Father charged with abuse for taking child off of ritalin

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2004-06-08 03:50pm

When Chad Taylor noticed his son was apparently experiencing serious side effects from Ritalin prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he decided to take the boy off the medication. Now, he says he may be accused of child abuse.

In February, 12-year-old Daniel began displaying some symptoms that his father suspected were related to the use of Ritalin.

"He was losing weight, wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating," Taylor told ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV in New Mexico. "[He] just wasn't Daniel."

So Taylor took Daniel off Ritalin, against his doctor's wishes. And though Taylor noticed Daniel was sleeping better and his appetite had returned, his teachers complained about the return of his disruptive behavior. Daniel seemed unable to sit still and was inattentive. His teachers ultimately learned that he was no longer taking Ritalin.

School officials reported Daniel's parents to New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families.Then a detective and social worker made a home visit.

"The detective told me if I did not medicate my son, I would be arrested for child abuse and neglect," Taylor said.

A spokesman for New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families told KOAT-TV that they could not comment on the case because of state confidentiality laws. John Francis, a detective for the Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety, said that Taylor was not threatened but told KOAT-TV that parents could be charged in situations like his.

"People can be charged with child abuse, child neglect or various other crimes involving a child," he said.

(continued more in the link)

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-06-08 04:01pm

There's a shitloads of deadbeat dads and when they find a good responsible one,they accuse him of child abuse

WTF is wrong in this world.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2004-06-08 04:03pm

so... the kid isn't sleeping or eating... and he's abusing him when he takes him off the amphetamines?

Grand Admiral Thrawn · Post by **Grand Admiral Thrawn** » 2004-06-08 04:06pm

Because Ritalin is the cure for all problems!

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2004-06-08 04:13pm

Drugs are bad, mmkay?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-06-08 04:20pm

what the hell? the doctor didn't consider the fact that the kid wasn't eating or sleeping as a result of the ritalin to be a serious problem?

It's not as though everyone is going to react to a drug in an identical fashion after all. Any half competent doctor should be able recognize that.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-06-08 04:29pm

Ah, it's good to see that good responsible public servants are ensuring that nice, harmless drugs are replacing nasty, harmfull parenting.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-06-08 04:30pm

I don't think it was the doctor. It was the school who reported it and then social services got involved.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-06-08 04:43pm

Well fuck me dead.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-06-08 04:44pm

Trytostaydead wrote:I don't think it was the doctor. It was the school who reported it and then social services got involved.

Ahem.

Teh Article wrote:So Taylor took Daniel off Ritalin, against his doctor's wishes. And though Taylor noticed Daniel was sleeping better and his appetite had returned, his teachers complained about the return of his disruptive behavior. Daniel seemed unable to sit still and was inattentive. His teachers ultimately learned that he was no longer taking Ritalin.

emphasis mine.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-06-08 04:45pm

It's okay to deny your kid any medical treatment whatsoever for religious reasons, but take your kid off Ritalin for any other reason and it's child abuse.

Really tells you something.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-06-08 05:12pm

"He was losing weight, wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating," Taylor told ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV in New Mexico. "[He] just wasn't Daniel."

I took dexedrine (for ADD) for about 3-4 years and I experienced the same side-effects--at first. After a couple weeks, my body got used to it and I was able to eat, sleep, and be more myself.
Of course, I also lowered my dosage by half without my doctor's consent, simply because I didn't want to take a chance on getting addicted or dependant.

All in all, the drugs did help me defeat my ADD and perform much, much better in school, which let me go to a good college. I also had enough focus on the medicine to complete my hobby projects, like building model spaceships out of index cards and finishing Oil Pastel paintings I normally wouldn't have the patience for.

But, I can certainly understand the father being worried, too. I think he made the right decision, but would hope that he investigates other alternative medicines and dosages that might not affect his son so strongly, especially if the medication has a marked effect on his son's school performance (which it seems to, for the teachers to notice so quickly).

As for the change in personality--was the son happier on the meds and just different or was he having serious emotional problems?

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-06-08 05:52pm

Darth_Zod wrote:
The Article wrote:So Taylor took Daniel off Ritalin, against his doctor's wishes. And though Taylor noticed Daniel was sleeping better and his appetite had returned, his teachers complained about the return of his disruptive behavior. Daniel seemed unable to sit still and was inattentive. His teachers ultimately learned that he was no longer taking Ritalin.
emphasis mine.

His teachers COMPLAINED.. His teachers ultimately LEARNED.. School officials REPORTED..

emphasis MINE.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-06-08 06:01pm

Trytostaydead wrote:
Darth_Zod wrote:
The Article wrote:So Taylor took Daniel off Ritalin, against his doctor's wishes. And though Taylor noticed Daniel was sleeping better and his appetite had returned, his teachers complained about the return of his disruptive behavior. Daniel seemed unable to sit still and was inattentive. His teachers ultimately learned that he was no longer taking Ritalin.
emphasis mine.

His teachers COMPLAINED.. His teachers ultimately LEARNED.. School officials REPORTED..
emphasis MINE.

i see, we're having a slight communication issue here. The teachers made a stink out of the issue after they'd learned that the kid was taken off ritalin. However it was the doctor's fault for not thinking that there was an issue with the lack of sleep and lack of eating. NOT For making a major problem out of it with the law, which is not what i was suggesting with my post.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-06-08 06:05pm

Teachers are very quick to notice parenting "problems" that involve their own workload increasing.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-08 06:21pm

Here in Texas, so many teachers and school officials had been badgering parents to put their kids on ritalin that the Lege passed a law making it a criminal offense for public school employees to push medication. It was the work of a mother who (after the principal at the school her 9-year-old went to demanded she ask a doctor to put the boy on ritalin) snapped and asked "Are you a doctor? Where do you get off prescribing drugs when you're not?".

Straha The Stoner · Post by **Straha The Stoner** » 2004-06-08 06:34pm

good maybe this will help start a movement to end things like doping up all the kids on ritalin.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-06-08 06:52pm

Can anyone tell us if private schools force parents to give Ritalin to kids?

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-06-08 07:17pm

Darth_Zod wrote:
i see, we're having a slight communication issue here. The teachers made a stink out of the issue after they'd learned that the kid was taken off ritalin. However it was the doctor's fault for not thinking that there was an issue with the lack of sleep and lack of eating. NOT For making a major problem out of it with the law, which is not what i was suggesting with my post.

Dang it, we're not married.. stop talking about communication issues!!

Hmm, I'd still be hesitant to quite point it out to as the doctor's fault without more information. Sometimes patients don't understand their rights with their doctor, nor understand how to ably communicate with their doctor, especially regarding non-threatening side-effects.

With these types of medications, certain side-effects are expected and for the most part, doctors will first try to adjust the dosage if the side-effects are not serious, as was the case, or even let the patients find the dosage right for them. Also, sometimes, especially with kids and parents its hard for the doctor to ably get a good response on the seriousness of the side-effect.

"Eh, I have a some trouble sleeping, losing some weight" etc, are not really anything raise bright red-flags.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-08 08:27pm

Montcalm wrote:Can anyone tell us if private schools force parents to give Ritalin to kids?

My rambunctious nephew went to a private school two years ago and the teachers and principal tried to tell my brother that the boy was hyperactive, ADD, and needed to be put on ritalin. My nephew -as well as several of the other boys (who were also "diagnosed" by the school as ADD, as my brother found out from their parents) in his class had been home sick with the flu for several days and been cooped up the whole time. So naturally, when they returned to class, and the fact that the kids were kept in doors for two weeks (because of the flu and lousy weather) made them high strung.

They even threatened to expel my nephew. Threatening members of my family (especially that one!) is a bad move. He and the other parents told the school that they would remove their kids from the school immediately and demand their money back if this bullshit didn't stop. Even though it did, my nephew was enrolled in a new school the next semester. Parents have to grab the bull by the balls and stop this nonsense in its tracks.

By the way, once the weather cleared up and the kids could play outside for recess instead of inside, the "ADD" was cleared up immediately.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-06-08 08:38pm

When will they realise the solution is not a stinking pill,i remember when i was in school there was enough things in the schoolyard to channel our energy,so we were focused on what we learned in class,but when i moved to montreal and started in public high school there was nothing to do during recess the damn guilding looked more like a maximum security prison than a school,during lunchtime 2000 students were cramed in the damn smoke filled cafeteria

Captain Cyran · Post by **Captain Cyran** » 2004-06-08 08:48pm

With shit like this, I'm practically gonna refuse to have kids. In more news I heard that apparently, leaving your kid alone in a room while you're say... in the next room over, folding clothes, is neglect and Child Services can (and most likely will, fucking psychos) take your kid away.

I hate the teachers that push it, because they think that little kids should be listening to them instead of say, being little kids (Return to the Industrial Revolution "Children are small adults" anyone?). The parents that give in and think the teacher knows best because they're unsecure pricks who should be removed from the genepool "Huh, this person who spends one hour a day with my kid says he has ADD, even though I spend at least 9 hours a day with him, they must be right." And I hate the Child Services who are so out to 'protect' children that anything short of throwing your kid back in the fucking womb until they're 18 is abuse!

Is it too late to nuke the world... really, it would help.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2004-06-08 09:07pm

Elfdart wrote:Here in Texas....

Texas, what part?

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2004-06-08 09:22pm

I thought the whole ADD thing was bunk anyway?

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-06-08 09:26pm

Stark wrote:I thought the whole ADD thing was bunk anyway?

Society is bunk. Truthfully, society is the devil's bargain. It gives you X but creates Y and Z then you have to bargain to solve Y and Z starting you back at the beginning A of a whole new series of problems. Life is nothing more than a vicious cycle, and ADD is one of them, and with all our problems in life we continuously seek a quick blame, and a quick solution and absolution for ourselves.