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Reply to "My child is the only one with ADD, not on meds."

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

There is no cure for ADHD.  Thats not news, we all know that.  But there is a treatment. And, yes, the treatment only works while taking it.  but during that "temporary" period of time kids go to school, learn, develop social relationships, function.  And when you master those skills in 5th grade you are better placed to continue them in 6th, and then 7th and then so on. If you lose 5th grade because you can't focus, read, write (don't minimize dysgraphia, my DS has it and it affects everything, including math), you will start 6th grade at a deficit (academically, socially, behaviorally) and over the years that deficit will grow.

There's no cure for deafness, but kids can get cochlear implants that allow them to hear.  It isn't a cure, if the implants are removed or off, the deafness returns.  Its similar.[/quote]

Lots of stuff here.....
1) Regarding "the treatment only works while taking it": the treatment (meds) are not temporary because people stop taking them, they are temporary because they stop working. 
2) Regarding "but during that "temporary" period of time kids go to school, learn, develop social relationships, function.": You're right, they do. Except a medicated child is doing this on drugs that facilitated this functioning and that will not be maintained. 
3) Regarding "And when you master those skills in 5th grade you are better placed to continue them in 6th, and then 7th and then so on.":  A child on medication is not "mastering" anything. They have ingested something that forces their body and mind to act in a way that they cannot act without medication. And when the meds stop working, so will the skills, because they were never mastered in the first place. 
4) Regarding "If you lose 5th grade because you can't focus, read, write (don't minimize dysgraphia, my DS has it and it affects everything, including math), you will start 6th grade at a deficit (academically, socially, behaviorally) and over the years that deficit will grow": If this were true, medicated children would show better long term academic outcomes than unmedicated children. And yet, they don't. Also, a medicated child can "lose" 5th grade too. Every day that he is on medication he loses an opportunity to learn what coping skills he needs to develop and cultivate in order for him to compensate for the way his brain functions. His meds will wear off in a few years, and he will then be back to square one, having learned nothing and looking for a higher dosage to simply function. 
5) Regarding: "There's no cure for deafness, but kids can get cochlear implants that allow them to hear.  It isn't a cure, if the implants are removed or off, the deafness returns.  Its similar.": It is so not similar. Cochlear implants do not stop working after several years, you can have a cochlear implant indefinitely, they don't put any chemicals or drugs into your body that mess with your brain chemistry, and as far as I know, they don't have side effects like loss of appetite, poor sleep, anxiety, and stunted growth. Not even close to stimulants. Sorry. [/quote]

First of all, its already been explained that there are no long term studies of any worth demonstrating what you are claiming.

Second, if a child does not master (writing, algebra, problem solving, ability to socialize) in elementary and middle school, those years aren't coming back and they will always be at a deficit.  For many children with ADHD there are no magic alternatives.  And, yes, my children have mastered writing, math, problem solving, social skills).  If they went off their meds they may or may not have trouble focusing but they will still have the ability to perform all these skills.

Finally, some kids do struggle with side effects from these meds but many don't.  My kids are on non-ritilan ADHD medication and have none of the side effects you list. Actually, no side effects at all.

You don't have a child with ADHD so you?  In any event, you should probably stop repeating yourself with this BS about long term studies but no such studies in any meaningful sense exist.[/quote]

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