Book: Bringing Up Boys
By Dr. James Dobson
Excerpt from Chapter 3: So What Is The Difference?
Article 11
Asset Name: BUB_3_11 Q&A - Ritalin and Attention Deficit Disorder
Q&A - Ritalin and Attention Deficit Disorder
By Dr. James Dobson
Question: Do you worry about Ritalin and other drugs being overprescribed? Should I be reluctant to give them to my very hyperactive ten-year-old?
Dr. Dobson Answer: I do worry about giving these drugs capriciously and for the wrong reasons. There are reports of some classrooms where up to 10 percent of the kids are taking them.20 That is a huge red flag. Prescription drugs have been used as a cure-all for various forms of misbehavior. That is unfortunate. I suspect that some parents and teachers medicate their unruly kids because they have failed to discipline them properly or because they prefer to have them sedated. Every medication has undesirable side effects and should be administered only after careful evaluation and study. Ritalin, for example, can reduce the appetite and cause insomnia in some patients. It is, nevertheless, considered remarkably safe.
If your child has been evaluated and diagnosed with ADD by a professional who is experienced in treating this problem, however, you should not hesitate to accept a prescription for an appropriate medication. Some dramatic behavioral changes can occur when the proper substance is identified for a particular child. A boy who sits and stares off into the distance or one who frantically climbs the walls is desperately in need of help. To give that individual a focused mind and internal control is a blessing. Medication often works just that way when the child is properly diagnosed.
One more thought. I personally believe that some of the boys who are suspected to have ADD and ADHD do not have the disorder. Rather, their symptoms are caused by the fact that they were pulled out of the safety of their homes and put into structured learning situations before they were ready. They are developmentally unprepared for the demands made on them there. If we would let these immature boys stay at home for a year or two longer, I think the incidence of fidgety-flighty boys would decrease.