Reply to Do you have to medicate ADHD?

Forum Index » Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities

Reply to "Do you have to medicate ADHD?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Working with sp ed students, I would say if your child can be successful in school without medication then by all means do not medicate.  However, if they cannot be successful, or struggle a whole lot, then trying medication is a good idea.[/quote]

School is not the be-all and end-all of a child's life, and school performance should not be the only factor considered in deciding how to treat ADHD.

When our child was diagnosed, I was reluctant to jump right into medication despite the fact that I have it as well and take medication that's highly effective for me. It wasn't a rational decision to wait, it was all anxiety/emotion. We made it almost a month after diagnosis, starting OT and making other recommended changes to help him develop new habits. It was awful for him, we were basically asking even more of him than we were before with all of the new habits and routines, but giving him no better tools to actually do any of it. He would try so hard all day, and then just break down in a sobbing inconsolable mess because his brain was so tired and he was so frustrated. Starting medication was amazing for him, he didn't become a different kid, but all of the good in him that had previously been obscured by the ADHD came through. He was so much happier, he actually thanked me one evening for taking him to the doctor to start medication because, as he put it, "Now I can do everything I want to do and have fun without my behavior getting in the way."[/quote]

My comment assumed the OP does not want to medicate if it is not really necessary.  I find that many parents can be flexible enough at home to get by without medication if they decide the child is better off without it, like if they observe negative side effects, etc.  However, to expect a child to succeed in a public school environment without medication is sometimes unreasonable.  Negative side effects may still be observed but hopefully the doctor can tweak the dosage or type of medication until the most acceptable combination is reached.[/quote]

I know exactly where you're coming from, and it's still an ignorant position for which no educated person should be advocating. ADHD does not just affect how a child does in school, it also affects their home life (even if the parents are "flexible"), their engagement in hobbies and extracurriculars, their socialization, etc., and all of those things can affect a child's wellbeing; a child who's on grade level at school but has no friends and doesn't develop their skills at things they enjoy probably isn't all that happy. Further, being "flexible" at home isn't necessarily a good choice for the long-run, because it doesn't set the child up with the tools and skills they will need to manage on their own as an adult, and especially not to have a functional relationship with a live-in partner. Yes, flexibility is important, but it needs to be flexibility in how your child takes care of their responsibilities, not whether they take care of their responsibilities, and even your child doesn't have the tools they need to take care of their responsibilities, all the flexibility in the world won't help. Finally, a child can be doing fine at school, not behind academically or having behavioral issues, but still not be working up to their potential. Kids are remarkably self-aware, they know when the work they're producing doesn't reflect what's in their head, and that inability to produce the work you feel you should be capable of doing can be damaging to self-esteem and educational engagement.

Whether to medicate or not is a decision parents have to make for their own child, and I will not presume to tell people what to do (although I will share our experience when asked). But parents need to have an informed basis for making that decision, including all of the considerations. Cursory treatment such as you advocated impairs good decision-making, and ultimately hurts kids.[/quote][/quote]

NP here.  You need to step away from the keyboard. The first PP's post has triggered something in you that is causing you to read a lot more into her post than what's there and responding to what's not there.  Feel free to post your own experience but stop trying to diminish her opinion.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics