[madisgram]

i watched this documentary last night. i realize there are 2 schools/opinions of thought on this topic. my concern is it appears to me is that children are not being allowed to be children and outgrow "symptoms" rather than labeling them this or that and putting them on meds. there also is scientific documentation that ritalin shrinks the developing brain. the opposing sides agree on this finding.

my granddaughter's behavior during a 2 year period of time mimicked bipolar. we took her to a psychologist not for a label but therapy to give her some coping skills and we were doing the same with her. fast forward to the present-normal, adjusted 9 year old. no symptoms of bipolar. i'm glad we felt therapy and our patience won out. i question pdocs who have too much enthusiasm drugging our children with meds they don't need. many are now found to have no benefit at all. some children in the show were 2 yr. olds dx'ed with bipolar and put on meds. that's very frightening to me. when side effects occur some pdocs prescribe yet another med to counteract the side effects of the first, second, etc. one. perhaps some children do require meds but i feel that should be a last resort to treat them.

In The Medicated Child, FRONTLINE producer Marcela Gaviria confronts psychiatrists, researchers and government regulators about the risks, benefits and many questions surrounding prescription drugs for troubled children. The biggest current controversy surrounds the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Formerly called manic depression, bipolar disorder was long believed to exist only in adults. But in the mid-1990s, bipolar in children began to be diagnosed at much higher rates, sometimes in kids as young as 4 years old. "The rates of bipolar diagnoses in children have increased markedly in many communities over the last five to seven years," says Dr. Steven Hyman, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. "I think the real question is, are those diagnoses right? And in truth, I don't think we yet know the answer."

Like many of the 1 million children now diagnosed with bipolar, 5-year-old Jacob Solomon was initially believed to suffer from an attention deficit disorder. His parents reluctantly started him on Ritalin, but over the next five years, Jacob would be put on one drug after another. "It all started to feel out of control," Jacob's father, Ron, told FRONTLINE. "Nobody ever said we can work with this through therapy and things like that. Everywhere we looked it was, 'Take meds, take meds, take meds.'"

Read more: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...#ixzz1ZRmXnyQO

[lynn P.]

I completely agree with your premise and the article. I think parents should try therapy and also look carefully at their childs diet. Many children who have ADHD/ADD and behavior problems improve greatly when the processed junk, which has additives and artificial colors is removed. Usually most doctors can't really determine if a child is bipolar until they're 18, because their brains and personality aren't fully developed.

Yes I know there are exceptions to the rule -I saw this one special where the young girl was seeing/hearing people and talking about killing members of her family.

There's also this not very well known medical condition called PANDA which stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus. In short the typical strep throat can lead to sudden psychiatric symptoms.

http://www.adhd.com.au/PANDAS.htm

Parents/doctors should try to look at a childs diet, use positive parenting, counseling first before jumping to medicating. Children do misbehave and that's part of being a child ( there are exceptions). Children aren't born knowing how to control their emotions and its out job to help them handle their out of control emotions in a positive way.

[AAAAA]

I can’t agree with you more madisgram. When I was seeking help for my oldest child many of the doctors that I went to immediately jumped to medication. I was not prepared to do that right out of the gate, so I was shown the door. I eventually found an excellent husband and wife team. He was a Peds MD, she Peds T. We eventually did decide that medication was the right route, but first we tried diet therapy, allergy therapy and many other things before we went the medication route. I do feel a little guilty that my son struggled with school specifically during all of this time while we were trying other things. If memory serves (he is now 24) it took two years before we turned to medication. He was on the smallest dose and the change was immediate and miraculous.

It is also SO important that children have limits and boundaries as well. Our son’s ADHD was never ever an excuse for bad behavior or poor manners. It is so frustrating to see parents just throw their hands up and say “there’s nothing we can do, he/she has ADHD.”

[Caretaker Leo]

Each case is unique and there are no right or wrong answers on this topic.

My family went through counseling and tried using behavior modification programs when my oldest was diagnosed with ADHD. We chose to put him on Ritalin.

During that time, my youngest also had behavior issues, but the behavior modification ideas didn't work with him. I reached a point where I could no longer handle being physically attacked by my Jekyll/Hyde child. He was only 3 at the time, but I told the doctor that I wasn't leaving the office until he either prescribed something for the child or something for me!

Now, so many years later, my oldest actually has the correct diagnoses of Bipolar and is on the correct medications. I have to say - I wish he had been properly diagnosed 20 years ago. Perhaps his life would be so much better than it is now and maybe I would not be dealing with the emotional aftermath that has become an issue in my own life.

My youngest is no longer on meds. While he was diagnosed with ADHD, ODD and a few other labels, I now think it is more likely that his issues were a result of living in a dysfunctional family. Counseling, doctors, etc will never have all of the answers. Continuing education for doctors is critical and willingness on their part to make referrals to Psychologists and Psychologists for thorough testing could help reduce the number of incorrect diagnoses.

I regret that we put the youngest on Ritalin. I think it stunted his physical growth. He will never be 6 feet tall like the pediatrician had predicted. But he has become a sweet, kind and caring young man and is moving forward to a happy future.

[nicoleb2]

Originally Posted by AAAAA

It is also SO important that children have limits and boundaries as well. Our son’s ADHD was never ever an excuse for bad behavior or poor manners. It is so frustrating to see parents just throw their hands up and say “there’s nothing we can do, he/she has ADHD.”

My 9 year old has ADHD and on occasion has tried to blame her poor choices on the adhd. I point out to her that though she has adhd, she is choosing the behaviors. I frequently remind her that she needs to make good choices.

That said, she is on and has been on medication for a while. We tried other things, but they didn't work. We are increasing her meds now because she has grown a lot since her last increase and it just isn't working as well.

I am also working with her teachers because she's having a hard time getting work done. Today, her teacher had her stand at a taller desk to do her work, and she was able to get it done.

Long story to basically say that I agree that meds are being over prescribed, but in some instances, they are needed.

My son has ADHD and has been on meds since he was 7; he is now 16. He was never a behavior problem. That wasn't why we decided to try medications. It is a misperception that all kids with ADHD are behavior problems. Without medication, he literally paces from room to room like a trapped animal. He hates that. It really is anxiety-making for him. On medication the pacing goes away and he is a much happier camper. Without medication he is unable to attend to conversations, activities, and of course, school work. If there is a lawnmower running outside the classroom, he is unable to focus on whatever task is at hand inside the classroom. On medication, he is able to carry on a conversation and keep track of what is being said. His is able to read a book and actually learn and retain information. He has severe fine motor deficits. One of the really interesting positive results of medication is that his ability to write semi-legibly is greatly improved. His growth has definitely not been stunted. He is over 6 feet tall.

He receives special education services as a student with ADHD. His doctor made recommendations for accommodations that help compensate for the attention issues that get in the way at school. The school very willingly accepted those recommendations and has been excellent in working with him.

Some kids truly do have severe issues that are greatly improved with the aid of medications. Of course medication is not the only intervention to use, but it often works extremely well when coupled with direction and training. I would hate to think where he would be now if all these years he had been without the medication that has allowed him to attend to the world around him.

[Sabrina]

My ADHD son is 13 and has been on Ritalin for some years. This has been a lifesaver for him and his schoolwork which he simply can't cope with without the medication. He does not have any behaviour problems and I don't medicate him on weekends and during vacation time (unless he asks for it).

[AAAAA]

I do not regret medicating my son. As I said, the medication allowed him to concentrate and made school easier for him. Some people think that the medication will correct bad behavior and that is not the case as everyone that has posted here knows. The medication allowed him to a few seconds to decide whether or not to act on the impulses he had. I am unaware of any side effects that affect growth my son is 6 – 4.

My regrets are that with my oldest I was acting on outdated information. When my brother was dx the information that we were given was that this was a rare disease that affected only males and was passed on from mother to son. Hindsight being 20/20 maybe I did not want to believe that my son was ADHD. My regret stems from the fact that he continued to struggle in school while we were trying other options.

My issue with parents is that people that I know irl believe that ADHD is an excuse for bad behavior. Things like having their children swear at them or hit them or other children. In my opinion this is a discipline issue and there is no medication that is going to help that.

[PurpleFlyingMonkeys]

I am totally with you on this one. I don't think doctors need to show young ones the way to cope is through a drug. They had me on over 30 pills (it was like 18 different meds) a day when I was only 14. They had me on blood pressure meds at 14 to counteract the antipsychotics I was on. I was having blood pressure issues, a bleeding scalp and my symptoms were worse than they were to begin with. Fast forward 10 years later and I loathe taking meds. I'm not on any but when I do take them, all the meds I was on before created too high of a tolerance. Meds no longer work for me when I can actually use the benefits knowledgably. Not to mention the terrible side effects (oh wait I did mention a couple) and the moods it created, it was disaster to begin with. No doctor looked at me thinking "This is a 14 year old with a family history of drug abuse we need to help her cope and not rely on drugs" they just labeled me with every label and slapped meds on it to try and cover it. I didn't need meds or labels, only a way to cope.

I'm all for therapy at a young age, if it's needed. Everyone at some point can benefit from therapy. But meds need to be left to adults who have gone through the childhood and have learned to on their own cope. It should only be a last resort if the child has not made any progress in therapy. Meds put a hold on my progress when I was younger. I've also noticed a lot of those who were on riddlin as a child end up having a upper addiction as an adult. Cocaine, crack, speed etc.

It's messed up the drugs they put children on, and at such young ages as 3! My daughter is 3 and I would never think of giving her psych meds!!!!! EVER!

[quote=PurpleFlyingMonkeys;2045278] I've also noticed a lot of those who were on riddlin as a child end up having a upper addiction as an adult. Cocaine, crack, speed etc.

/quote]
Actually, the research shows the opposite:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...1/179.abstract

Basically the research shows that the drug abuse issues they do see are really a function of the ADHD itself in some kids, though by no means are all kids with ADHD doomed to a life of drug abuse. Kids who are properly medicated are actually less likely to abuse drugs later in life. The larger problem comes from people/kids using stimulant medications who actually are not ADHD. Obviously that would be an issue. That is why it is so important that a careful diagnosis is made rather than physicians bowing to parents who demand they medicate their children for a condition they don't really have. Unfortunately that is so often the case.

The danger is that some people are so anti-med that they refuse to allow their children to be medicated when intervention is really needed and the kids are the ones who pay for years of trying to function somehow against all of the issues of their disability when they could have had some relief of symptoms.

I am by no means saying that there aren't problems with children being over-medicated, but it is foolish to paint all children's meds and children's symptoms with the same brush. That's is just extremism and personally I find extremism to be a very dangerous thing.

[Merlin]

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had been on medication younger. I don't believe that medication should be the first option, unless a genetic or hormonal marker can be found, but I don't think it should be discounted as an option. When a child's feelings, thoughts and actions are out of proportion to the situation or completely independent of it and therapy has been little or no help, then medication is a reasonable option and in the case where parents rely on medication should, perhaps, be considered even earlier, in adjunct to therapy with the assumption that it may be discontinued after six months to see if it's still necessary, preferably not in the middle of a semester.