By Robin D. Stone
Essence
August 2005
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Linda Brooks had tried to deal with her daughter Laura's erratic behavior in a way that didn't involve medication, but she was running out of options. Laura, 11, was always "acting out," Brooks says, jumping out of her seat in class, interrupting teachers, not finishing assignments. She'd had similar problems at other schools--the one she currently attends is her sixth since pre-K. At home she would talk back constantly and butt in on grown folks' conversations. Her room was a disaster area, and when Morn said to clean it, "she'd shove everything under the bed and into drawers and the closet."

So last December, after years of resistance, Brooks, who is a single morn and works as a FedEx carrier in Houston, agreed to put her bright, spirited daughter on medication. Laura has started taking Adderall, a stimulant, for symptoms of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. (Stimulants increase brain activity, increasing alertness and attentiveness.) Since her daughter has been on the medication, Brooks says, her behavior has done a 180-degree turn. She finishes assignments, stays in her seat, and follows directions. She's gone from D's to B's and straight E's--for excellent--in conduct. At home she minds her mother and cleans her room.

With estimates that between 3 percent and 5 percent of children nationwide--about 2 million--have ADHD, one of the most common mental-health diagnoses among children today, stories like Laura's are not unusual. Among Black parents, though, suspicions of bias and fear of stigma exacerbate an already complicated situation. Although the estimated rates of ADHD are the same for Black children as for children nationwide, experts say a distrust of pharmaceuticals and the medical profession often makes us leery of medicating our children when behavior issues arise.

Of course, part of the problem is an educational system that expects children to stay still for 45 minutes at a time and comply rather than challenge. "Most kids don't need medication," says Jawanza Kunjufu, an education consultant and author of Keeping Black Boys out of Special Education (African American Images). "Boys need to be at the front of the class, where they can focus. They need lesson plans that embrace their culture. They need movement and physical

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