I would like to address the subject of medicating students at the school’s “request” or demand is more like it. This is our family’s experience.

My 12-year-old grandson is ADHD and does have some social and some behavioral issues. We are well aware of his issues and do not try to dismiss them. The school has tried to insist that he be medicated. His mother has refused to medicate him because of the damage from the ADHD drugs to his older brother. This has been explained many, many times to the school personnel.

The side effects of the drugs, Concerta, Strattera, Ritalin and Seroquel vary and the intensity varies from person to person. My older grandson who has taken these various drugs has had severe reactions to them. Some of his reactions are delusions, paranoia, the need for higher doses consistently, mood swings, and when the doses were changed to higher levels, uncontrollable anger. My daughter’s refusal to medicate the younger son stems from the reactions of her older son to the drugs.

When the school was told no, they constantly asked the child if his mother had taken him to the doctor and told him he needs to be medicated. It is very sad that a child comes home and tells his parent that he needs to be medicated. In response to her refusal and the arguments that ensued over the issue, the school has exacted what in my opinion is revenge on the child for his mother’s decision to do what she believes is best for him in the long run.

They put in place a discipline plan that my daughter did not approve of or sign but it didn’t matter. I understand that some of detentions were deserved but I disagree with the nitpicking. Examples and these are just a few: Forgetting a pencil, being early to class, being put in detention for not spitting out gum when in fact the child had and the proof was in the trash can, telling another person that they don’t want him around and he can hear it. The detentions for these silly nitpicking items added up and have created a real problem on the child’s record.

The real topper for me is the fact that they allowed him to sign up for an overnight camping trip and then decided my grandson could not go because of his record and missing assignments. How strange when we checked online to see if there are any missing assignments, they show as completed.

There are many more details to this situation. The bottom line is that they have humiliated, belittled him openly and made this child feel very unwanted. No child reacts well to this type of treatment, no child deserves this. I believe that the school lacks education in some of these disorders and needs some training. If trained properly they would be able to identify that the social, behavioral issues and learning disabilities are a part of the complex disorder and there are better ways to handle the problems.

I would be curious to know how many children are medicated and how many times the school recommends the medication because it makes the staff’s life easier. They have no concept of the long-term effects of the drugs. They are not doctors. I would also be interested in knowing how many others had experiences like this.

I am sure that this will evoke a response again blaming all of the poor behavior on the child, but I think that the professionals should take a deep look at themselves and evaluate why they behave as they have.

Diana Strohm
Muskegon

URL: http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/06/letters_should_a_school_insist.html

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In the absence of any objective medical tests to determine who has ADD or ADHD, doctors rely in part on standardized assessments and the impressions of teachers and guardians while the they administer leave little room for other causes or aggravating factors, such as diet, or environment. Hence, diagnosing a child or adolescent with ADD or ADHD is often the outcome, although no organic basis for either disease has yet to be clinically proven. Psychiatrists may then prescribe psychotropic drugs for the children without first without making it clear to parents that these medications can have severe side-effects including insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, psychotic symptoms and even potentially fatal adverse reactions, such as cardiac arrhythmia. And yet, despite these dangers, many school systems actually work with government agencies to force parents to drug their children, threatening those who refuse with the prospect of having their children taken from the home unless they cooperate.

End drugging our children with psychotropic drugs.

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