Julie Jacks
Ms. Sherry Blum-Pretty
ENG 102
25, March 2014 ADHD TREATMENT WITH MEDICATION OR WITHOUT We all think our children are perfect. Why in the world would anyone want to tell you differently? When their grades start slipping and the teacher is calling home or emailing more frequently because he’s just so hyper, but he’s a boy and boys will be boys. Well sadly not in all cases, the four lettered word ADHD, that haunts some and for others it is a discipline method, is a commonly misdiagnosed yet overlooked disease. It puts most parents in denial while others abuse the disease as a method to calm overactive children down. While children that actually suffer from this disease need help coping with it in their everyday lives, especially in school, the question all parents dread, medicate or not? ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) keeps children from concentrating and focusing like they should. They want to always be moving, some even have outbursts like noise making or just “goofing off”. While most children learn that this is unacceptable at certain places, those that suffer from this crazy disease simply can’t help it because they are very impulsive. They also have very low self-control, poor self-regulation, and very easily distracted. This behavior can be misleading, we couldn’t expect small children to be good at all of this. ADHD shouldn’t be diagnosed until, at the earliest, age six. Treatment for this behavioral disease is the trickiest part, as a parent should you medicate or choose behavior therapy? The different types of medications that they have come up with can be scary, is it a risk to take? The most common medications are psychostimulants, (Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse) this medication taken by someone without ADHD would be racing around, someone with the disease it calms them down and allows them to focus; although just like any medication it comes with side effects. Children can begin experiencing insomnia, irrational behavior, tics, loss of appetite and weight loss, growth delay, seizures, etc. As parents this is very scary even if it is a small percentage that experience it. Behavior therapy with a licensed therapist would sound like the best route to go, or is it? To leave this disease untreated is wrong, doing what’s best for your child is what as parents we are supposed to do. The medication is a trial and error process, and takes time. Therapy as well takes time but can consume your child and not get results in which your child desires. According to the International Consensus Statement on ADHD of January 2002, studies show that those who have this disorder, untreated, are far more likely than the general population to drop out of school, not graduate college, to have few or no friends, to under perform at work, to engage in antisocial activities, and to use tobacco or illegal drugs. They are also more likely to become pregnant as a teenager, experience depression, and experience personality disorders as adults. This all really raises the bar and makes you want to lean more towards the medication. I personally have a child that was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of six. I was like a lot of other parents out there and thought, no way not my baby. I agreed with the doctor and put my son on medicine, we tried three different medications and he had side effects immediately with all of them. I felt like I was putting my baby through torture, until we found a medicine that worked great. He had the side effects that