From: dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: misc.kids,misc.education,k12.chat.teacher,sci.med
Subject: Re: Attention Deficit Disorder Resources
Date: 6 Oct 92 03:37:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: spdcc.1992Oct6.033707.12358
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA

In article <aidler.718327924@sanjuan> aidler@sanjuan.UVic.CA (E Alan Idler) writes:
>Our decision to manage our son's ADD behaviors was not something we
>undertook in haste.  We received all the information regarding Ritalin
>we could obtain from our public health officers.

Unfortunately, raw undigested information isn't useful if you can't
understand it or interpret it.  I suspect you haven't.

>We opted to try the allergy and diet treatments ahead of Ritalin because:
>1. There may be other ways to treat a condition.  Drugs are artificial.
>None enter the body without side-effects.  If a viable natural alternative
>exists, we feel it deserves consideration.

"Inoculations" are "natural?"  Weird diets are "natural?"  Isolating a child
from his peers with the expectation that this will need to continue as long
as his education continues is "natural?"  You got me there.  I think you just
should have driven north on Vancouver Island and let him be raised by wolves.
Now THAT's natural.

Rather than presume side effects (there are side effects to everything,
including your present choices), you might have found that any such side
effects were either non-existent, or manageable, and not the bogeymen
which the naturopath "natural" lobby placed in your head.

>2. We were told Ritalin may produce a physical or psychological dependency.

This does not happen as a rule in children or adults given the drug
for medical reasons, such as ADD or narcolepsy.  The drug has some history
of being misused by former amphetamine users (in such cases, it's the
next best thing.)  This is the reason (in the US) it's a Schedule II
substance.  Any such dependence in ADD children is so infrequent as to not
be an issue.  I'd be more worried about the parents or teachers getting
their hands on it.
 
>We were told that the drug diminished appetite,

Dextroamphetamine has more of an effect on appetite than either methyl-
phenidate (Ritalin) or pemoline (Cylert).  The drug can reduce appetite;
this is minimized by giving it with meals (like breakfast and lunch).
It can also cause insomnia; in kids who are sensitive to this, you pay
attention to how late in the day it's given.

>"stunting his growth."  We were told that regardless of the
>drug's benefits to my son's behavior, he couldn't take it
>continually for these reasons.

I dunno; I'd be a lot more worried about stunted intellectual and social
growth than physical growth.  However, let me give you some more information:
the claim that continuous use of Ritalin stunts growth is quite controversial,
and studies which have been looked at this are contradictory--about as many
show no effect at all on either weight or height, as do those which show an
effect.  A lot of these studies have methodological problems which make
interpretation difficult.  However, simply out of prudence and a desire to
avoid even the chance of this, the drug is usually not given during school
holidays or, occasionally, not on weekends.  The current assessment is that
some children might experience a delay of growth, but that they catch up
during holidays or after the drug is stopped, and that ultimate height isn't
affected.  Proper treatment of a child with ADD who is given Ritalin would
include noting his or her linear growth to ensure it was in line with what
is expected.

>We wondered about his ability to learn while impaired with these drugs.

What do you mean "impaired"?  Why don't you listen to the experience of
those individuals here who have actually used and benefitted from the
drug?  There's no "impairment" involved.  You're describing someone who
is sufficiently unmanageable that he takes most of your family's time
as well as a special class, and you use the word "impaired" to describe
the effect of Ritalin?  C'mon.

>3. Our son had obvious allergic reactions to certain foods,
>eg. body odour, bed wetting, wild emotional reactions.

No one with any reputable medical credentials would ever describe any of this
as an "allergy".  This must be mystical naturopath-speak.

>My son was much more stigmatized in the regular classroom because there
>he was the boy always "acting up." I happen to like the smaller
>behavioral classroom.  We receive a daily report on our son's
>progress.  We are much more involved in the day-to-day affairs of our
>son's education than we can ever be in his 6YO sister's.  Unlike in the
>larger class, we don't just hear about the problems.

I'm sure all of this is good; however, I think you, your son and your whole
family would be surprised and pleased to note the additional benefits of the
use of a drug like Ritalin, assuming his diagnosis was accurate.

>If my son were not making progress in this treatment,
>we would not be continuing with this program.
>We are looking for a solution which will benefit him
>throughout his life -- not just keep him docile while in school.

Um, how many times does it have to be repeated that Ritalin doesn't
keep someone docile?  It doesn't matter to you, does it?

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
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