Ask a Child on Ritalin, “What Is It Like?” by Marcy Sanders
August 4, 2004 -- The regularly-scheduled parent/teacher conference wasn’t going as well as usual. The teacher is explaining in carefully chosen words that something needs to be changed regarding your child’s education. You have noticed that he hasn’t been as interested in homework as before and doesn’t want to go to school sometimes.
The teacher is saying that he isn’t paying attention and can be disruptive.
“What do you recommend?” You want to know. It is your son’s future at stake.
If you have been in this situation, the answer you received may have been “testing is needed” or “an analysis will be done” or “take him to see a pediatrician for help”.
You want to follow up on all possible ways to help so you take the advices.
One young girl of 7 was in this situation. After interviews and testing, she was prescribed Ritalin (a psychiatric drug) to improve her ability to learn in school. After several years of taking this drug during the school year and being off of it during the summers, there was another parent conference. Again the teacher was advising that she just wasn’t making fast enough progress and seemed to be getting worse in academic scores although she was attentive and quiet in school. An increase in the dosage was being recommended.
This was a dilemma for the parents. Was a drug the answer? Is there any proof that the drug had a positive effect? The Dad did not hesitate to respond, “How do we know that it is not the Ritalin that is making her worse?” An uncomfortable pause followed.
There is no answer for that question for there is no way to know. The parents discontinued the drug and the student became herself again and continued through school with a good academic record.
Several years after being taken off of Ritalin, I interviewed this student. Here is her story paraphrased as I remember it:
“I was sick all the time when I was taking the medication. I felt ill and had no appetite. I hardly ate anything and became very thin. All I wanted was to stop taking the pills and feel better.”
When I asked if she ever told her parents how she felt, she said, “Since my parents, teacher, school nurse and Doctor had told me that I had to take the medication, I didn’t think that I had anything to say about it. I figured it was a punishment for not doing well in school.” (At 7 or 8 or 9, most children would not challenge such formidable authority figures.)
When asked if the drug helped her to study, she paused and then answered, “I knew that the only way I could be taken off of the drug was to get better grades, so I studied hard and tried to do better.”
“I was very happy when my parents told me that I could stop. I started eating again, gaining weight and being more active.”
Do the drugs Ritalin, Prozac and Zoloft help a student study well through better focus’? For this young child, the drug was a punishment and a threat. The communication in unspoken words was, “You will be ill and miserable until you get your grades up.” She focused. Isn’t there a better way to help a child?
This article courtesy of http://www.zoloft-side-effects.info.
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