A prescription of a different kind

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Jan Drew - 11 Sep 2006 05:53 GMT

http://www.dailyvidette.com/media/storage/paper420/news/2006/09/08/Viewpoint/Our
-View-2262095.shtml?norewrite200609102355&sourcedomain=www.dailyvidette.com

Our View
A prescription of a different kind
Excerpts:

Every parent wants what is best for his or her child, to get good grades,
possibly go to college and live a happy life. But it seems that good grades
are now being redefined. For some parents, a B on a report card is no longer
acceptable. So what happens when their child gets a B? Take them to the
doctor and demand a prescription for Ritalin.

Unfortunately this is not a joke. According to an article on MSNBC.com
several pediatricians have begun reporting a trend of parents demanding
their child be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
simply because their child got a B on a report card. What's more is many of
these parents openly admit to knowing their child doesn't really have ADHD.
There goes getting by with just trying your hardest.

What's really sad is that this trend just furthers the image that, to
Americans, nothing is your fault. Your child is doing badly in school? Well
it's not because they're not doing their homework, it's because they have
ADHD. You eat McDonald's everyday and are now obese? It's obviously
McDonald's fault, not yours. And what do you do when something isn't your
fault? First you find whose fault it is and then maybe you can find a drug
out there to fix it. Had a bad day? Maybe you're depressed - bring on the
Prozac.

How can these parents sit down and tell their children not to smoke or do
drugs, but they knowingly have them abuse prescription drugs?

At the same time, every time a doctor has to see a child because they got a
B- instead of an A, they are not seeing a child with a serious problem. As a
society we need to stop this overwhelming competition among students. Not
every child has to be the valedictorian or star football player. Parents
need to realize that you don't have children in order for them to fulfill
all the things that you couldn't.

Perhaps the parents who cannot see this are the ones who need to be seeing
the doctors, not their children.

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Garry Freemyer - 11 Sep 2006 20:27 GMT

Whether ADHD exists or not is still a question in my mind or rather, I
wonder if what some are dealing with is something worse.

But this here, you've hit on one of the biggest problems - The OVERDIAGNOSIS
of a thing can be more damaging that the disorder itself. In this case, it
clear that this kid has a problem alright. The problem is - paranoid abusive
overdemanding perfectionist parents who need to learn to chill out instead
of looking for excuses for non-problems.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling! I got the proof!

This reminds me of the storys where harried doctors could proscribe some
pills that were nothing but water or some other innocuous ingrediant to get
the nutcases out of their hair.

People who are determined to find a problem are the problem!

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Jan Drew - 11 Sep 2006 22:29 GMT

> Whether ADHD exists or not is still a question in my mind or rather, I
> wonder if what some are dealing with is something worse.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> People who are determined to find a problem are the problem!

Absolutely correct.

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Peter Bowditch - 11 Sep 2006 23:57 GMT

>> Whether ADHD exists or not is still a question in my mind or rather, I
>> wonder if what some are dealing with is something worse.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>> People who are determined to find a problem are the problem!
>Absolutely correct.

Mass destruction of irony meters!!

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Mark Probert - 12 Sep 2006 00:00 GMT

> Whether ADHD exists or not is still a question in my mind or rather, I
> wonder if what some are dealing with is something worse.
>
> But this here, you've hit on one of the biggest problems - The OVERDIAGNOSIS
> of a thing can be more damaging that the disorder itself.

Garry, there is ample evidence that there is underdiagnosis (especially
of the inattentive type) and mis-diagnosis. As far as I am concerned,
and you will find agreement among the regulars in ASAD, there is no
rampant overdiagnosis as the anti-medication, anti-science know nothings
like to complain about.

As for which is worse, I would say that mis-diagnosis is far more
damaging than anything else.

In this case, it

> clear that this kid has a problem alright. The problem is - paranoid abusive
> overdemanding perfectionist parents who need to learn to chill out instead
> of looking for excuses for non-problems.

In the realm of autism, there are those parents who insist that their
child is defective and must be repaired, and will try every wacko
treatment possible.

> The sky is falling, the sky is falling! I got the proof!
>
> This reminds me of the storys where harried doctors could proscribe some
> pills that were nothing but water or some other innocuous ingrediant to get
> the nutcases out of their hair.

That would be prEscribe and if doctors did that, they would be up on
charges.

HOWEVER, there is no question in my mind that there are doctors who bow
to pressure from parents and prescribe, whether it be an antibiotic for
a viral infection or something like methylphenidate since they cannot
perform an adequate diagnostic workup due to wacky parents.

> People who are determined to find a problem are the problem!

Good point. I know of some.

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