We took my son out of school three years ago when they tried to put him on drugs. We now Home school him. As I sat in this meeting with the school officials before he left they all suggested medication to help him listen better. When I asked who held a medical PHD nobody responed.

There are new drug dealers in town The Public School systems!! You can’t have God, you can not think for yourself, and you can not have illegal drugs. Instead buy from them and let health care pay for it.

JL

There may be some children who have an imbalance. But the vast majority of children that are given narcotic drugs for hyperactivity suffer from bad diets, and very bad parenting - i.e. no discipline. People should stop trying to be “friends” with their children and be their mother and father and teach them to respect them and others. Teachers also should stop with the “friend” concept. Schools should go back to dress codes or uniforms and removing the children who mis-behave and not “dumbing down” everything for those that don’t behave.

When school teachers or officials are telling parents to put their children on drugs - they should be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license.

When my daughter, then 13 yo, was living in WA with her father, she was taking 900 mg of Lithium, 600mg of Wellbutrin XR and Seroquel for supposed “mental issues”. When she came to visit with me a few summers ago, she literally was stoned out of her goard. She had no clue what was going on in the world.

I took her to a local shrink and he was appalled at the meds she was on. His exact quote was ” She is on enough anti -Psychotic meds to tranquilize a large horse.” She is now in my custody, 15 yo, bright and intelligent young lady. Is off all that medication. The shrink said that a lot of parents turn to pills to avoid raising they’re children, which i feel my ex did to my daughter. And to conclude, the Dr stated that parents are too afraid to bust their kids butts when they get out of line. If they did this more, and said NO to them, instead of coddling the kids, then there would not be such an over usage of unnecessary drug use.

Thanks, Michelle

“In both countries, the issue isn’t simply how many children are getting these drugs, said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor. “The more important question is whether or not the right kids are getting the most appropriate and effective treatment possible,” he said. Fassler wasn’t involved in the study.”

Bingo.

My daughter (now 25) has schizoaffective disorder. Getting her appropriate and effective help is impossible and has been since her illness started. She can get meds (and she needs the meds) easily enough. But other than med management, other treatment options or support for her illness are not available. Most therapists aren’t comfortable or experienced with working with severly mentally ill. They are only capable or have experience working with the worried well. Getting initial appointments may take months.

Parents are left scrambling in circles to get any help they can and often meds are the easiest treatment. I’m not discounting that meds are often needed but they should be part of the treatment not the only treatment.

A good belt-lashing is far more effective and leaves less long-term damage than Ritalin.

It’s no joke that American kids are medicated to the point of stupid. We overmedicate for EVERYTHING here. Antibiotics are given for no reason, antidepressants are handed out like candy, and kids are accused of being ADHD if they show the slightest tendency towards bored fidgeting in class. It’s all being used as an excuse, too.

“I can’t do that - my ADHD gets in the way”

“I can’t do that - I’m on antidepressants”

Stop medicating our children for everything! We’re creating a nation of children who cannot function without their “happy pills,” and that has got to STOP!

As the mother of four adopted children, I am appalled at the amount of psychotropic medications forced into children in the care of the state. Three of our four children were being medicated with FOUR psychotropic medications when we adopted them. Our youngest son was awake a mere FIVE hours a day, he was so overmedicated. Our oldest son already had bad liver tests… at EIGHT! And I had to fight like mad to get those amounts reduced! — Now in our home, they are all medication free and functioning in normal classrooms.

I am a school nurse, a substitute teacher, and a mother, who (under pressure from teachers) allowed my son to take Ritalin for several years for ADD. My professional and personal experience tells me that: 1) Children are easily distracted because they were not meant to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day (this comes from my son’s middle school principal), and 2) because they are not taught the simple rudiments of self-discipline at an early age. They come to school and they can’t even sit in a chair for 10 minutes at a time. They aren’t being taught that talking is a taking-turns process. They aren’t being taught to concentrate on a task. They watch too much TV, and so lose the ability to concentrate on anything outside the 5-7 minute intervals usual between commercials. They only respond to hype. 3) When lack of self-discipline progresses unchecked, it leads to “conduct disorders”, which leads to increase in out-of-control behavior, which leads to attrition and failure. What is needed in this country is not more drugs, but more discipline (emphasis on self-discipline, not punishment). In fact, if you have ever tried to do anything that requires group effort, you will agree that adults could use a dose or two of that as well. I would also suggest we take down all the stuff off of the walls in the classrooms (they are a distraction) and reduce the paperwork they do. Go back to individual chalkboards or dry erase boards for practice stuff. The kids love to use them and it saves paper.

The entire country is overmedicated! And you wonder why we have the health problems we do? The USA is the king of “pill popping”!! Hyperactivity in children is associated to lifestyle choices. Why would you choose to medicate?? It’s time to concider long term consequences rather than the “quick fix”of meds. Look at the advertising. We have a “pill” for everything! Chemicals are not natural. The medical industry needs to start thinking about what is “right” rather than what makes the biggest profit!! American kids are not the only segment of the country that is overmedicated, the ENTIRE country is hooked on medication!! Wake up!

My son was given an assortment of phrarmaceuticals from the age of 6 until 12 years old for what was thought for these years was ADD. Adderall, concerta, risperdal, zoloft, straterra. You name it, he was on it. The drugs helped during the waking time but just made him worse through the years….Finally when I reached a physician that would really listen to my sons problems right down to his sleeping patterns, his real problem was diagnosed. All medications were removed and my son went for a sleep study. It was discovered that he had sleep apnea. The apneas were occuring 17 times an hour. He was also tested for narcolepsy at that time and tested positive. The Sleep specialist physician recommened my son have his tonsils and adenoids removed and then have a repeat sleep study. After the recovery from the surgery, my son had the repeat study, just for the narcolepy (to see if this was a true condition or if it was induced from all the years of having severe sleep apnea and drugs (amphedimines) to keep him awake during the day. He showed progress in having less episodes toward narcolespy.

My child is like a new person. It is truely a miracle. No more drugs. He still is a 12 year old athletic, strong willed boy but he is no longer suffering on a daily basis from serve sleep deprivation that was over medicated with drugs. I do believe that American kids are overmedicated.

Yes, Way too many children are given drugs. A drug is a drug is a drug. Dopeing up our childern so we can “contol” them better will likely cause far more problems in the future than we can even imagine now. I would like to see a study that shows what precent of these children end up abusing street or precription drugs in the future.

In the Matt Lauer interview with Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise tried to raise this awarness of the USA over drugging kids with Anit-Psychotic drugs. He was demonized for speaking out about it. Hopefully America wakes up to this problem before we destroy the lives of a generation of kids. Shooting a well known high profile messenger is not helpful to solving the problem.

Sad that so many doctors use these drugs as a first line of treatment, especially since know one really knows how they work. There’s no question that some people benefit, but there’s also no question that therapists are over perscribing children (and adults) with mind-altering drugs and not only without an idea exactly how they work, but unaware of any long term affects. Its a shame.

I observe from my patient base that children are being prescribed these anti-psychotics without looking at their diets, exercise or sleep habits. All of these can lead to nutritional deficiencies that will exhibit as mood changes or hyperactivity.

My austistic patients usually have food allergies, digestive problems and or detoxification pathway problems in the liver that the drugs will only make worse. The hyperactive kids also have food sensitivities that exacerbate the problem.

Performing lab tests for amino acids which make up the body’s neurotransmitters is the way to go rather than the anti-psychotic drugs that create an side effects such as depleting the neurotransmitters in the long run causing them to go off the deep end.

I have noticed in the new media that almost each and every incident of school or university shootings that the students were on these anti-psychotic drugs. The news media is always stating that these school shooters had stopped taking their medications and that was the problem. I contest that the problem really started when these shooters STARTED taking these anti-psychotics as they will over time deplete the normal body reserves of an amino acid called tryptophan that converts to serotonin which calms one. Initially they cause the body to artifically increase the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin which eventually depletes the tryptophan reserves. At that point the person goes from extreme levels of the feel good neurotransmitter serotonin to an empty tank……..and disaster.

This may even happen faster if the person has flawed genes in the liver pathways that break down drugs as soon as they enter the body. If the detox gene is flawed the drugs have an even greater affect on the body and they may experience suscidial or homocidal feelings much quicker. Not long after we read about them on the news as having gone into a mall or a school and committed the most horrific murders.

I would stick with improving exercise, sleep patterns, diets, discovering what they are allergic to, lab tests to determine their amino acids and neurotransmitters and check to see if they have a history of anti-psychotics, because then one must restore the damage done by these drugs even faster before it is too late to prevent another school, mall or university shooting.

Warm Regards,

Rene’ M. Reed, DC, NMD
Chiropractic Orthopedist
Nauturopathic Medical Doctor

Absolutely, I am shocked at how many parents bring plastic bags full of drugs that their children have to take to go to sleep, get up, sit still in school, and/or because some idiot MD has declared them with the latest psychiatric label! I am an attorney and ten years ago when I volunteered to be on a foster care review board I was outraged to find out how many drugs were being fed to foster care children (whose records were closed to the public and those privileged to view them were unable to complain to anyone except the Judge and had to do so gingerly or be reprimanded for disrespecting the Judge). I have been able to see first hand in many cases that feeding children drugs of what ever kind harms them because they grow up to continue to rely on drugs that addict them and make them rely on them daily, hourly and who pays for them? Drugs harms our education system because they have an excuse for why a child cannot learn and all they have to do is put them in a special education class which ruins there possibility for a normal educational and social life. I am not just talking about drugs for victimized children from poor families. Teachers and nurses are buying the advice of legal drug pushers to give their straight A children drugs. One of my daughters dearest friends who is a wonderful young woman who has had the biggest smile in her violin group lesson class who had no indication of any psychiatric problem in any group lesson or week long workshop was just recently diagnosed with early onset of bipolar disorder and came over with a bag of drugs to take before bedtime and when she rose. At a recent concert she had to sit down because her mother said she forgot to take her sleeping pill at a sleep over and she did not sleep at all the night before. The same wonderful 12 year old spent the night at my house two nights ago and did not take them again when I reminded her to take them and again had problems sleeping. We need to stop the drug companies from pushing.$$$$

The reason for the over medication is simple. Every time a school gets a spirited child they want to classify them as “Hyperactive”. I am the father of a six year old boy and yes small boys are very active but we deal with it. The schools dont want to deal with it so their answer is to drug them. I am also amazed at how many teachers in the state of Illinois are specialized in Special Education. The schools and the teachers get more money for these programs. Suddenly everbody needs SpecialEd.

US kids are not over medicated….the increase is due to the increasing knowledge that we have of autism and other learning disorders. If a child has autism it should be considered abuse if they are not medicated properly.

My child has adhd. Adhd is real and has recently been determined that it is physiological and not psychological. He is fully medicated and it really helps him to concentrate. The medication is a blessing. It is very easy for people to judge other people. People who have not had to deal with it hands on are quicker to judge others. The medicine helps him focus and control himself. He is able to put together adult puzzles and color beautiful pictures. He is able to hold still with his medicine. With out his medicine he is unable to hold still for more than 5 seconds. He is unable to focus on one thing. He is unable to control the volume of his voice and becomes very destructive. We are so thankful that he is able to be treated. They may be over medicating other children however some children are in dire need of these medications. There is nothing more infuriating than some person who does not have a special needs child telling me not to medicate my son. Please walk a mile in my shoes and my son’s then judge us

ITS THE TEACHERS HERE THAT TELL THE PARENTS THEY NEED TO PUT THEIR KIDS ON MEDICATION BECAUSE THEIR ENERGETIC OR THEY CANT CONCERNTRATE ON THEIR WORK,THEY EXPECT ALL KIDS TO BE THE SAME .

I feel that kids are over medicated in this country. When my Son was diaganosed with High - Functioning Autism in 1995, (he was Five years old), the Doctor immediately wanted to put him on Risperdal after only being with him for 20 minutes. There was never an aggression or irritabilty problems with him. When we went back to this same Doctor a couple months later, she again insisted that he be put on Risperdal. She was only with him for 10 minutes this time! I was very insulted that this Doctor push medications on my Son. At that time, Resperdal wasn’t even approved for Children under the age of 18. My Son today is doing great. Has no aggression problems and is thriving in school, WITHOUT medication!

In the USA medications are often prescribed to avoid malpractice suits.

In the UK although that isn’t the case, still they are subjected to the same media hysteria and may be prodded by the parents who believe all of this.

Do you ever wonder how can it be that all these kids suffer from autism but didn’t decades ago, what happened to “hypoglycemia” that was such a popular diagnosis 15 yrs. ago, what about “chronic fatigue syndrome” where did that go?

We often overdiagnose popular , trendy diseases and autism will be less talked about or diagnosed 10-20 yrs. from now.

Americans want to know what anti-psychotic drugs in America are being subscribed. It would seem that would be the most important info parents would want to know. It could be a long list, but you could name the top 10 and tell parents how they could find out if the drug their children take should be of concern.

Kids are over-medicated because they are under-paddled. Parents use these drugs because the kids can’t be controlled. They don’t receive discipline at home and run wild. Teachers can’t handle them, because its too late by the time they get to school age.

Americans, as a whole, are over-medicated. I am worried about any medicating for behavioral reasons unless there is a proven medical reason for it. I can see medicating bipolar disorder, for instance, but hyperactivity?! It’s ridiculous. How many of these kids will become addicts? What are the side effects of withdrawal? When I read about mom’s using anti-depressants and then drowning their kids, I get very upset. Will these kids do something similar? Will they go on mass murderous rampages at school? It all has such a Clockwork Orange feel about it.

Don’t worry, the drug companies have everything under control. The answer is obvious, sell more drugs to the UK. The disparity between US and UK drugging of the next generation will then disappear. More studies are needed to determine if other countries are under medicating their children. If these studies show that this is so, then just market and sell more drugs to these other countries. At the same time, continue to tell kids that drugs are bad for you (that is the ones that drug companies don’t peddle).

I think alot of autism and some cases of Add, or Adhd may be because of the processed food we eat and chemicals in all our products in general, but I also think there’s many cases of childhood depression and hyperactivity that are due to poor parenting skills, the breakdown of the family in general. In many families the parents act like the children, and childrens psychs are deeply affected by this because the message they hear is be decietful, selfish and dishonest with yourself. survival at any cost Heavy load for a cvhild to carry. It’s very sad. Lori

Hmmmm, maybe the increase of drugs has more to do with the fact that when American school age children are “diagnosed” with a “disability” and immediately given medication from our legal dope dealers; the States, in turn, get additional federal funding for the schools because of the child’s “special needs”. Not to mention, the continued kick backs the Dr.’s receive from the pharmaceutical companies. Follow the money, people, follow the money! It is NOT rocket science…

I’m surprised it is coming as a surprise to anyone that kids and adults in this country are over- medicated. It starts off with the vaccinations kids are given for everything starting from flu to chicken-pox. Nobody can put up with a little discomfort or pain in the body. Pop a pill and be rid of the pain. Absolutely nothing is left to nature. Everything has to be taken care off by some synthetic means. How is the body going to learn to sustain itself, if its being propped up artificially every step of the way? Instead all that happens is the body’s immune system gets confused and goes haywire, because it has no learning mechanism absolutely.
We need to learn from other cultures, how not to be so over-concerned about our bodies, that we end up harming it beyond repair. Not only are we effected but we pass on these messed-up body systems to our children. And the drugs that are flushed out of this substantial population of over-medicated people, end up contaminating the water of other people. How much worser can it get, before people realize and take steps to stop the pharmacutical and the medical industry from destroying them…??

One thing we don’t have in America that they have in Britain is the ultra-violent soccer fan. We also don’t have the kind of extreme binge drinking that goes on among British youth.

Maybe the problem isn’t only American kids being overmedicated. Maybe the kids in the UK their kids are also being undermedicated.

Seriously, we don’t see many football riots in America. But look at the violence of British fans! There must be some reason for the difference.

I have felt this to be a major problem for over 20 years and I attribute it to my son’s addiction problem. He was diagnosed when he was in 1st grade with hyperactivity. He was placed on Ritalin and Haldol. When he had horrible reactions to the Haldol, I told the Doctor I was taking him off the med along with the Ritalin. From that day on we could not get a psychiatrist to see him.. I was told they would not continue seeing my son without the meds. It was also difficult for his teachers and they were not much help either until we placed him in a private school that dealt with children with hyperactivity.

I felt his addiction to drugs during his teens and twenty’s was a direct result from these meds. He is now 38 and finally doing well but it took years of hard work.

PARENTS!!!! TAKE YOUR KIDS OFF ALL MEDS PRESCRIBED FOR HYPERACTIVITY. DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM…. DON’T MASK IT!!!!!

My daughter has bipolar disorder. How do we know it’s not the latest fad label? Because I have it, too. As does her father’s mother. She takes the atypical antipsychotic Abilify (same class as Risperdal) because it has less weight gain than risperdal and functions as a mood stabilizer. She takes Strattera for the accompanying ADHD symptoms–because it’s less likely to make her manic than ritalin. She takes topomax because it’s necessary to elevate her mood out of depression (not uncommon to need an add in like that along with a mood stabilizer).

Bipolar is genetic. An adult with bipolar disorder had all those genes from conception on up. It’s not surprising that early-onset kids with it need meds just as we adults do. Frequently, early-onset bipolar disorder is misdiagnosed as ADHD–they look a lot alike, it’s hard for even a good pediatric psychiatrist to tell the difference. Until recently, psychiatrists believed (wrongly) that kids simply couldn’t get bipolar disorder. There has been much more research and the disease is much better understood now.

The number of adults diagnosed with bipolar is about 2%. A recent study of 1,000 random Americans applied the diagnostic criteria for bipolar to all of them and 4% met the criteria.

ADHD, btw, also is turning out to have a substantial genetic component.

Many of these increases in how many kids are on meds isn’t because meds are overprescribed. It’s because the kids have been under-diagnosed. Frequently, when a divorced parent takes their kid off all meds and reports that their kid is “doing fine”, what they mean is the parent is doing fine; whether the kid is miserable or not learning as well as he could is immaterial to them, just as long as he’s “off all the drugs.” Particularly since it gives them one up on being “a better parent” than the ex.

As for people who think whacking a kid can cure genetic disorders, the mind boggles.

Although I am not a parent and have not yet married, I do believe that our Nation is lacking much discipline within the household. There is just way too much coddling, and way too many parents are afraid of their children despising them as being the tough parents. It seems that parents in the new generations are all trying to be the coolest parents on the block.
My sister’s family is a good example of parenting I believe. My 12 y/o niece and 14 y/o nephew cannot text or email anything that is incriminating enough to hide from their parents. just setting rules and regulations within the household pretty much sets a standard for how they are to behave outside the house also. But it does also help that that household is one of a Christian background with strong ties towards God and the family.

It is so easy to comment on something that many do not know a lot about. ADHD is a neurological disorder and is inherited from parents. I suppose it could be the same allergy the parent and child has, however it is very likely that this is not the case. ADHD medication is not effective in treating people who do not have ADHD unless they want to feel like they are on speed - it actually has an opposite effect. So if a teacher recommends medication to a student so they can focus and suggest ADHD medication and they do not have it, how effective is this to have 20 students in a classroom. Would you want to be in a closed room with 20 - 30 children who have just had a huge amount of caffeine? I wouldn’t unless they all had ADHD. There are more cases of ADHD and more medication prescribed to adults and children. ADHD is still under diagnosed. The key is diagnosis it correctly by someone who has the knowledge on ADHD - not just in the room with someone for 20 minutes and say, yeah you have ADHD - here try a stimulant. This is very wrong. There are through tests and interviews that should be done to evaluate someone. Then, as for medication, so many people say it made my child a zombie. This can happen if the incorrect medication is prescribed or the dosage is incorrect or even evaluated incorrectly - but mostly too much of a stimultent can have this effect. It takes a Dr. who knows the medication and how it works to make sure the proper medication and amount is prescribed. It is not new news that stimulants - if not prescribed correctly can cause heart issues. This is why people who are taking medications should be monitored. My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD/Anxiety a few years ago. Prior to diagnosis we had taken her to the Dr. many times as we as parents feared she had heart issues as she complained of chest pain occasionally. We found nothing. After her ADHD diagnosis and proper medications she has not had any chest pains since. She is healthier and happier. Almost flunking out of school and loosing her dreams of going to college, feeling as she is dumb and still struggles some to now applied for an honors English class - and again dreams of attending college. The key is finding an accurate diagnosis, a compassionate doctor who listens to his patients and knows how the ADHD medication works and what to look for (as this is the same for other medications)and becoming a knowledgeable parent on ADHD, and finding a counselor who is also has the correct ADHD knowledge to work with the children. Also note that unmediated ADHD teen’s accident rate good waaaay up and much more likely to take drugs and drink to self medicate. How safe is it to have a teenager on the road, not properly medicated instead self medicating with alcohol or other drugs and an accident occurs and this person run into to someone you know and love - and their life is gone or your child was the one who caused the accident and the pain they will endure the rest of their lives. And of course since it is mostly genetic, many of the parents are also untreated and again from experience it is not fun to live in a house with a teenager and adult with ADHD. It can be very explosive at times if the medication is not taken.

I’ve been saying this for years. You have to let kids be kids. They’re going to be hyper because that’s what they do. It’s unbelievable to me how many kids (and adults) are constantly popping pills for anything under the sun.

I’m 30 and don’t take any pills and I feel fine. I get sick a lot less than my pill popping buddies who think they’re doing themselves a favor by taking medicine all the time. I have a good feeling that in the next 20 or 30 years everybody in America will be diagnosed with some syndrome or disorder. But if people want to waste their money and drug up their kids it’s their choice I suppose. You won’t catch me doing that crap though.

In simply observing the food in grocery carts across the country, and the reading of school lunch menus, it is clear that children’s intake of simple sugars and other high glycemic foods is astonishingly high, and primarily responsible for the epidemic incidence of hyperactivity, and obesity, which is followed quickly by the onset of Diabetes.

These “foods” include such regular items like pizza and fried chicken (white flour), hot dogs and hamburgers (white flour buns), french fries (white potatoes) and soft drinks (16 teaspoons of white sugar-diet soft drinks contain saccharin or aspritame, neither of which are preferrable-nevermind the acids from which wreak havoc on the entire digestive system).

It is ALL ABOUT introducing and maintaining a PROPER LOW GLYCEMIC DIET for everyone, adults and children alike, with the APPROPRIATE level of protein and carbohydrates for the individual’s activity rate (athletes and more active people, naturally require more and less active people, obviously require less). For children this is important in both the school lunch programs, but critically importantly at home, where the real dietetic learning takes place and remains with the children into adulthood.

Let’s immediately and totally remove the comfortable “cloak” of political correctness, call it like it is, and correct this situation before it becomes large enough to bankrupt the entire health care delivery system, afterwhich the population would be left to grapple with the Darwinistic side of nature.

Yes, we use drugs too much. Blame our society and diet. I have a 7 and 8 year old. Last year, I took them off any corn syrup (high fructose) and MSG (monosodium glutamate). They are noticeable calmer, stay more focused on tasks and are doing better in school. Change their diet; DO NOT GIVE THEM DRUGS!

I believe that elementary schools in the US also pressure parents for unwarranted diagnoses of children who do not meet the mainstream standard. Our son, now 11, is a very energetic/active and until recently, not very concerned or attentive to his classwork or homework. He has attended the same elementary school since kindergarten. Every parent-teacher conference, the teachers tried to “diagnose” him as having ADHD and wanting us to test him. Those conferences were followed up with letters from the district. We live in an upper middle class town in Northern CA and many of our children’s friends are medicated and we have witnessed their issues and weighed the consequences. We specifically moved to this town 13 years ago for the schools and continue to believe that our children receive a good education for public elementary school. After enduring these parent-teacher conferences, combined with notes from the school and the overzelousness of the teachers and administrators to have our child “diagnosed” because as one teacher put it - “wouldn’t you want to know everything you could about your child to help him - if he had a broken arm you would treat him?” I did seek the advice of both our pediatrician of 18 years and a psychologist. The psychologist said “do not get a diagnosis.” His reasoning was that with the CA “no child left behind,” a child with a diagnosis such as ADHD or Obsessive/Compulsive or related conditions, can be excluded from a district’s metrics/performance standards. He also said that once there is a medical diagnosis, it will haunt him throughout his education. We have friends who have teenage children who had early diagnosis of ADHD and treated their children with medication. In those cases (4 different children)those children are having extremely difficult problems in high school, have dropped out, have had to seek an out-of-state “lock-down” high school and 2 of them have drug dependency issues (which I have heard is common in children during later years who take drugs to treat ADHD). In grade school, I know their parents were contacted constantly to pick their children up from school because their medications weren’t working. I honestly believe it is a cop-out for the schools and administration - if a child isn’t “normal,” then they don’t have to deal with them.

My husband and I were often at odds over this situation - mainly because we felt his education and learning would be affected. We chose to deal with this a little differently. When our son started 2nd grade, I quit my full-time job where I was earning $200K/year. We channeled our son’s energy into areas that most interested him and we used those as “rewards.” He’s very athletic - loves riding dirt bikes, moto-cross, skateboarding, roller-blading, swimming, baseball. We used them as his incentive - or “medication.” We focused on consistentcy of school work. Putting him in team sports let him see that outside of the classroom, there are rules and behavior standards/consequences). Most of his teachers agreed to help us in this effort - accommodating him in the classroom. They allowed him to stand at a desk in the back of the room (they actually say now that students who stand while they do their schoolwork are more focused). We developed very good communication with the teachers once we finally told them that we were very upset with everyone pressuring us for a diagnosis and that this was not going to happen so they needed to quit badgering us at every meeting. The principal always remained neutral and has been very supportive. We worked through a few very tough years. We did not put our son in therapy, we put ourselves in therapy and learned how to communicate and manage a child who has difficulty focusing in life. We also believe in old-fashioned principles which we see our parent-friends fall down on alot. We are consistent with punishment (restriction and with-holding privileges) related to behavior issues. While we are not at the end of our journey, our son is about to finish the 5th grade with a B average. While he can still be challenging at times, our job is to raise a child to be a productive member of society. I don’t know what the statistics are, but of those children we know who have had a diagnosis and medicated, they struggle in school and socially still. Ours was certainly not a medical/scientific study, but I urge parents, unless there are severe situations where your child would present a physical danger to other children, look at alternatives. Look at being a parent and focusing on that child’s needs before you let someone diagnose and medicate him to be “normal.” We have 2 other children in our home (18 and 7) and having lived through stages of a child’s development, there are times where things can be concerning and even overwhelming, but be patient. In the world we live in, I believe that we are producing the outcome and unless it’s a severe case of autism or a violent child, work through it. Be a parent first and do not give into the pressure of bystanders in your child’s life. You know your child better than anyone and you have the power to heal them in almost anything. We put in hours of work each day. We could have given him a pill that would take seconds out of our day, but it is not in the long-term best interest of our children to medicate them. We chose to bring them into this world and with that choice is a responsibility to nurture them all the way to the outcome of adulthood, not to give into the pressures of people who do not truly know our children. And, we are only starting to see the long-term affects/studies of children who take medication during childhood.

Oh, yeah, babe. Your son couldn’t possibly have become addicted to drugs because he had an untreated mental health problem. Your son couldn’t possibly have had trouble after you took him off all his meds instead of listening to what sounds like multiple doctors because he had an untreated illness and because they were right—-no, his having further problems was “proof” to you that the medication had caused them. If he got worse after you took him off his meds, it couldn’t possibly be because he was still in the onset phase of his illness and was getting worse anyway.

You couldn’t possibly have had to put him in a special school because he had an untreated mental health problem. It couldn’t possibly be the case that the meds actually do treat the problem and would have allowed your child to thrive in a regular classroom setting right along with his peers.

BTW, it’s not at all uncommon for adults with specific mental health problems to go through a more stable phase in middle age.

Am I saying you’re wrong? Actually, no. I’m saying everything you’re presenting as evidence you’re right is more likely to be evidence that you’re wrong. I’m also saying that if multiple licensed, specialist, medical doctors were saying you were wrong, they just might–might, mind you–have been right.

Hello,

I have 4 step-children. Let me tell you about them.

Kristina is 17 and a freshman in high school. Her mother had her started on Thorazine at the age of two because she couldn’t control her. No one else had any problems controlling her. I’ve seen family videos of Mom’s interactions with Kristina at a very young age, 2 - 4, and Mom is constantly telling Kristina she is bad and pushing Kristina away from her. Anyway, Kristina was off and on medications since then. Since 2003 she has been on medications constantly. Currently she is diagonsed with ADHD, Bi-Polar Disorder and Depression. She takes Wellbutrin, Iron (for behavior, not deficiency), Clonidine (for sleep, not high blood pressure) and Seroquel. She also has to take Zantac for her stomach because of all the medication. She is also on Claritin for allergies.

Amber is 14 and in the 7th grade in middle school in special behavioral classes. Been on medications since 2003. She is diagnosed as Personality Disorder with Psychotic Tendencies, ADHD, Bi-Polar Disorder and Depression. She takes Concerta, Lamictal, Seroquel and Clonidine (for sleep, not high blood pressure) and also Claritin for allergies.

Jayson is 12 and in the 6th grade in middle school in special behavioral classes. He has been on medications since 2001. He is diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD, Bi-Polar, Depression and Major Mood Disorder. He also has some learning disabilities, but no one in this town has exactly figured out what. He is on Wellbutrin, Tenex (for behavior, not high blood pressure), Focalin, Risperdal and Lamictal. He also takes Claritin.

Jeremy is 6 and in Kindergarten. He recently was put on Risperdal. He also takes Claritin. He is diagnosed as Oppositional Defiant Disorder and possible ADHD.

These kids are great kids. We are in the middle of a custody battle for them. They have all spent several weeks at “facilities” because mom can’t control them and has them taken there. We have no problems or behavior issues out of these kids. In fact, I wish sometimes they would act more like kids - there should be running through the house sometimes, jumping up and down, you know what I mean. There is never any of that. They just don’t act like kids - we believe they are too medicated.

Jeremy, the 6 year old, just spent 4 1/2 days at a behavior facility and was put on Risperdal because he kept having fits with mom. The times he’s had these fits we show up and offer him a snack and he eats and calms down. He’s said he is hungry and that’s why he gets mad - “mommy won’t give me a snack”. He does get very upset when he’s hungry. He gets very grouchy. We would like to have him tested for any sugar problems - but can’t do that until we get custody. Mom simply cannot control Jeremy - we have no problems whatsoever out of him.

We just don’t have the behavior problems at our house that Mom does. Even when we’ve had the kids for weeks and weeks at a time.

I believe these kids absolutely do not need to be on all these medications. The only one I can see that may need SOME medication is Jayson. I think the reason for their problems is mainly environmental.

And I wanna know how a facility is gonna diagnose 4 children in the same family as all this when Mom keeps bringing them in and then never look at Mom and say, “Hey, 4 kids all the same, maybe it’s mom not doing her job”. I’ve been witness to Mom’s complete lack of ability to parent or discipline. Unless it’s grounding - all the kids are always grounded at mom’s. They are NEVER allowed to go anywhere or see any friends outside of school or join any clubs or groups or activities (we’ve offered to pay) because they are “so bad and don’t deserve it”.

Kristina simply can’t go to sleep without her medications because she’s been on these sleep medications for so long. Amber acts “stoned” sometimes. Jayson talks about his chest, heart, stomach hurting him. And since they’ve started Jeremy on this stuff he’s not Jeremy - too subdued and sleepy, no energy what so ever.

What happens when these kids are out of the system? What happens when they are 18 and can’t get the medications anymore? What do you think they will turn to to make them feel like they do on the medications? We are raising a bunch of addicts here.

I’m sure medications are needed in some instances, but it is being grossly missused. We, in our lazy, selfishness are teaching our children to be dependant on pills to make it through the day. Aren’t you glad your children will grow up knowing all these psychological terms and doses for certain medications and what they do, as well as all the things they “can’t” do because of their “problems” - but they will have no idea how to make their own children mind, they will have no idea that it’s okay if you’re having a bad day and life does suck every now and again, but sure is worth it in the long run for all it’s beauty - they will be too drugged up to have every noticed life and what it’s really about.

Of course they are, people want to take the easy way instead of actually being a parent. Besides, this way when their child does something like get a DUE or shoot someone they can blame the drug instead of having their child actually being responsible for their actions. Being accountable for your actions is no longer seen in America, instead its who can we blame. Many parents invite this into their childrens life, they drug them and give them video games/cable TV and expect these kids to interact with others instantly when they get older. Everything you do can be explained by a lawyer by some type of rage; road-rage, poor-rage, drug-rage, drunk-rage - whatever. Until individuals are once again held accountable for their actions, it will only get worse. Parents now think children are cute with friends, but when alone they realize how much work is involved and seek prescription drugs to fix what they failed to do - actually be a parent! Their children cut into their social time and social events and there is little time left to devote to these children. You think these type of parents will actually put in the effort needed to correctly raise a child? Please, its easier to whip out the checkbook and get more drugs.

I agree with the first poster 100% it starts in the schools. If your child is not a A1 student they look to medication for the children but the real fact is government grants for the schools. Its all about money. I asked that question and got a shock look from them all as if how did i know that. Even the doctors get grants from the government if a child is on ADHD medications. I asked the doctor when they was going to check my child’s heart because of the medications causing enlarge hearts and his response was that’s not medically needed. OK so my child’s heath is not important. Then i asked for a brain scan to get me information of what is going on with my daughter and again i hit a brick wall. The tests that are done to determine ADHD is nothing more then a paper tests and that is not good enough. The schools don’t care because every child they get on the medicine in there school they get kick back from the government. And that’s what it’s all about. And one thing comes to mind is if there was a cure for the common cold do you think that they would put it out? NO! Why? Because everyone would lose billions of dollars! Again all about money not about ones heath!

If the FDA was doing there jobs half of these medications would not be in the doctor’s arsenals as a quick fix to a problem that has no science behind it but a paper test.
I was on fentol patch after my back surgery and the first question I asked was will heat increase the dosage. NO it’s safe. So I told them I did not want this medication and long and behold a few mouths later people are dying from overdose because of the heat of the sun or from taking a shower. So 90% of the doctors have no clue about the medications they prescribe.

All I can say is “No DUH!” U.S. Youth are being over medicated. Please note that the rest of this is oriented for the overmedicated, not those cases that are rightfully subscribed.

Here’s something I am missing seeing on this: What can we do about it that is positive and won’t hurt anyone?

I’m seeing a few people saying that a paddling wouldn’t hurt. However, in this day and age, paddling is out of the question because someone is going to take that as child abuse.

So what can we do about this?

If you want a good solution, enroll your kids in a good after school program that actually does something. Some very good examples would be sports, the scouting movement, theater, and (if of appropriate age) a job. It gets them to spend energy outside of the house. It makes them concentrate on different things than a screen longer. It forces them to interact with other people outside the family. It makes them learn how to cope and improve.

How did we ever get by in human history for thousands of years without all these drugs? How was anyone ever able to successfully raise their children in the past without all these medications?

Its time to WAKE UP America!

Let’s go back to square one, medications are not a substitute for disciplining children. Children do not come into this world with wisdom. It is our parental responsibility to teach them and discipline is part of that process.

The answer is easy, at least as far as the United States goes. Once family services started backing teachers to pressure parents into putting their children on ritalin and similar products, any time a child acted out or showed any difficulty at all staying focused on mind-numbingly boring curricula, the teachers blamed the students failures on “apparent ADD” and demanded parents put them on drugs.

What teachers have failed to see though is that they’re being duped. There is a population of children that have learned to mimick the symptoms of ADD for no other reason than getting a prescription of ritalin. Mom and Dad end up paying the bill for keeping Billy and his friends high on speeders. By teachers orders…

Think it isn’t so?

Ask the kids.

ADHD is very real. My daughter just got her first prescription today as a matter of fact. I use to be one of those people who would frown upon parents giving there children medicine..thinking it was just bad parenting. My daughter is very hyper and impulsive to the point where it is dangerous. We had an initial meeting with the doctor and two with a counselor, they didn’t just throw a prescrition at us and say so long. If they did, i would have gone elsewhere. They are being very cautious and getting different opinions….it’s taken months. I do discipline her by the way. I can spank her all day long and scream until my throat bleeds but she just can’t control herself and it does no good. It’s very difficult to go anywhere with her, people make excuses if i ask them to watch her…. i only want to be able to enjoy her and see her grow up to be happy. Do not judge us parents that try everything else only to turn to medication as a last resort.

I can’t believe it actually took an official study to bring this to most people’s attention. The vast majority of people have become so close minded, that they do not realize what is going on in their own neighborhood’s anymore.

Parents are taking there children to the doctor’s office for everything. “My kid isn’t doing as good as everybody else in school, he must have ADHD!” “My kid is actually outside playing instead of in front of a television, he must have ADHD!” “My kid is 7 years old, and won’t sit still, he must have ADHD!”

It’s getting out of hand. Everybody wants to blame these doctors that are handing out pills like candy, but most of the blame should be put on the parents. Parents look for any excuse they can possibly find that is wrong with there kids, besides the way they are raising them. And to tell you the truth, most people do not need to be, or know how to be a parent. The big boom in the late 80’s and the early 90′ of teen pregnancy came along, and what do you know, in the mid 90’s prescription drugs started being handed out like lolipops. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put the two together.

If you all excuse me, here is what I think; Although I do agree with a medical examination on any kids that may need it: Concerning the “Hyperactivity” situation on a kid, this has been my experience, if you control the sweets and sugar ingestion very careful, the results are wonderful; that will prevent having to drug the kids at sutch early age and having them adictive to the drug by the time they are on their teens.
I’m not a “Medical Doctor” but in my opinion, all they are doing is creating another adicted person and securing the money coming in.

Think what you want but that is my personal opinion.

Ok, so everyone agrees there are too many medications. So, why are they still being prescribed? Why are our children forced to be robots and sit hours on end in a classroom? America, doctors, you’re being ridiculous. What is your problem? Parents, learn to be a parent. Teachers, learn to teach and plan exciting and different activities for kids. Let’s give these kids a break and let them be kids. I turned out great and was never on drugs, ditto for everyone I know.

As a person who was correctly diagnosed at the ripe old age of 35 with ADHD, I can give you people a perspective kids can’t, and parents can’t either.My world changed the day I was diagnosed. I had an eppiphany at work the day the Ritalin took effect (exactly 30 days after I started them). I realized that every decision I had made for myself was not one I made beacuse of what I wanted, it was made to pick the best route around the ADHD. My life started that day. Parents who poo-poo the idea of meds without competant diagnosis are the equivalent to abusers. You have no right to subject you children to the type of life I had when it can be alleviated.I do, however, think that 3 independant doctors diagnosis at a minimum is in order. If three totally independant specialists come to the same diagnosis, it is what it is.Whacking me, teaching me, watching my diet, it was all done to no avail.We now realize mom had it bigtime, and I have a niece who also has it. We would all wonder why Mom never sat still. She had no choice. I happened to luck it out and found a job that was tailored to adhd, one whose chores needed to be done fast, but not neccessarily correctly, and i did it for 25 years. When I realized I could now do more, I did. I am now 54 and a kitchen designer for 11 years who spends days at the computer. Something that was not possible at 35.

Yikes! Welcome to “Brave New World” Let’s all line up to get our dose of “soma”. I agree that getting out of the public school system is the best short term answer.

It’s not just the kids that are over-medicated, but the adults as well. Personal responsibility has taken a back seat to litigation and pharmaceuticals; nobody ever accepts the blame for their own health issues anymore. Teach your kids some respect and discipline at an early age, and there will be far fewer “needs” for medication at all stages of life.