Children with A.D.D.

I am sure I am not the only one worried here, but I just want to vent.

I am really worried about young children (from ages 5-15) being put on these medications. I do understand that some kids are REALLY obnoxious, but I am pretty sure that they will grow out of it (I did, and i was HELLA obnoxious). Has anyone else noticed that the kids who started taking ADD meds at young ages never grow out of their obnoxious stage when their young teens or sometimes even when they become adults? It really worries me because some of these kids can't function without their meds. Imo, it seems that they never fully developed their "calm/concentrating" skills, because they never needed to because they had Adderall.
Another thing that is really scary is that doctors are prescribing young children 50-70mg Adderall! The first thought that came to my mind was "HOLY SH*T, these kids gotta be rollin their balls off!" I was reading Adderall blogs about parents being "worried" about their 5yr old kids being put on 70mg Adderall, because they started "rubbing their arms and grinding their teeth." Are you effin kidding me!?! Who would put their 5yr old 50lb child on 70mg Adderall? I don't care what the doctor/shrink said, no child needs to be taking that much medication (it’s a wonder they don’t have a heart attack)! Also, some of these kids are being prescribed Adderall and then a month later they are bumped up an extra 10mg.Then 3 months later another 10mg. Finally, by a year they are taking 120mg of this stuff! No one has that quickly of a tolerance to this type of drug.
I have been on Adderall since senior yr. of high school; I am now a freshman at OU. After a year on it, we upped my prescription from 20mg to 40mg (first time I took my 40mg, I seriously felt like I just did a line of some decent coc aine, but after the first week that went away ). I decided to talk to my doctor and told her i wanted to go down to 25mg because I kept craving cigarettes.
But seriously...no child should be taking that much Adderall, nor should they be having their prescription bumped up every 3 months. I am 18 and weigh 120lbs, and if I felt like i snorted some ye from a 40mg Adderall, I wonder how the 5yr old 50lb girl felt on her 70mg...

PS
All this info is true, if you type on Google “Adderall blogs” I’m 100% sure you'll find some crazy parent feeding their 5yr Adderall.

PSs
if there is a parent reading this who is giving their child adderall. I highly recomend you stop, kids will be kids and who cares if they are struggling in school in third grade. (I failed nearly all my classes in elementary and made C's and D's in middle school, and here I am with a full ride to OU; majoring in astronomy btw) Besides, life isn't about "fitting in to society", it is about understanding yourself and what you are in this vast Universe.

reply to post by zptramel


zpt,

I totally agree. Kids should not be on any drugs (unless they need any physically).

It screws them up - wrecks their creativity, their potential, their judgement - everything.

And because they are screwed the world is screwed.

It is a crime against children and no matter how difficult your kids are, please, don't drug them. You may as well give them a lethal injection.

I very much agree with your post.
My own son was diagnosed with Aspergers (high functioning autism), sensory process disorder, and he shows traits of adhd. (still too young to diagnose him for that one)

The very thought of giving him something like adderal just breaks my heart, because he is such a happy little chappy. To take that away from him, and take away his personality. I just can't do it.

He doesn't sleep, and that was beginning to take a toll on me being a single mum, and on him too. So he has a very small dose of melantonin at night. This is naturally produced by us anyway, he just doesn't seem to create enough for himself.

The likes of ritolin and adderal is being given so freely to kids, and it's quite sad, because I really do feel it takes some of their personality away from them.
It's sad.

My child was diagnosed with autism and the first thing they wanted to do was give him adderal and I asked would this help him? the doctor just looked at me and said no. I then proceeded to ask him why would you prescribe it if it wasn't going to help him. He looked right square in the face and said "I just wanted to see what the reaction would be giving it to an autistic child". Needless to say we never went back.

reply to post by Wildeagle


so true! infact, my little brother was "diagnosed" with ADD so they put him on concerta at 6yrs old. he started talking about how he wanted to kill himself, at 6yrs old talking about suicide!WTF! so my mom took him off it after three days on it. Imo, I wouldn't give my child adderall until they turned 16, by that time their hopefully mentally stable and can understand that its the drug making them think this way not themselves (thats if they have suicidal thoughts).

reply to post by agentblue


doctors and Pharmaceutical companies...all they want is your money and possibly a guine pig.

Who's sponsoring your "full ride"? Is it an academic scholarship? Or is it military, or other?

Did you make a drastic turn-around in high-school? If so, what did it for you? Did you suddenly find that school was challenging enough to keep you interested, and focused? Or, did you follow a 504 (or some other) plan?

I'm seriously, genuinely interested. I have a boy, about to start high-school (we go tomorrow to ninth grade orientation night) and I'm a little concerned. He's ADD, but not hyper; although I wouldn't mind a bit more hyper 'activity' and lot less hyper "focusing" (he's tired all the frick'n time!).

We just got his state test results back today, and they are the same as every year: advanced in Reading, Math, Science, and 'very proficient' in Language Arts. The thing is, he either gets A's or F's (like 90 - 100% or 0%). There really isn't a middle ground for him, which concerns me (you're being ADHD, I'm sure you understand).

I'm just worried that he won't be able to see past tomorrow (very common with ADD), and won't ever get the hang of long-term planning and it's implications.

I know you started this thread to discuss ADD medication, but meds are only a very small fraction of the overall long-term health management plan.

BTW, how are you doing in college?

I would like to say to OP and the parents who have posted so far, you have my greatest admiration for persevering in the face of huge difficulties.

More strength to you all!

The DSM is the only way that ADD is diagnosed. Here’s how it’s done: In the DSM, ADD has nine symptoms listed under it. If a child has any six of them, in the opinion of the doctor (or the teacher!) that child may be diagnosed as having ADD. That’s it! Funny thing is, it seems like most of these entries on the list are not symptoms of a mental disorder, but just symptoms of being a kid:

1. Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
2. Often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected
3. Often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate
4. Often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
5. Is often ‘on the go’ or often acts as if driven “by a motor”
6. Often talks excessively
7. Often blurts out answers before questions have been completed
8. Often has difficulty awaiting turn
9. Often interrupts or intrudes on others

Sound like anyone you’ve ever known? Some may ask if there are any kids who would not fit six of these criteria. The reader should understand that this is the only “diagnostic” “testing” that exists for determining ADD. Six out of nine. No lab test, no blood tests, no physical examination whatsoever, no standardized batteries of written or verbal psychological testing. Just these nine. And unlike any other disease in history, the diagnosis may be made by anyone in authority, with no medical credentials or training whatsoever: the school nurse, school counselor, a teacher, the principal, a coach…

“…they come off drugs at 14 or so and suddenly they’re big, strong people who’ve never had to spend any time building any controls in learning how to cope with their own daily stress. Then the parents who have forgotten what the child’s real personality was like without the mask of the drug, panic and say ‘Help me. I don’t know what to do with him.’ … they can only deal with the medicated child.” – Schrag, p 94

Of course childhood and adolescence are confusing periods of growth – there’s no dress rehearsal. First time through’s a take. But what we’re doing with these psychotropic drugs is erasing footage that can never be replaced. Each lost stressful experience was an opportunity for growth and learning that was drugged out of existence, stolen from the child forever. High and lows are clipped; elation and depression are merged together as one, and the victim cruises through his formative years an insensate robot.

The darkest aspect of the whole ADD scam, in my opinion is the totalitarian leveling effect that is being perpetrated on American children and docilely accepted by American adults. Children may still be able to function and to attend classes on Ritalin. But any teacher or parent will attest that creativity is usually gone. The light in their eyes goes out. Children develop at different rates, with varying degrees of stress and the ability to cope with it. As Dr. Walker says, stress and confusion are a necessary part of adolescence, essential to the learning process. To mute these normal emotions of frustration and elation with drugs is to steal these kids’ childhood and adolescence from them.

Want to read more? It's all here:

ADD- a designer disease

Originally posted by SourGrapes
Who's sponsoring your "full ride"? Is it an academic scholarship? Or is it military, or other?

Did you make a drastic turn-around in high-school? If so, what did it for you? Did you suddenly find that school was challenging enough to keep you interested, and focused? Or, did you follow a 504 (or some other) plan?

I'm seriously, genuinely interested. I have a boy, about to start high-school (we go tomorrow to ninth grade orientation night) and I'm a little concerned. He's ADD, but not hyper; although I wouldn't mind a bit more hyper 'activity' and lot less hyper "focusing" (he's tired all the frick'n time!).

We just got his state test results back today, and they are the same as every year: advanced in Reading, Math, Science, and 'very proficient' in Language Arts. The thing is, he either gets A's or F's (like 90 - 100% or 0%). There really isn't a middle ground for him, which concerns me (you're being ADHD, I'm sure you understand).

I'm just worried that he won't be able to see past tomorrow (very common with ADD), and won't ever get the hang of long-term planning and it's implications.

I know you started this thread to discuss ADD medication, but meds are only a very small fraction of the overall long-term health management plan.

BTW, how are you doing in college?

I am started filling out FASFA forms, Ohlap, and sponsored by a foundation, infact I have scholarships that are just more money in my pocket

i turned around in 9th gr when i fell in love with the Universe, since then it has been a deep passion of mine, that I decided I wanted to become an astronomy teacher so i can (hopefully) inspire children to love it as i have.

OU is good! The campus is beautiful and the curriculum is excellent (but it is crazy hard, so much different than high school). last semester, procrastination was my major problem...but I learned my lesson!

One thing I tell all kids goin to a University is that, if your from a lower or middle class school (like me)its gonna be hella hard! I suggest reading "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work" by Jean Anyon...it's scary but shows how the status quo is alive in America. here it is
cuip.uchicago.edu...

Normally with these sorts of posts I tend to act as the devil's advocate and support medication, etc. However, I absolutely have to agree with this one. When I was a child a doctor (multiple doctor's, actually) said I had ADD and should take the appropriate pills to control my unruly behaviour (to be fair, I was an absolute nightmare of a child). Perhaps the only good thing my father ever did for me was stop my mum from buying in to it. He didn't believe that ADD was real (I don't necessarily agree with that stance) and completely refused I be treated for it. After I grew out of childhood, my behaviour calmed dramatically and I've been relatively fine ever since. I can often see the symptoms in me that might be considered reminiscent of ADD, but as a fully functioning adult I find them quite easy to spot and to manage.

I am not sure how I would have turned out if I did take medication. I suppose it would have been nicer on my Mum to not have be causing trouble 24/7.

Thanks for saying something. I am 28 years old and almost every day I wonder how different my life would be if I had never been diagnosed with A.D.D. and treated with dangerous drugs. I moved from a small town in AZ to what I considered a ritzy suburb in Phoenix. I wasn't adjusting too well in school with kids treating me different because of my mixed hispanic and white nationalities. White kids called me spic and beaner, while a couple hispanic kids called me white boy. I ended up fighting all of them and beating most of them. My grades stated slipping because I was so pissed and upset that I kept having problems at school. immediately the teachers suggested I had A.D.D. My parents let it go that year. But the next year I was in a new school close to home with the same problems. I started hanging out with a small rough crowd in the same boat as me and all hell broke loose. That year I was tested with weird smart tests that I thought were stupid and too easy and wouldn't take them because I knew what it was for. So my shrink immediately diagnosed me. I started on Ritalin and it made me sick. The doctor later prescribed me Adderall. Oh I forgot to mention that they said I was depressed and gave me free sample packs of Zoloft and stuff. I don't remember the doses of Adderall because nobody ever told me. and I never saw the bottle. All I know is that the worse I did the dosage went up, if I was good the dosage went down. Until I was 18. Long story medium I was acting like a tweaker and getting into ALOT of trouble. By the time I was 18 I was arrested for 3 felonies and 5 misdemeanors. Oh I also have an awesome soon to be 11 year old daughter. I am now doing comparably well and am fairly happy. Who would have ever though that the son of an elected official and governor appointee would have ever ended up like this. The only times I did well was when I faked taking my pills but that soon stopped. My probation officer told me that he knew I wasn't taking my medicine, because methanphetamines were not showing up in my weekly drug test. I said "No s***t I'm not a tweaker!" He said "No, your medication is a methanphetamine and it is part of your probation to take it!" So I was back on it and up to no good. Before the move I was mainly an A and B student and a decent athlete. I used to get in trouble class for talking, but I was bored because I was done with my work and it was right. So PLEASE! Parents PLEASE do your research and find better more effective ways to keep your kids "good" kids.

reply to post by SourGrapes

Just keep your son motivated and moving forward. Don't give up, no matter how bad it gets, listen, and show lots of compassion. Try to understand him the same way you want him to understand how much you love him and want what's best for him. God bless and/or good luck.