, he wasn't paying attention and suggested we put him on meds. We tossed it around but decided against it. When the teacher sent home 27 worksheets to get done in 2 days I decided to switch schools. The 27 wkshts were the last 3 weeks of work they had done in class that he didn't get done, they had to be done over the weekend or he would get Zero's on them and fail the 2nd grade. He got them done by Tuesday, the next monday he started at a different school.I think she was making it to hard for him to work, it was obvious she didn't want to be a teacher anymore. He is now doing great and loves school again.

Wow I kind of got off track...What I am saying is kids are overmedicated and sometimes all it takes is a pro-active parent and a school system that is willing to work together.

__________________
Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.
Kalli Rae--
Mommy to:
Aaron Joseph- 8yrs Lily Ann Marie- 7yrs Kyla Raye- 4yrs

XOMLE30

I think we also need to figure out what is causing these problems in the first place, because I don't remember there being any of these kids when I was in school (except my brother, who was very premature and had some birth trauma). Something's changed in our world. and I tend to think it's a combination of many factors that are leading to this problem... which then means it's harder to pinpoint..[/quote]

I have been doing some research on this the last week or so, and I foundsomething I think is pretty interesting. We have been having some difficult times with our three year old son, so on a whim I googled food allergies and childrens behavior. Symptoms that may be helped by the Feingold Diet Program
This is what caught my attention most. The symptoms fit to a T...it just makes me wonder...Why are so many young kids on some kind of med? Why are so many adults on some kind of depression, anxiety etc... med?

Overview of Feingold Program-

Kaytee

I think you are right in that its a combo of things that are going on right now. Its so sad and hopefully some day we will know why

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If you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them!
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he.loves.her

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. When I was younger, doctors changed my diet, exercize, had me attending therapy and anger managment as well as keeping journals, daily acounts of what had happened. I tried natrual remedies, I went to several different school for kids with specail needs because I "posed a threat," and finally they tried medication. It took a few tries, but they found the right dosage/ medication to keep me under control. I'm happy to say that I graduated sophmore, junoir, and soon senior years with a happy 3.8-4.0, and before my grades were, Ds, Fs, mainly, I was getting in fights, getting suspended, I attended an alternative school for the first half of my freshman year. So really, in some situations, medicatin really is the solution.

However, I agree that it's a last resort. Meds have high dependancy rates and they should be avoided it that's possible. And doctors/ psychiatrists are quick to wave a patient away with a bottle of ritalin or prozac, in the present day. Parents should just be informed/ careful about these things, but don't automatically assume that all medication is wrong and all set backs can be solved with natural remedies; this is not always the case.

Music-dad

I would only consider medication, if every possible option and every other thing I could think of was exausted.

My brother's son is medicated for his Aspergers, I guess it helps a bit but the weight gain I've been noticing is simply unbelievable, and very upsetting. If it continues his health will be at great risk I guarantee it.