The Pill Predicament Should we medicate our kids to change their behavior?
(cont.)
............................................................................................................................
viewing page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
education put back into the curriculum." But until we retool our schools, parents must try to fit their children into the existing systems.
Dan Johnson, for one, is trying everything he can to keep his smart, energetic
son, Christian, now 8, off "the stuff," as he calls it. Like Laura,
Christian has struggled at school and at home. After he was expelled from school,
he was diagnosed with ADHD and meds were recommended. Johnson, a business and
church consultant in Chicago, reluctantly agreed to allow Christian, then 5, to
try a prescribed stimulant. His behavior improved, but Johnson, who says he grew
up seeing how illicit drugs affected some of his close family members, remained
skeptical. So when Christian cried out one day in class that he couldn't be a
good boy without his medication, his dad discontinued the drug and switched him
to an herbal supplement (see sidebar, next page). Though tolerable, Christian's
behavior was less consistent after the change.
So who's right? Must our kids be medicated to succeed?
Using prescription drugs to reduce inappropriate behavior in children has certainly become more acceptable. Research shows a surge in the last 15 years in the number of children taking powerful medications like Ritalin. Sales of methylphenidates, like Ritalin, classified by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration as controlled substances because of their addictive potential, increased nearly 500 percent from 1991 to 1999.
Sales of amphetamines like Adderall rose more than 2,000 percent in that time. Still, some experts argue that children are often labeled ADHD when other problems exist. Some even deny that such a "disorder" exists. One study suggested that "agitation syndrome," or environmental stress, not attention deficit, may be affecting adolescent Black boys. Meanwhile, the National Medical Association, a group of doctors of African descent, recently sounded the alarm that the rise in hyperactivity-disorder diagnoses has led to disproportionate numbers of Black children in special education. Blacks make up 12 percent of the population but 28 percent of special-ed students.
While many African-Americans believe our kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD, the reality, mental-health practitioners say, is that many Black children lack access to proper screening by adequately trained health professionals.
viewing page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6