Comments on: This Is Your Brain On Drugs . . .

By: Theresa

Theresa — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:13:44 +0000

I too have said no to Ritalin for my very non-’standard issue’ children. I still question myself constantly about it, and I am not out of the woods yet: my daughter is nearly 11 and my son 16.

We came under intense pressure to put my son on Ritalin when he entered a remedial school at the age of 9, but I held fast. Now he uses other methods of ‘self-medication’ and is always on the verge of dropping out.

Should I/shouldn’t I – the internal debate continues. His sister is completely distractable, and finds it very hard to focus on anything that doesn’t really interest her. Like schoolwork.

Would his self-esteem have been higher now if he had been able to concentrate in those lower grades, leading to better self-discipline now? He has none – again – where it doesn’t interest him. Would he have other interests in life than smoking, germinating, growing, researching weed? Would he be less aggressive, rude, deceitful? Or is that just standard teenage issue?

Do I panic and put my daughter on Ritalin to avoid a similar path?

I am not going to do that.

I am going to take heart again now that I have read your post and be happy that my son does something other than play computer games – if he was growing vegetables I would be bursting with pride! If my very artistic temperamented daughter practices piano for a total of 5 accumulated minutes a week, she herself requested piano lessons. I would like them to flower the way that they are intended to, not to force grow them with artificial aids.

Who knows, they may have something to offer the world that is as good as your stupendous books. Probably not. But I would like them to be themselves – their own unique shape. However hard that is when it comes to mothering them against the standards that are set by our society – with the emphasis on the ‘standard’.

Thank you Megan.

By: Sharon Nicley

Sharon Nicley — Thu, 27 May 2010 01:22:47 +0000

I do the same thing and now it is called “old Timers”, which I would be grateful for. Except that would mean my husband might take away my drivers license and put me diapers. My nephew is 10 and has Asbergers. But now he is hearing voices and seemingly getting worse. Of course it could be thata since his bio father refuses to give him his meds. he is terrilby out of balance. As for H.S. seniors, I think being an adult gives them ALL some kinda terror we can’t remember now. I know that I thought I was very confident and cool. I had it all taken care of, until a monkey wrwench was thrown in the works. So be calm, all is well. Recovery will be possible. After they been out for 20 years.

By: Mel W

Mel W — Sun, 23 May 2010 01:51:56 +0000

A little self-test that may help more than any of the ADD drugs is to see how much actual sleep one is getting. When I was diagnosed as an adult with ADD I thought I finally had an answer. NOT. One of the things that will give many of the same symptoms is lack of sleep. Chronic insomnia in my case. Busy lives in the case of students (especially Seniors who have so much extra happening). For me, it was a little note on the ADD prescription, “Not to be used to offset insomnia.” Duh. Addressing my sleep issues helped a whole lot more.

Just a thought.