Father charged with abuse for taking child off of ritalin

[Darth Wong]

I thought the whole ADD thing was bunk anyway?

Not entirely. Some kids really do have trouble focusing, and neurological conditions can exacerbate it. Case in point: the poor little kid who was shot in the eye with a BB gun by a couple of worthless teenaged punk-ass dipshits in Toronto last year suffered neurological damage and has "coincidentally" been uncontrollably hyperactive ever since, even though he wasn't before.

However, the problem is the mentality that a drug magically fixes the problem rather than solving some of its symptoms at the expense of creating side-effects, as most drugs do. With this mindset in place, teachers pressure parents to put their kids on the drug because as far as the teacher is concerned, there is no downside. They don't give a fuck what it does to the child's personality, because that's not their problem. All they care about is that the hyperactive kid makes their job harder, and God forbid the future of a child is more important to them than the ease with which they can do their job.

[Knife]

I thought the whole ADD thing was bunk anyway?

Not entirely. Some kids really do have trouble focusing, and neurological conditions can exacerbate it. Case in point: the poor little kid who was shot in the eye with a BB gun by a couple of worthless teenaged punk-ass dipshits in Toronto last year suffered neurological damage and has "coincidentally" been uncontrollably hyperactive ever since, even though he wasn't before.

However, the problem is the mentality that a drug magically fixes the problem rather than solving some of its symptoms at the expense of creating side-effects, as most drugs do. With this mindset in place, teachers pressure parents to put their kids on the drug because as far as the teacher is concerned, there is no downside. They don't give a fuck what it does to the child's personality, because that's not their problem. All they care about is that the hyperactive kid makes their job harder, and God forbid the future of a child is more important to them than the ease with which they can do their job.

*golf clap*

[Stark]

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.

Not really what I meant... but thanks

[Stark]

Not entirely. Some kids really do have trouble focusing, and neurological conditions can exacerbate it. Case in point: the poor little kid who was shot in the eye with a BB gun by a couple of worthless teenaged punk-ass dipshits in Toronto last year suffered neurological damage and has "coincidentally" been uncontrollably hyperactive ever since, even though he wasn't before.

At least in AU, a hell of a lot of parents get told their kids have ADD... its used like a catch-all for all kinds of 'undesired behaviour'.

However, the problem is the mentality that a drug magically fixes the problem rather than solving some of its symptoms at the expense of creating side-effects, as most drugs do. With this mindset in place, teachers pressure parents to put their kids on the drug because as far as the teacher is concerned, there is no downside. They don't give a fuck what it does to the child's personality, because that's not their problem. All they care about is that the hyperactive kid makes their job harder, and God forbid the future of a child is more important to them than the ease with which they can do their job.

This is definately the mindset in AU too. Any world where a school calls a meeting and tells parents to dope their kids up because they don't follow orders is pretty messed up.

[Montcalm]

However, the problem is the mentality that a drug magically fixes the problem rather than solving some of its symptoms at the expense of creating side-effects, as most drugs do. With this mindset in place, teachers pressure parents to put their kids on the drug because as far as the teacher is concerned, there is no downside. They don't give a fuck what it does to the child's personality, because that's not their problem. All they care about is that the hyperactive kid makes their job harder, and God forbid the future of a child is more important to them than the ease with which they can do their job.

I'm thinking if teachers would really love their jobs and find a way to make it interesting for kids,maybe they wouldn't be so obsessed in shoving drugs down the kids throats.

like history if there was some teacher who'd when teaching about certain periods of history,well maybe the movie "Teacher Teacher might give you an idea of what i'm talking about.

[Solauren]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again;

If a teacher said to me 'your kids has ADD and must go on Ritalin' my reply will be: 'You first'.

Actually, I would be willing to however, have a doctor check to see if there is an actual problem. If the doctor gives a clean bill of health, and the teacher keeps it up, I show them the doctor's report, and go have a word with the school board.

[Elfdart]

My response would be "Are you a doctor?"

[Elfdart]

Here in Texas....

Texas, what part?

Fort Worth, where the West begins!

As opposed to Dallas, where the East fizzles out...

[Bob the Gunslinger]

I thought the whole ADD thing was bunk anyway?

No. It's not bunk. For the few people like me who really have it, it is fucking devastating.

I was never hyperactive--that's not why I was prescribed medicine. I went to more than 5 doctors and psychiatrists, diagnosed each time with ADD (no H), because my parents did not want to put me on meds. In fact, they didn't.

I was diagnosed in elementary school, but didn't start medication until my junior year of HS. My grades went from C's, D's and F's (quite a few F's) to straight A's for the rest of my HS time. The results were there.

I gradually scaled back my dosage throughout college (the first year and a half anyway) because I could handle a test-based grading system without the medicine and I didn't like taking a potentially addictive drug. Now I can get along fine without the medicine, but if you knew me, you'd know I have ADD. But I digress.

My main point is: just because a condition is over-diagnosed doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[The Last Rebel]

My sig says alot, don't it?

Parents need to be parents, and kids need to be allowed to be kids.

Harry Chapin once did a song called "All the Colors of the Rainbow", about his son's teacher complaining that his son didn't color his picture of a flower bush the way the TEACHER wanted the kids to color it. (I think the flowers were all supposed to be red).

I think when I was in the 6th grade, there were times in class I would daydream, and stuff, and draw in my notebook when I was bored.
I think my teacher thought I had some problem. Actually I did--I was kinda miserable in that class. And bored. But she thought I had something wrong mentally. She even asked me why I didn't pay attention. I told her I didn't know. Hell, it didn't matter, I did fine grade-wise. I think one day she was talking to a shrink. About me? Possibly. But what bothers me is, she did not once ask my parents about me. The school had my home phone number. She could've given me a letter to my parents. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
Then one afternoon at home, I think the shrink called, and talked to my mom,(I listened in on the other phone) and I think she dismissed anything he said as bullshit (more politely than that, but that's the gist). I think the teacher kinda backed off after that.
I think I was starting to get where I was losing interest in most schoolwork. I hated studying and homework, unless it was history or science...but I usually aced tests.
I think I learned more reading books I felt like reading in my spare time than much of what was taught in the schools I went to.