Medicating Kids with ADHD [5 Point Blog #13]

http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2012/01/01/panic-time-were-running-out-of-adhd-drugs

I have always been on the borderline about medicating kids with mental disorders, especially ADHD. I feel strongly that way too many kids are being treated for ADHD. There are a lot of factors that go into my opinion, though. I'm not saying that ADHD does not exist; I do believe that some kids do have things like ADHD and bipolar, and they should be treated so their childhood can be happy and healthy.

 HOWEVER, I feel that a lot of times, kids are just being kids. If a child is bouncing off the walls, let them outside and let them play. If they are throwing constant tantrums and you just give in all the time, then they are just acting that way because they know it works. I feel like a lot of times, parents jump to medication way too soon. They need to try a different parenting technique, try therapy, try EVERYTHING they can. I feel so strongly that medication should be a last resort. Especially because a lot of this medication can be so dangerous in the long run.

I found a video on TED.com where a guy named Sir Ken Robinson talks about how schools are squashing creativity. About 15 minutes into the video, he tells a very interesting story about a woman who is now a super famous choreographer; however, when she was a young girl, her teacher told her mom that she may have a learning disability because she never stopped moving. It ties into Sir Robinson's speech because the woman figures out that she is a kinesthetic learner, and that type of learning is relatively frowned upon in public schools. 

The point is, this woman didn't have a disability; rather, she had an amazing talent, and if the doctor had put her on medication, she might never have discovered it. If a child truly has a disorder, then they have every right to medication and a normal life. But I strongly believe that there are MANY circumstances where the child just needs to be put in a different environment, or find a different outlet for their energy, or the parents just need to try a new technique, or maybe the child just needs therapy. But medication, whether it's a mental disorder or a physical problem, should ALWAYS be the last resort.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html