Jack Ikegwuonu, Philadelphia Eagle

[Cerevant]

Ritalin, although a stimulant for adults, has the opposite effect on children, for some medical reason unknown to me.

False.  Ritalin is also prescribed to adults who have ADD/ADHD.  It doesn't just go away...

I don't agree, it's a Methylphenidate, a stimulant.

1) Most ADD drugs are stimulants (Adderall, Ritalin), or have stimulant effects (Strattera, Wellbutrin).  They do not operate differently in adults and children.
2) Adults and children are treated for ADD (with or without the hyperactive component) using stimulants.

ADD, ADHD, whatever, it's a name slapped on a condition that can be avoided by good home training.

Just like most things today, people are always looking for the easy way out.  That doesn't mean that the medical condition doesn't exist.


(pet scan of the brain, first subject does not have ADD symptoms, the second does)

I'll be the first to say that parents (probably including myself) aren't doing a very good job these days, but to make a blanket statement that the disease doesn't exist is simply ignorant.

(No, my kids aren't being treated for ADD - I am)

[bowzer]

The Eagles are so bad that Cerevant is posting brain scans during the game.

[Geowhizzer]

The Eagles are so bad that Cerevant is posting brain scans during the game.

Most of our brains currently look like the one on the right.

Andy Reid's looks like this:

[Diomedes]

Only a truly devout (and hungry) Mormon can master the secret Mormon Bite.

[shorebird]

I'll be the first to say that parents (probably including myself) aren't doing a very good job these days, but to make a blanket statement that the disease doesn't exist is simply ignorant.

(No, my kids aren't being treated for ADD - I am)

You call it a disease, I call it a condition. You say toma'to, I say tomae'to.

 

[Susquehanna Birder]

We will have to agree to disagree on that one. Tons of kids that go to counciling for poor grades simply because they don't pay attention are prescribed Ritalin. ADD, ADHD, whatever, it's a name slapped on a condition that can be avoided by good home training. Parents think they can let kids do whatever they want when they are little, and they grow up with a lack of respect and discipline, not knowing how to act in public when they don't get the same type of attention they do at home. So then, they drug them.

Lived with, maybe. Struggled with, sure. Avoided, no. But it sounds like you're over generalizing to make you point, and you're working from ill-informed conjecture. So yeah, we'll agree to disagree.

[Susquehanna Birder]

I'll be the first to say that parents (probably including myself) aren't doing a very good job these days, but to make a blanket statement that the disease doesn't exist is simply ignorant.

(No, my kids aren't being treated for ADD - I am)

I'll come from the other angle. As the parent of a child with ADD, I've lived with the anguish and stuggle involved with the condition. To say that I resorted to "drugging" my child because I'm too lazy to be a good parent is a farging insult.

BTW, after dealing with diagnosing my kid (something that isn't done lightly, despite what many think), I'm also convinced that I have a touch of ADD, and I wish there was a medical diagnosis available when I was younger.

[shorebird]

We will have to agree to disagree on that one. Tons of kids that go to counseling for poor grades simply because they don't pay attention are prescribed Ritalin. ADD, ADHD, whatever, it's a name slapped on a condition that can be avoided by good home training. Parents think they can let kids do whatever they want when they are little, and they grow up with a lack of respect and discipline, not knowing how to act in public when they don't get the same type of attention they do at home. So then, they drug them.

Lived with, maybe. Struggled with, sure. Avoided, no. But it sounds like you're over generalizing to make you point, and you're working from ill-informed conjecture. So yeah, we'll agree to disagree.

No. Without getting personal, I can guarantee you that I have as much or more experience with what you call a disease and counseling/psychiatry involving young kids as anyone here.

I've seen kids go into treatment and after two visits be prescribed drugs. Psychiatrist are way to quick to prescribe drugs to kids. It's like it's the in thing to do. Like Prozac. And parents are so desperate they believe anything that these so called professionals tell them. It's bullcrap.

[Susquehanna Birder]

In my view, you've already made it personal.

Was any of this experience with your own children? Are you prepared to say that I drugged my kid because I was a poor parent?

[Geowhizzer]

From the educator's point of view:  Yes, I think that Ritalin is over-prescribed, much like almost all prescription meds are.  The feeding of the bloated whale that is the American health care and insurance system.

However, to insinuate that ALL parents are trying to drug their kids for ease or whatever is not only ridiculous, but insulting to those parents.  Most parents who take their kids to doctors are desperate because either the kid is in jeopardy is failing, is in chronic trouble (at home, at school, or both).  A handful (maybe 3-5%) of the kids have diagnosed conditions that need medication.  I have some students that literally would be kicked out of school if not for their medication - they were heading down that road.

For the kids that are medicated, they are constantly being re-evaluated for the effectiveness of the treatment, and their doses are often adjusted for need.  Many times, after a year or so (as their hormones adjust in middle school), they can be taken off the drug comepletely.

As a teacher in the state of Florida, it is illegal for me to make any kind of recommendation about medicine.  The MOST I can say is that they should see a doctor for an evaluation.  And as a personal policy, I just let the guidance counselor make that recommendation.  I try to keep it to the facts, and not leave my area of expertise.

[Cerevant]

I'll be the first to say that parents (probably including myself) aren't doing a very good job these days, but to make a blanket statement that the disease doesn't exist is simply ignorant.

(No, my kids aren't being treated for ADD - I am)

You call it a disease, I call it a condition. You say toma'to, I say tomae'to.

Disease, condition, disability - whatever, that's not the point.

So, what is your brilliant cure for this fictional condition?  It certainly would make my life a hell of a lot easier.

I have some students that literally would be kicked out of school if not for their medication - they were heading down that road.

Yeah, we didn't have ADD back when we were kids, they just threw the troublemakers into the "special" school so they wouldn't be seen again.

[shorebird]

In my view, you've already made it personal.

Was any of this experience with your own children? Are you prepared to say that I drugged my kid because I was a poor parent?

Don't put words in my mouth, I was speaking from my own experience. Your making it personal. I don't know you or your kid, and I'm not going to pass judgment on anyone about their parenting, especially on a farging message board.

I spoiled the crap outta' my daughter when she was young, and now after her Mom left, I'm the one paying for it. She has absolutly no repsect for athourity. She thinks school is a fashion show and a popularity contest instead of a place to learn. I take the blame for that, as should any parent. I've had her to all kinds of councilors and psychiatrist, and she plays them all like fiddles. Every goddamn one of them wanted to put her on drugs and I refused. Is that farging good enough for you?

And as for your self diagnosis of having ADD, you sure as hell didn't have a problem paying attention to my post when there are others here saying the same thing. It sounds like you are trying to bait me into a banning. Not like the person I've seen post here for so long. If I hit you the wrong way on a touchy subject then I apologize.

[Susquehanna Birder]

Don't put words in my mouth, I was speaking from my own experience. Your making it personal. I don't know you or your kid, and I'm not going to pass judgment on anyone about their parenting, especially on a farging message board.

Looks like you were speaking for ALL parents.

Ritalin, although a stimulant for adults, has the opposite effect on children, for some medical reason unknown to me. Personally, I'm against any kind of mood altering drugs for youngsters. Your making them addicts before they are even out of grade school, and they end up being the kind of adults that run for the medicine cabinet when they get up in the morning in order to be able to function during the day without a mental breakdown.

Parents think they can let kids do whatever they want when they are little, and they grow up with a lack of respect and discipline, not knowing how to act in public when they don't get the same type of attention they do at home. So then, they drug them.

Look, I'm not looking to ban you or anybody, especially over a disagreement. I hope you think more of me than that.

My problem is that you generalized the situation. You have your own stories and I have mine. I won't say you did the wrong things, because I wasn't part of your daily life. I just ask that you not take ham-handed swipes at others who choose differently, based on your own limited experience.

[rjs246]

Beat your kids more and they will behave.

Next topic.

[shorebird]

Parents think they can let kids do whatever they want when they are little, and they grow up with a lack of respect and discipline, not knowing how to act in public when they don't get the same type of attention they do at home. So then, they drug them.

Well, I could have left that last part out, but the rest happens all the time. I was a lot harder on my son than I was my daughter, she was Daddy's little girl, and I'm paying for it in spades. My son was a honor role student. His coaches and teachers loved him. I speak from experience when I say there can be a big difference in the way kids turn out by the way you raise them.

My problem is that you generalized the situation. You have your own stories and I have mine. I won't say you did the wrong things, because I wasn't part of your daily life. I just ask that you not take ham-handed swipes at others who choose differently, based on your own limited experience.

Really, my experience is no more limited than your own, just a whole lot different.