Ritalin safe for toddlers now?!?!

kimberley wrote: i am watching the news and some american study says it is now okay to give children as young as 3yo ritalin. the study also says that the side effects are 10 times greater at that age for stunted growth and loss of appetite but it is still okay?!?!

is anyone else completely disturbed by this?!?!? don't all toddlers appear to have ADD/ADHD because.. well, they are toddlers!!!! i am horrified to think of all the zombies in preschools whose parents don't want to deal with them so they label them ADHD and medicate. this makes me so ill! even at 8yo i refused the suggestion of meds when they said Jacob had a tendency towards ADD. there are plenty of studies that support behavior therapy over meds. gimme a break!

cameragirl21 replied: idk i am totally against ritalin except for very rare extreme cases. personally i think kids are way over medicated.
i'm sure i would have been diagnosed with ADD if only it had been in vogue when i was growing up in the 80s as it is now. and i see that i turned out just fine without it.
there is no reason to give a kid speed IMO, JMO of course....

Cece00 replied:
There are a few medications approved for children as young as 3.

Am I disturbed by it? No. Probably because my son (age THREE, four in January) DOES have ADHD and we've tried medication (he is currently unmedicated) and we're in the process of considering trying others to help him, along with the direction of a psychologist.

What I also find funny is when ppl say "it turns kids into zombies" because that isnt the case- for a child with ADD/ADHD, the RIGHT medication helps them, and for a child who does not, the stimulants will make them act out more- even the "non" stimulant ones. I know a few kids with this disorder, not one of them is a zombie while on medication. None of the parents I know had their child evaluated, diagnosed, and treated with medication because they did not want to "deal with their child".

I truly hope you meant that differently. Frankly, my LAST priority is trying to dope up my kid. What I want to do is get him some HELP, his behavior and inattention and inability to focus go way beyond the average preschooler. We ALSO use behavior modification techniques. I dont know, I think how you put that is slightly offensive, but since your son doesnt have ADD/ADHD, I can see why you wouldnt get what its like to live with a child who needs help.

Not to mention, I myself have ADD, and did not go on medication until I was older (teenager) and my parents did not put me on it so they didnt have to deal with me and it did not turn me into a zombie. I struggled for years and medication helped immensely in school and my personal life.

I'm sure there are occasionally people who put their child on the medication when its unneccessary or parents who feel pressured by schools, but I think most people put their child on the medication to get their kids some HELP, because they love their kids and dont want them to struggle with something when they do not have to.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Yes, I am disturbed by it. I am with Jennifer when she stated she thinks kids are overmedicated now a days. I have to agree with it 100%. Being in the education field I have seen way too many doctors and teachers jump the gun with the labeling, and parents who label their own children instead of disciplining them properly. That is all I will say. No offense to anyone personally so please do not take it that why, I've just seen enough of this crud and I am tired of it. Yes I believe there are plenty of children who DO have ADD/ADHD, but I have met quite a bit of children who do not need the label if their parents would just do their job. I'm just basing my opinion on my experiences in the education field.

ETA: and I also think that every 3 year old could be disgnosed with ADHD if we let it happen. 3 year olds, whatever, kids will be kids no matter what. This is just a sign of our times, and it's sad.

kimberley replied: unless you are a parent/doctor who medicates for convenience, i don't see how you can be offended by what i wrote, because it obviously doesn't pertain to your situation.

and my son DOES have learning disabilities but our child psychiatrist is not keen on labelling ADD/ADHD at that age because often it is something that is outgrown or corrected upon entering school. that is why she said he has a tendency towards it. i want to help my child too.. just not with meds.

my argument is that all the info i have seen on the news and on shows is that ADD/ADHD cannot be diagnosed without a CAT scan and that oftentimes children are medicated unnecessarily with incorrect diagnosis. MANY children are just spirited. MOST kids lack an attention span before the age of 8. that does not mean they should immediately be labeled with one of these disabilities. and i HAVE seen children go from normal, spirited kids to robotic zombies after these drugs. again, not all cases but it does happen.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: That's horrible, I could not imagine giving a 3 year old ritalin! My friend's daughter was diagnosed with selective ADD when she was about 6 and my friend was told it was her choice to put her on ritalin, she choose not too. My nephew was diagnosed with ADHD and again my sister was given the choice and decided against it. My best freind (who is in her 30's) was just diagnosed with ADD and says she might try ritalin to help her concentrate better in her college classes, but is still deciding. This she told me is something, she struggled with as a child, but it went undiagnosed.

CantWait replied: I don't believe in ADD or ADHD period. I don't care what the age. To think that a doctor would actually prescribe this to a 3 year old is disturbing.

booey2 replied: Sorry I believe that it should only be used as a last resort. I have a brother who was given it back in the 70's only now to find out in his 20's and 30's that he was mis-diagnosed and therefore mistreated from the start. He is okay now but back then, holy terror. I digress, if it is a must then meds do help some children, 3 is too young IMO for ritalin.

Terri

gr33n3y3z replied:
I couldnt agree more
That is one nasty drug it has many side effects and long lasting
I cant see where they can tell a child has those problems at that age
maybe bc I never seen children in that age group with the problem

I have seen older children out of control only bc the parents never sat on them they do as they please then they get out of control and the parents cant handle them (meaning my friends child ) so lets drug them up that is so wrong.

mom2my2cuties replied: Ok - I do think America is over medicated for EVERYTHING! But that being said - I suffer from ADHD and have all my life. And now that I have it under control (With behavior modification - not medicine) I can see that I really wish my parents would have been more dilligent in taking care of me as a child and getting me the necessary help.

And sure, I turned out fine, but what could I have accomplished if I hadn't been held back by that?

Michael's teachers also say he suffers from ADHD, and he isn't being treated for it because his grandparents "Dont believe in it"

The sad thing about ADHD, it is linked to gentics. And while what Mikee has, I think is more PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) rather than ADHD, he will have all the necessary testing.

I also don't think you can test a TODDLER for ADHD because simply they are hyperactive because they are toddlers, not because they have something wrong with them.

Boo&BugsMom replied: You know, I just have a random thought going through my head. Do you ever notice there is a label for everything now a days and a pill to go along with it? I mean, sooner or later there will be a label for every little "disorder" and the whole world will be on something or other. There may even be a pill for husbands who don't pick up after themselves it's gotten so ridiculous. Can I get a pill for my hubby for that one?

cameragirl21 replied: Cece00, i am sorry that your son has some problems in school and i'm sure it's a challenge for you and your family but i really don't think that Kimberley or anyone was implying that you don't love your child or that you don't want to help him and that extends to any and all parents. any parent wants to help his/her child, that's just natural and no one was implying that it's any different for parents of ADD kids.
here's the thing--kids ARE over medicated and doctors are way too eager to write prescriptions, not just for ritalin, for everything IMO. i've been amazed in the past when i was sick, called my doc's office, found she wasn't in and then one of her colleagues who has never even seen me EVER just writes me a prescription without checking me out to see what i have. i mean wth is that?! and don't get me wrong, when i'm sick the last thing i want is to go anywhere and i was grateful but i still find it amazing that doctors are so eager to pop pills into people. and it can be dangerous for children and it's been acknowledged that it IS dangerous for toddlers and yet doctors are STILL prescribing it. and that IS disturbing, no matter how you look at it. ADD is not life threatening and therefore there really is no need IMO to prescribe anything that can be harmful or dangerous.
i can tell you from my own experience that some years back i was rear ended really hard in a car accident and my lawyer sent me to some doctor who asked me what vitamins/supplements i was taking. i was weight obsessed (lol, did i just say was, maybe it should be still am....) and was taking some weight loss supplement i found at a health food store which btw was ridiculous b/c i weighed about 138 at a height of 5'8.5'' which is perfectly normal and proportionate but since i refused to give up the diet pills the doc said he'd prescribe me some so that at least he would know what i'm taking so he put me on phentermine (think phen/fen) which is the same thing as ritalin--a form of speed. first of all, it totally depressed my appetite and i lost so much weight that i started to look skeletal and that's as an adult, can you imagine as a child or toddler? secondly, i must say, it TOTALLY mellowed me out, i absolutely loved the way i felt on it and would have happily stayed on it forever, so yeah, i can see how it would calm down a hyperactive person or child and how it would help a person who's prone to hyperactivity or attention deficit but the thing is, Cece, it's a DRUG and that's what drugs do, that's why people take various drugs recreationally. i'm in no way implying that you're trying to put your child on drugs but anyone who puts a child on ritalin is giving him/her speed and that's where the effect comes from and it sort of begs the question--is this healthy and is this the best solution?
no one here is judging you and saying you're a bad person or whatever for medicating your son but i think the issue in the OP is that perhaps this is being overdone and done with very little thought or concern when in fact perhaps we should be very concerned. i can tell you with my voracious appetite (you saw all my posts about food today ) for me to lose that much weight in such a short time on that pill makes me feel that no child should ever take it for any reason...i saw what it did to me, i can't even imagine any child going thru that and feeling a revulsion to eating.
i personally think anytime drugs are used with ease and gumption by medical professionals, especially when the patients are children or in this case, toddlers there IS reason to be concerned. we can't take it lightly or we'll raise a generation that thinks the solution to every problem is in a pill.
i hope you don't take any of this as an offense b/c that is not the way it was intended at all and i have no doubt that you want what is best for your son...the issue here is way beyond one person and is all about a mindset that rests with medical professionals who in all fairness, decide daily who lives and who dies.

Boo&BugsMom replied: I have to just add that I think too many people trust doctor's way too much instead of looking into things and educating themselves. I can understand, that's why they went to school, but just like there are other bad professionals, there are bad doctors and careless doctors. Plus, just because one doctor has an opinion doesn't mean we have to agree with it and we should look into things ourselves. I think there are many doctors who don't educate their patients enough so we are left to do researching ourselves or just trust our health professional. This is sooo important when you are dealing with anything having to do with the brain especially.

luvbug00 replied:

I sure do find it disterbing, because i have it. but i take the "tom cuise" veiw on this one. I see no reason to medicate at all. I was put on that nasty stuff as a child and it didn't do anything. The i stopped taking it on my own and found other ways to control my attention problems. There are exersizes and simple things you can do to make sure you stay on track. I will not medicate my children if they have thease "issues". I still flake out all the time but I'd rather be like that then on meds. it's how i was made and it never has a major detrimatal effect on my life .

3_call_me_mama replied:
I couldn't agree more.

I am against medication for most things. In rare cases it CAN help but I've seen more where it doens't help and makes them into zombies literally! As a teacher and as as parent I have witnessed it (not with my own children but others kids). I really feel for those that cannot help their children in another way and am glad when i hear of a postivie outcome from the medication and can only hope that it isnt' needed for teh rest of teh person's life.

And to answer the original question.. it really disturbs me that they would prescribe it to toddelrs, btu am I suprised???? NOT REALLY!

coasterqueen replied: I haven't read all the other replies yet, but I think kids are overmedicated and are determined as ADD/ADHD when they truly are not. Why do I say that? Because I have wondered for a long time if Kylie was this way and I've done extensive research on it. I've talked to many mothers w/kids who have this. There is only ONE accurate test to tell if a kid is ADD/ADHD and that is a brain wave test. It's not a harmful test, etiher. A lot of kids get diagnosed after seeing a doctor or a pschyciatrist, which is NOT the way to determine if a kid has it. Dr. Phil, which I don't usually believe people like this often, but he had a show about this once and agreed that the brain wave test is the ONLY way to tell for sure and NO ONE should ever just trust a doc after watching a child and at that point determining if a kid is or not.

So like I said I talked to numerous parents whose kid was either ADD/ADHD and all of them said they got complaints at school, went to their doctor, doc put them on the meds. Nothing else. I was utterly shocked. I know if I ever get to this point with Kylie that I will demand the brain wave test, hands down, before I ever medicate her.

As far as the zombie thing. My HS best friend's brother was ADHD and the ritalin made him a COMPLETE ZOMBIE when he was on it. I lived with them for a while so I got to see if 1st hand. I was so sad for that child. When he wasn't on it he was ADHD, when he was on the meds you couldn't even tell it was the same child and you could tell how unhappy he was

I just think docs are telling people children are ADD/ADHD when they haven't even done extensive testing to prove it. It's very sad.

coasterqueen replied:
I posted before I read this. Kimberley I COMPLETELY agree with your every word on this.

coasterqueen replied:
I was going to say this same thing. Do you know WHY doctors overmedicate? Because parents go to doctors every single little ittty bitty time their child is sick. Seriously. I talked to my doctor about this after having Kylie. He flat out said "you can't bring her in here every time she has a sniffle, cold, etc. Her body can fight these things without my help. I can prescribe an antibiotic if you want me to, but I am against it". He also said 9 times out of 10 a parent will ask for that prescription because they can't bare to see their child suffer, even from a cold. Well I can't either, but we know it's not good.

It has to start AT HOME. If parents keep going to the doctor for everything, kids will continue to be overmedicated. Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I research every "diagnosis" my doc gives me or my children before going through with any treatment.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Kimberly~ I saw this article a few days ago (through our homeschool group) and it disturbed me as well. ITA with the thought that how to you quantify an over active 3 year old? They don't have long attention spans at 3, they don't have the desire to sit still or be controlled at 3...Everything is still new and exciting! Taylor and her friends still go bonkers wild when they get together they laugh and run and scream as only little girls can but they are not ADHD-they are kids I think the biggest problem in this world of mostly ME,ME,ME is that a child who is curious or who is 'hyper' is automactically labeled ADD or ADHD...When did it start? Every boy in my family is a tree-climbing,football playing,outdoor BOY! They don't sit still and play video games or watch TV calmly and I know my mom has heard 'Why do they run around outside so much?' Isn't that what kids are supposed to do??? Taylor would much rather be dancing around the livingroom than sit at her desk reciting letter families or adding 5+6 but TBH I would much rather be outside playing than doing dishes too I understand that there comes a time when kids need to behave but I truly feel that ritalin has become a cure-all for thousands of children who are just a little too childlike.... When did it become a disease to be a bouncy,( now better know as disruptive,hyper) child????

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Abbie mentioning tv and video games made me think of this...I often wonder if it would be different if people wouldn't shove their children in front of the tv and computer all the time (not that it's bad, we have both and Tanner uses them too). However, I think in today's society they are overused and sometimes used too much as babysitters and kids have so much pent up energy because of it. Just another random thought going through my head... That could be a whole other thread though......

luvbug00 replied:

my parents have been saying this from the day Atari came out.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Oh, Atari...it seems like such a long time ago. Those were the days...

kimberley replied: you know the school special ed teacher COMPLAINED that i am not making Jacob sit in front of the computer an hour a day?!?!?! WTH?!?!

i was seriously annoyed. i understand he needs to learn computer skills but an hour a day is ridiculous. especially when it takes 3-4hrs to do homework (because we break in 20 minute intervals or he goes nuts), he needs to eat and have play time and sleep. i think the active, running around is just as important to his development, yet they allot two 30min classes for phys ed a week but want him to sit on a computer an hour a day

and i completely agree about educating yourself about any diagnosis given to you or your child. MOST GP's do not upgrade their education beyond what they learned in med school.. no courses or conferences. they may order the journals, but who knows if they read them. and especially when it comes to strong meds like Ritalin, think twice!! do you know how much money dr's make in kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies for promoting THEIR drugs! things are not how they once were.. the standard of care HAS SLIPPED and it is like any other business now.

holley79 replied: I think in a lot of cases ADHD and ADD are excuses to medicate and not have to "deal". I have seen so many teachers want children on meds then get ticked when the parents don't agree. I think there are other alternatives in most cases. heck I swear I have adult ADD but I'm not on meds.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Did you know that there are some schools that banned recess because they "don't have enough time in a day to teach the children"? UGH! I'm glad our schools are not one of those. I don't think they should be allowed to do that, personally. Kids need the fresh air and exercise. As if kids aren't out of shape already.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Holley, I agree. Some people (in general) are just lazy and don't want to work at the issue. They want the easy way out. Not all, but there are quite a few out there, I have dealt with them myself.

luvbug00 replied:

If myas school did that then she would go private or I'd hire a teacher ( I do NOT have the patience to teach )

mom2my2cuties replied: Before we go on a doctor/parent bashing. Lets not forget, most of these parents are told the kids have ADHD by thier childs teacher. And since the teacher does spend more time with the child than the parent usually, the parents automatically believe the teacher.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
I really don't think anyone is bashing all doctors or parents. I have a HUGE problem when I hear that 6 kids in the 1st grade class in my friend's school (she is a 2nd grade teacher) are on medication and there are 3 more going to the doctor..She gets pressured by the principal to tell parents of 'hyper' children that a visit to the doctor may be in order..It is a challange to teach children but if you are not up to meeting that challange then maybe you picked the wrong profession! With the right mix of creativity and control you can engage a child's interest and desire to learn but that takes work and patience but if they take a little white pill every morning you (as a teacher) don't have to be quite so creative As many have pointed out the ONLY way to diagnose ADHD id through a brain scan and I know the majority of children I am in contact with through our extra activities, on ritalin,aterol.etc. have NEVER had any such testing done.....

TANNER'S MOM replied: My nephew has ADHD.. or so we are told. I think he has behavioral problems. When its something he likes he does it and well.. but listening at school he doesn't like. He has some learning disablities and has been behind from the beginning of school. The teacher flat out told my SIL she wouldn't teach him or pass him if she didn't take him to the doctor and have him medicated. Now how is that for working with your parents. I don't know.. some days I swear all mine have it. ..and some days I would say never. But medicine is hard on a kid. My best friend Cindi.. is raising her nephew Tyler. He has been on Ritalin since was in Kindergarten. He is 9 years old and weighs 48lbs. THey say he is severely underweight. But he is so dependant on the meds what do you do. They tried to lesson his dosage so he could grow and the teachers thru a fit. Now on weekends Cindi doens't give him the meds so he can eat.. and he is a BOY.. running around playing with Tanner.. durning the week he is quite, barely talks, is very nonresponsive basically..and to me it's sad. I tell Cindi to not medicate him if he is coming to my house.. I hate to see that. And darn it he needs to grow.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I agree, which is why I brought that up in my original post.

CantWait replied:
For sure it would be different....I'm one to admit also that Anthony watches way more t.v. then he should, and I think half the time, the other half having an older brother that is the reason he acts the way he does sometimes.

mom2my2cuties replied: That is how we were notified of Mikee's problems was through his teacher, and like I said, I still am not convinced he has ADHD, he seems to have behavioral acting out problems due to circumstances.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I have worked with quite a few teachers who have made comments like "that child HAS to have ADHD", or comments of the like. It usually comes from stress and being over-worked and underpaid, but it's still no excuse for a teacher to try and make a diagnosis or send every child a referral for medical treatment.

I had a boss who had 4 children, 3 of them were boys and all on Ritilin. She told me (she is a teacher) that the reason her youngest one was on Ritilin was because the other two were positive for ADHD and she wanted to make sure the other one stayed in line and didn't get out of hand "just in case". So, her doctor either let her put him on it, or she started giving his brothers meds to him. That's all I'll say about her!!! Her preschool finally got shut down after I reported her for spanking children.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
I would imagine that a child going through what you have shared on this board would have MANY behavior and emotional challanges...Things that need to be addressed and worked through in very serious ways-not covered up or controlled by a pill. The thing is that (I am not saying Mikee) children who are controlled by medication don't learn to control themselves by themselves. The children I have delt with on meds are just as hyper 2 years later <off meds> as they were before the meds-they have not learned to curb their behavior because they have not had too...The whole thing boils down to Why are they on Ritalin in the first place and the most common answer is because They were hyperactive or did not pay attention in class and were disruptive...What else is new? Kids have since the beginning of time been loud and disruptive but they used to be expected to behave and they were punished if they did not-now if you tell a child they are getting spanked you get looked at like you have 3 heads-The disaplinary gap begins and ends at home and I feel like in the vast majority of cases ADHD is a quick fix answer for kids who just haven't gotten enough interaction at home and honestly just don't know how to behave

punkeemunkee'smom replied: sorry double post


But I will add that I feel that many of the hyper activity comes from the over abundance of sugar and McD's type foods that kids eat now too....But that is a whole other topic in itself

Boo&BugsMom replied:

mom2my2cuties replied: Mikee isn't on any medicines for it. Well not Rx drugs. His grandparents (Being the genius parents they are) are giving him herbal crap. And that's where I will leave it.

I am hoping after some counseling and behavioral counseling and some good ole fashioned mom and daddy love Mikee is doing good again.

I was just using that as an example of teachers trying to "self diagnosis" your child, and it causes more problems.

coasterqueen replied:
Well I would have a serious issue with listening to a teacher, personally. That's just my opinion on what I'd do. I would NEVER believe a teacher enough to just believe my child was like that, period. There would have to be more evidence. First off teachers aren't educated in such a thing, so how could they make such an assessment????

That happened here in our town at a preschool and the mother was in tears because she thought she'd have to take her child out of ps because of his "behavioral problems". She went to talk to the principal and he was livid that the teacher made an unqualified assessment. The teacher was severly reprimanded for this and should be. It's one thing to bring up to the parent that they need to have their child checked out but it's another to come out and say they think a child has ADD/ADHD.

kimberley replied: i am curious when all these teachers got their degree in psychiatry
all of my problems began from the school. they told me he ate too much and had me get him checked for a tape worm. they told me he got too many headaches and to bring him to a neurologist (his headaches were due to stress from the massive amount of homework/classwork he received daily even after diagnosis of his disability). they made me get his hearing and sight checked, had a OT visit him numerous times, had me take him to a child psychiatrist and have him evaluated by the school psychologist.. i am surprised the didn't call in the priest for a good ol fashioned exorcism

yes, Jacob has trouble with attention and sitting still BUT it is not his fault the gov't has intensified the curriculum to meet international standards, decided NCLB was a GOOD idea, and allowed for one teacher to teach a minimum of 35 kids at all different levels to be in one class! he should not have to be labelled or medicated because THEY can't handle it! i totally sympathize with the teachers.. it is a very under appreciated profession but there has to be a better way to deal with kids than calling them ADD/ADHD and drugging them.

Mel, that is so sad about your friend's nephew. my heart goes out to him.

and Tish, i agree that Mikee has been through unimaginable horrors for a child his age and acting out is par for the course. i pray you can all heal as a family.

Boo&BugsMom replied: GET THIS! No joke either...Troy was put on Valium for the first year of his life when he was a baby!!! Now, what quack doctor decided THAT?!? And, his parents did it, not knowing any better at that time. Ok, so it's a little off topic, but this thread reminded me of that.

DansMom replied: It does disturb me---I am firmly in the camp of mistrusting pharmaceuticals.

The TV/Computer theory---I'm believing that from my own experience. A particularly grueling week in which I had to work and DH was very sick, so Daniel unfortunately got too much TV and computer time while DH could barely take care of him. After just two days of unusual levels of TV/computer, Daniel became NOTICEABLY and REMARKABLY unfocused, overstimulated, combative and off-the-wall. He would be crying and claim that he was happy. It frightened us so much that we are having zero TV or computer right now. Scary.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I didn't read ALL of the replies so I'm sorry if I repeat some things. I did read Tracy's reply about TV/Computers though and I wanted to comment on it as best I could. I once read or heard (may have been on Dr Phil) that TV/video games are a significant cause in the inability to focus (for adults and kids alike). I'll have to do more research on it b/c I can't remember exactly what was said, but something to the effect of the images being flashed so quickly and the bright lights, etc. Kids grow accustomed to that and can't focus on one thing at a time in a classroom setting. Does anyone else remember hearing anything about this?

Also, allergies cause hyperactivity in a lot of kids. One friend of mine has a daughter who is allergic to dyes in certain food. Like red dye #310. As strange as it may seem, once that was cut out of her diet she behaved perfectly fine.

I worked for a team of neurologists for a few years. One of the doctors I worked for is still a very good friend of mine. Before he gives the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD he has his lab perform the brain wave test (EEG) that Karen was referring to. Many, many kids who were referred to our doctors ended up NOT having ADD. But I can remember the parents requesting they be put on Ritalin. An EEG takes about 30 mins to an hour. All they do is put those little electrodes on the scalp and have the kids look at different things. No biggie. We had an EEG lab in our office...I spent a lot of time in there and even had an EEG myself.

I think the parents need to research ALL avenues before drugging their children. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

huggybugboy replied: I agree that children are way overmedicated. However, this does not change the fact that add/adhd is an actual condition that can greatly affect kids and adults. True, medication may not help every kid. True, behavior modifications might be the way to go. But to some kids, medication makes a huge difference. My brother had severe adhd growing up. He tried a couple of different size doses of medication and once they figured out the correct dosage, he was a completely new kid! He all of a sudden loved school and was thriving. Before that, he was labelled special ed and was considered stupid because he was unable to focus. Who helped my brother? A teacher. So please don't turn this discussion into teacher bashing. Because some of us teachers are just trying to help out our students. And no, I don't have a degree in psychiatry, but I was required to take a course on add/adhd. I agree, medication isn't the first step. But don't just turn it down completely. For some kids, it may change their life.

cameragirl21 replied: ITA with you that medication may help, Katie, and teacher bashing was not the point i don't think but look at it this way--doctors prescribed (and still prescribe) weight loss pills for people to lose weight and they do help, just like gastric bypass but just because these drastic measures make a difference doesn't make them the right course of action.
you can solve many things with a pill but that pill may not be the best thing for you, kwim?
i think that is part of the OP's point and not to mention that for every kid that needs to be medicated there are at least 5-10 out there who are overmedicated and were put on meds so as not to confront the actual problem which is that some kids are naturally hyperactive and have behavioral problems.
think of all the generations that survived before anyone knew about add/adhd....