Skip the Ritalin and Treat Parents Instead
Reader Comments
Adderal is a Godsend
Thru 1st hand experience, I can tell you:
1) ADHD is real - not just parents doping the kids for their own sanity
2) ADHD is generally inherited
3) Trying to help with homework almost always ended in a fight without the homework completed - ya, ya, I know, bad parent, all my fault . . . didn't read the instruction manual 1st . . .
4) One of the symtoms is a low tolerance for stress - hence the argumentative attitude - on both sides
5) Adderal works wonders for my son (IQ = 137 but grades were barely passing and some weren't B4 Adderal, a B+ or so after, would like to have the IQ test run again, scores in the top 1 to 2% in the state standardized test, after the ASVAB the military thinks he is qualified for any job they have)
6) Methylene ER works wonders for me (doing much better at work and with relationships)
7) Straterra caused me problems
8) If your child is properly diagnosed, please consider the meds, no silver bullet for all cases, you may have to try a couple different pills B4 hitting the right one
9) If your child is diagnosed, have yourself and/or your spouse checked out for it too
10) I wish that I had the meds 25 to 30 years ago when I was in college - no need to suffer like I did.
11) How do you correct a deficiency in the brain that causes problems with concentration without something to alter it? By all means, try to deal with it without drugs if that is what you need - we did, then when you want results, get the meds. Maybe the Brits have a magic wand to make that sort of thing go away, but I can't imagine it.
12) In my humble opinion, the definition of a bad ADHD parent is one that waited too long to get the meds.
13) Well? What are you waiting for? Git-er-done.
14) Life is good!
15) Life for me is even better on the meds! I'm sorry for the Brits that won't have the same chance as my sons.
May God bless,
Parents of ADHD children deserve respect
As a mother of a child with severe ADHD, it disappoints me that there is such a "blame the parents" and "just feed them differently" philosophy. First of all, I welcome parenting advice, just like any other caring parent should. However, ADHD is biological, just watch Nancy Shute's video on the different types of ADHD. ADHD is more than just a forgetful child staring out the window during school and forgetting their homework. Would you blame the parent of a mentally retarded child or the child of an elderly parent with dementia for their behavior issues? I don't think so. I also take issue with the poster who claimed parents of children with ADHD are self-absorbed and not empathetic. I work hard every day to ensure my child has the best quality of life that he can. I have put everything else to the side to make sure my son has the tools to hopefully turn into an independent, socially adept adult. I have traveled both far and near to find professionals who can help my child. As for diet and ADHD, many of these studies are scientifically flawed or depend on the placebo effect. While I believe a healthy, well'balanced diet is good for any child; I do not believe diet alone can cure ADHD. As with any behavior or mental health issue, we must keep in mind the science behind the disorder, just as we do with cancer, diabetes, or any other disease which affects our children.
Blaming the parents isn't the answer
I am the mother of an adopted child severely affected by ADHD. While I would welcome parenting advice at any time, I do not feel that we can put the blame on the parents. To believe this would mean ADHD was a psychological problem only, one that could be "fixed" by behavioral interventions alone. From my own research, I am convinced it has a very real biological component. I have to take issue, also, with the person who said we parents are "self-absorbed and not attentive." Would you say that to a parent who had a child with severe learning disabilities or mental retardation? I have done nothing for the past several years but try to find better ways to help my child. I would do anything to see my child have positive social interactions and have a quality of life that will enable him to be an independent and socially adept adult. I do not "blame" my child for his behavior but rather accept that his behavior is an issue to which we need to seek appropriate solutions. Behavioral issues can have a biological component, just like any other issue that affects children. Blaming the parents is a sign of ignorance.
Start with what they are FEEDING their children
There's a link between diet and ADHD, especially sugar and refined carbs. So don't just counsel the parents on how to act differently, teach them how to eat healthfully. Many many studies have been done on child behaviour and diet. Let's put this good knowledge to work.
Parents AND Teachers AND Physicians
As a child advocate, CHADD certified Parent to Parent Family Trainer, a father with successful, grown children and being an adult who six years ago was diagnosed with ADD, I am confident that Nancy has identified only a little piece of the iceberg that we are able to see; without question, there is SO much more that we can't see.
These comments are for ANYONE who is working with OUR children; children who have behavioral problems of "some" kind (ADHD, LD, Aspergers, and many, many others).
My intent is to help OUR children receive accurate observations at home, accurate evaluations and appropriate assistance within OUR schools (public, private, parochial, etc), which will in turn, provide more accurate data for any type of physician to utilize in the examination of (Y)OUR child so that an accurate and appropriate diagnosis WILL BE MADE.
PARENTS NEED TO:
learn or re-learn HOW to think for themselves
take responsibility for themselves and their children
be sure to make detailed notes (date, time, place, description) about observations that you make regarding your child's overall development: pay special attention to their behavior! If called into a parent teacher conference, you will be prepared and able to compare notes!
learn everything possible about parenting
put that new and different knowledge into ACTION
understand that help is available to the parents who seek it!
An excellent source for up to date and accurate information is: www.addresources.org
Parents DO need to be trained, but, without question,
they ARE NOT ALONE:
EDUCATORS:
Many schools do have solid, working systems in place to BOTH ID and ASSIST problem children of all kinds and types as mandated by The Federal Government, then by each respective State. What are the chances that any two states use identical operating procedures with respect to their school systems, much less the systems themselves?
TEACHERS need:
to be taught within their respective teaching curricula, not only requisite people skills, but also, the why, how, when to conduct/record specific behavioral observations as needed
reinforcement of the above, perhaps during in-service days?
PHYSICIANS need:
to use the newest DSM-IV when attempting to diagnose potential ADHD
to use all resources, including Mental Health experts
to STOP prescribing IF the final outcome DOES NOT warrant it
to RETHINK their respective decisions to take advantage of certain benefits provided by Drug companies.
There is NO SILVER BULLET (pill) that will solve all of these issues, regardless of what some members of our society would like us to believe.
Better acceptance by overall society that THERE ARE MANY types of alternative treatments available...
...NOT JUST DRUGS...
and through the future use of an improved, standardized communications process between all of these groups will we be successful in providing OUR CHILDREN OUR FUTURE.
Ritalin
I think this is a good approach...Drugs are not always the answer. I can see how using Ritalin can slow the process of children trying to deal with ADHD. Do we want our children to spend a lifetime on drugs? When I was young, kids who were hyperactive were taught to try to deal with their hyperactivity...over time they would be able to deal with it. I can understand why parents are so frustrated. We live in a society that everything is a "quick fix". Does that mean it's the best approach?
Skip the Ritalin and Treat Parents Instead
Our daughter was diagnosed with ODD (Oppositional/Defiant Disorder) when she was seven. When she was diagnosed, the first thing that was suggested was drugs. There was no discussion about therapy, but the psychologist did suggest a book called, "Your Defiant Child: 8 Steps to Better Behavior" by Russell A. Barkley, PhD and Christine M. Benton. We followed many of the steps, but not all, and I can attest that it works. The best thing is we never used drugs. We figured if this was a condition that she was going to have for the rest of her life, she had better learn who to deal with it. She is now 12, not even considered borderline ODD and doing great.
What really worked was that we, as parents, had to relearn our skills and discipline from what we had done with our oldest daughter. I have learned more than a few things about myself as well and, for the most part, we are heading in the right direction. There have been a few set-backs along the way, but they are minor compared to what it would have been like, if we hadn't of learned new ways to deal and cope with our daughter.
Parent training is only the beginning....
As a child advocate, CHADD certified Parent to Parent Family Trainer, a father with successful, grown children and being an adult who six years ago was diagnosed with ADD, I am confident that Nancy has identified only a little piece of the iceberg that we are able to see; without question, there is SO much more that we can't see.
These comments are for ANYONE who is working with OUR children; children who have behavioral problems of "some" kind (ADHD, LD, Aspergers, and many, many others).
My intent is to help OUR children receive accurate observations at home, accurate evaluations and appropriate assistance within OUR schools (public, private, parochial, etc), which will in turn, provide more accurate data for any type of physician to utilize in the examination of (Y)OUR child so that an accurate and appropriate diagnosis WILL BE MADE.
PARENTS NEED TO:
learn or re-learn HOW to think for themselves
take responsibility for themselves and their children
be sure to make detailed notes (date, time, place, description) about observations that you make regarding your child's overall development: pay special attention to their behavior! If called into a parent teacher conference, you will be prepared and able to compare notes!
learn everything possible about parenting
put that new and different knowledge into ACTION
understand that help is available to the parents who seek it!
An excellent source for up to date and accurate information is: www.addresources.org
Parents DO need to be trained, but, without question,
they ARE NOT ALONE:
EDUCATORS:
Many schools do have solid, working systems in place to BOTH ID and ASSIST problem children of all kinds and types as mandated by The Federal Government, then by each respective State. What are the chances that any two states use identical operating procedures with respect to their school systems, much less the systems themselves?
TEACHERS need:
to be taught within their respective teaching curricula, not only requisite people skills, but also, the why, how, when to conduct/record specific behavioral observations as needed
reinforcement of the above, perhaps during in-service days?
PHYSICIANS need:
to use the newest DSM-IV when attempting to diagnose potential ADHD
to use all resources, including Mental Health experts
to STOP prescribing IF the final outcome DOES NOT warrant it
to RETHINK their respective decisions to take advantage of certain benefits provided by Drug companies.
While there is NO SILVER BULLET (pill) that will solve all of these issues, regardless of what some members of our society would like us to believe, APPROPRIATELY DIAGNOSED meds are a necessity!
Better acceptance by our society that THERE ARE MANY types of alternative treatments available...
...NOT JUST DRUGS...
and through the future use of an improved, standardized communications process between all of these groups will we be successful in providing OUR CHILDREN OUR FUTURE.
ADHD parents
This subject is so emotionally charged that the science gets drown-out. ADHD is a real, highly genetic disorder, that severely affects people who have it in childhood and adulthood. Studies from UMASS and Milwaukee indicate that it is probably more impairing than the average of other psychiatric outpatient conditions. There is a very high rate of incarceration compared to non-sufferers, and a higher rate of drug abuse-- which is not affected much by Ritalin and co., and the small difference is probably protective.
With almost no quality empirical evidence to show any behavior therapy works without meds vs. control, and effect sizes of medications around the area of 1.5 (much larger than for other psych meds), an excellent safety profile (especially compared to atypical anitpsychotics), and much less dependence liability than Xanax or oxycontin-- why are these meds so controversial? Because they go against the Western Culture myth that you get rewards based on the effort and willpower that you put in. Taking meds is seen as cheating, even if it is rather directly targeting a neurochemical deficiency.
ADHD is certainly modified by the type of family environment the disorder lives in, but it is not caused by the family environment and it is sometimes quite difficult to change that environment when you don't have the impulse control in the child. Also, at least one of the parents often suffers from the disorder, too, because of its highly genetic nature.
Regarding England, their prescription of antidepressants fell-off with suicide warnings and suicides wents up. They are currently undertreating ADHD, and they have not kept good data on where these untreated ADHD kids end-up academically or socially. So, there is no evidence that they are not, once again, sacrficing patient care for anti-drug ideology regarding the treatment of psychiatric conditions in youth.
We are probably identifying more of these kids as the education gets more demanding on young ones, and less ADHD-friendly. Some of the people on the cusp of the diagnosis, might be adequately served by changing the schools and environment, but in real life, the environment will not constantly be changing for them. In adulthood, the disorder is known to involve many problems in organization, emotional regulation, and time-management-- and even with meds on board, these things need to be taught. So, instead of a substitution of therapy for meds, we need to think about it as a necessary two-pronged approach in all but the mildest cases of the disorder.
Thanks
ADHD - Prioritizing Treatment and Combining Approaches
Improving the functioning of children who have been diagnosed with ADHD is often a difficult and time-consuming task. For most children with ADHD (and with other mental disorders for that matter), change will not occur instantaneously. Instead, it develops incrementally with a very common initial period during which the behavior becomes worse. The slow pace of behavioral improvement initially often leads parents to become frustrated and back away from the behavioral treatment plan. These feelings are completely normal as it is very difficult to make the commitment to change yourself, persist in the face of difficulty, and only produce small effects. However, once the behavioral system is in place and the child is aware of all of the advantages of behaving appropriately, the system will begin to pay off and be more satisfying. Children often want to test the boundaries of the treatment program to reveal any weaknesses that will allow them to pursue self-gratifying less-inhibiting behaviors. Parents need to embrace this testing of boundaries as necessary step in constructing the most effective treatment. After all, without thorough knowledge of the boundaries, how is a child to know the actual consequences of their behaviors and experience first-hand the benefit of behaving appropriately?
Where does medication fit in to all of this? In agreement with other researchers in psychology, medication should be prescribed if a child is extremely unresponsive (after repeated valid attempts) to behavioral treatment. However, this does not mean that behavioral treatment should desist. Medication is often seen as a quick fix for behaviors; however, impairments continue to persist if not behaviorally treated. Instead, a parent should view the medication as a way of opening a child's mind to be more receptive of the treatment. After all, medication isn't going to magically instill a child with the knowledge of appropriate behaviors; it simply reduces a child's impulsiveness or inattentiveness that is often associated with negative behaviors.
Consistent with the author of this article and with other ADHD research, ultimately produces optimal long-term benefits. In addition, medication should be approached with caution, and prescribed when treatment is failing to take hold. Parents can learn much from this article and should take initiative to help their child by helping themselves first.
