Ritalin is commonly used in the treatment of children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Dr. Rita Kirsch Debroitner, founder and director of the Rhinecliff Non-drug ADD/ADHD program,
share her experiences regarding two families facing decisions regarding treating their children for ADD.
The Two Decisions Parenting is the hardest job by far that anyone will do. A Dennis the Menace cartoon shows Dennis with his friends looking into the living room at his parents and stating: "My parents were brand new when I got them".
One of the most important decisions a parent can make is how to handle a child who has been labeled as having Attention Deficit Disorder. No one wants to stand by passively as their child or loved one struggles with life and appears to be losing. Their child cannot sit still in class. He needs constant redirection from the teacher to keep up. Many times he will call out and disrupt the classroom routine. Should the parent medicate with Ritalin or Adderall as so many people seem to be doing? Is there some other alternative to drugging a child to get good school results? This was the dilemma and decision "Family A and Family B" had to make. Both families attended an open house at the Rhinecliff non drug ADD/ADHD Center.
Both families were lovely hard-working people with two boys. Both faced mornings of upset and upheaval when their children refused to follow the usual morning routine and make everyone late. Homework time was even worse and forget about studying for test time. After a long day at work, both parents had an evening of struggle to look forward to.
Family A chose the traditional medical route. They put their child on Ritalin.
Family B did not and participated in the Rhinecliff non-drug ADD/ADHD program on a weekly basis.
Lets fast forward to the end of the school year. Dave, age 9, learned many practical tools and techniques. He became empowered to take charge of himself, his body alignment and his mental state of being. He learned to use his senses more appropriately along with eye retraining exercises to improve focusing. He learned relaxation techniques to help keep his brain tuned to the Alpha (calm and connected) frequency. Visualization helped him practice creating positive results in school and at home. Biofeedback enabled him to learn how to calm himself and stay in control. He became
more consistent and structured as a result of weekly check-off sheets. His parents also did a weekly assessment.
His teacher was involved also.
Dave learned that he didn't have a disease, brain damage, chemical imbalance or genetic dysfunction. He learned that the power was within him to take charge of himself and his life day by day. He started to realize that he alone was responsible for his behavior and in ten short years he would be 19 years old. He started step by step to make changes. He become less volatile. His bus behavior improved. He started to do
homework at a set time and in a set place. His test grades started to improve. This success
positioned him for additional successes. In the end he went from a struggling C student to a more confident
A Student. He even started to play baseball well. In the beginning he was too self-conscious to try. As Dave experienced success for himself his whole personality changed. He even looked different as he stood up in a taller, more commanding
way.
They became more empowered to handle their difficult, demanding lifestyle. They learned to be more structured and effective with discipline at home. They were encouraged to support their child to separate and become more self-reliant and self-responsible by doing less for him and expecting him to do more for himself. They learned to "lighten up" and make evenings more positive and fun. They used creative solutions for issues that were dragging the whole family down into a habitual vortex of negative energy. During the intake session, Dave's parents talked about their dream of building a home on land they owned as well as having a more harmonious and joyful family life. Within two years, family B reported back that they got their dream house and were enjoying their new dream family to go along with it.
Family A? I met the parent in the supermarket that summer. She stated that her child was
still on Ritalin. All was not perfect
and there was no magic
cure. He had a loss of appetite.He got headaches and his
dosage had to be, increased. He
also started to talk about feeling upset at having to go to the
school nurse for his medication. But his grades were good.
All power to change and be more connected and effective
over th long run only comes from within!
We are telling our children that there is something wrong with them
and that they have to take a drug that is an amphetamine (Ritalin, Adderall, Dexidrine).
Ninety percent of the world's Ritalin is used in the US.
It is interesting that it is completely banned in Sweden.
There are no studies on the long term effect of Ritalin use.
We are giving drugs to younger and younger children.
Ritalin was never meant to be given to children under the age of six.
There are definite side effects.
Many children become robotic, lethargic and depressed. Many
lose weight and growth may be stunted.
To sum up, are we not abusing our children,
our most precious resource with a solution that creates
many other problems rather than making the effort to find better,
long lasting ways of meeting their needs and controlling their behaviors.
