A DRUG CULTURE FOR THE LIDDLIES?

It worries me, I gotta say -- partly because the young brain is plastic and developing, and partly because the tendency in adults I know on meds seems to be to avoid the real problems and focus on medication, and the right of individuals to feel "normal."

I will SO be bavk.

I was hopin' so, you darn ol' Cunning Coney . . .

Just one more to go, wonder where that member is . . .

We talked about this rather extensively not long ago... will go look for it, just a sec.

(And btw Setanta I'm all set up in your neck of the woods now. Nice woods. I'm pretty content.)

Here we go -- it was pretty ADD-specific, but a lot of my comments there apply to any administration of drugs:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25692

Soz, cypm

I've seen this sort of thing more and more. I see it as a combination of the drug companies exerting influence over doctors to push as many drugs as possible on every living soul, plus a plethora of factors, such as processed foods and junk food replacing healthy diets, living in an evermore polluted environment, etc.

You know darn well where - and why.

Also trying to fit kids to schedules. Kids don't fit to schedules very well. They don't cooperate, they get bored, they act out. I think a lot of people have an unreasonable expectation of how compliant kids should be. (Note, again, that I do think there are some cases where medical intervention is called for; just not for nearly as many cases as medical intervention is currently being implemented.)

I'm only personally famaliar with Paxil from when it was perscribed to my daughter for panic attacks. Prolly doesn't fall in with the standard group of drugs given to kids for things like not tying their shoes correctly or *horrors* playing loudly.

I know a child who is now medicated. I met her when she was three, and a classic "holy terror"... Her home life is not perfect, but her mother tries very hard (it's better when the dad is not around, even tho the kids love him). Mom went to parenting classes, Mom and daughter went to play sessions together to learn a better way to react to each other, there was great effort to avoid drugs.

The little girl was pitched out of every daycare she was enrolled in because she simply could not behave -- and Mom had to work, other care was not available. She didn't answer to her name and was generally uncontrollable -- not normal kid behavior, this seemed as if she were possessed. She and Mom were at my house one day, and in five minutes she managed to draw on the beige carpet with indelible green marker, call 911 on the phone, break the TV remote, and take a scissors and cut up three of my bead necklaces and a six-foot wide miniblind. She also poured out (not knocked over; removed the top from a Tupperware container and poured out) two pounds of birdseed, and plugged in and turned on an iron, which she left on the sofa.

Mom and I were in the kitchen pouring the lemonade she'd asked for. She was five at this time.

She is seven now, and has taken medication for about six months. She is (always has been) a sweet, smart girl, and now she is learning a new way to live. She loves making pictures on the computer, playing with her dinosaur toys, and reading and being read to. She and her mom are still working with a therapist, and she's learning to control her impulses. But when the drugs wear off, she's likely cutting up the blankets on her bed with scissors, or running to the neighbor's house naked, or trying to shave the cat....

Drugs are WAY over-prescribed, and are a LAST RESORT, not a quick fix. But sometimes, they can be a great help to both kids and their parents.

(If she were my daughter, I don't know what I would have done...)

Yes, I am very familiar with the medications and it makes me sick just thinking about it.

As you would say "okbye" ;-)

Was it really only 5mins? Why were those things left in her reach when you already knew the child couldn't be trusted without supervision? Why would anyone leave their child unsupervised, when they knew that the child wasn't capable of behaving "appropriately"?



What was her diagnosis? Was the evaluation, to determine the diagnosis, thorough? What sort of behavior modification program did they use before she began medication? Are they continuing?



Yes, they are WAY over prescribed. Unfortunately, they aren't often used as a last resort. When I went in for my son's entry IEP for Kindergarten, I asked the school what experience they had with children of special needs; more specifically those with developmental delays. They told me that 80%(yes, they actually said 80%, not 80 students) had been diagnosed with ADHD and were on Ritalin. Never mind that I didn't ask how many kids were on drugs, I wanted to know how experienced they were with kids who were significantly developmentally delayed. That of course, sent up a huge bright red flag, but at the time I wasn't aware of how easy it was to home educate. I learned pretty quick; after 9wks of dealing with the school telling me that I had to get my son on drugs(it seemed they were actually suggesting I get a prescription from a dr that didn't even need to see my son), and the teacher telling me what an awful child my son was, I pulled him and we began unschooling. Also, it seems that a lot of schools aren't interested in helping with behavior modification. Way too many people seem to think the pills are magical, and don't require further treatment.

We tried the drug thing. After years of fighting it I caved; I wanted to go to college and couldn't afford daycare, so I let them start drugging my son when he was 7yrs old. It was awful. They said he was improving, but I didn't see it.
First the dr prescribed Ritalin, but he had real bad rebound. When I told the teacher that I was considering changing the drug she asked why mess with something that works so well. When I told her about the rebound, she not only didn't know what I was talking about she looked at me like I was making it up. She, as a special ed teacher who is also married to a pediatrician, should know everything about the disorders/syndromes that her students have; as well as everything about the drugs that each child takes. She should have some understanding of what might make each child behave in the way they do; whether it's the drugs and/or their disorder/syndrome. All special ed teachers should.
We don't do the drug thing anymore. I have put my college education on hold for just a couple more years; then my son and I can go together. Since he's home educated he'll be ready for college a lot earlier than his age-peers, and we use other methods to help him than drugs.