What are your thoughts on medicating children with ADHD?

My 5 year old son has had problems with hyperactivity for awhile now and it seemed to me more prevalent at school. He had problems in preschool including a suspension and his behavioral problems persisted in kindergarden. At the begining of this school year I had him see a counselor to help him adjust but it still wasn't working. He can't seem to focus on anything at school including schoolwork, storytime, calendar time. He's very active both mentally and physically.

You will find that a lot of people are anti medication, but unless they have had an experience very similar to your own it is hard to make a judgement. Ultimatly this must be a desicion to be made between you and your childs doctor.

Don't be too alarmed about all the negative things you will hear, most of them are simply opinions and not really based on facts. ADHD is a genuine medical condition, which has been proven to exist on brain scans for over 2 decades. A medical condition does deserve medical treatment. Your son's condition may not be life threatening but it it will be seriously threatening to his quality of life. If he struggles to learn in his early years this can set up a life long deficit in learning that can affect his future attitude to education and ability to get a job. Being in trouble all the time will have a major impact on his self esteem, this can also lead to lifelong problems. Medication now, can help him to avoid this, so it is definatly worth considering.

Some facts on ADHD medications are

1. These medications are not new, modern times kid drugs. In fact stiumlants have been used to treat major behavior disorders in children since the 1930's, and Ritalin has been used for this condition since the 1950's. People say ADHD did not exist back then but it did, it just had a different name. People also talked about it less in the old days as they did a lot of things but it was around.

2. Stimulant medications are now in fact the most studied medication for children in history. And one of the safest. Stimulants are in fact much safer than even over the counter herbal treatments, as there are far stricter rules for prescription medications and much more testing is required than for over the counter or natural treatments.

3, Councelling will not help this problem. It is a medical problem, no amount of councelling helps a blind child to see or a diabetic child to control their own blood sugar levels. The same goes for ADHD, councelling can not change their brain activity.

4. Children who are treated for ADHD have better outcomes. Children who are not treated often end up with several of the following issues - school failure, underachievement, dropping out, repeating at least 1 grade, unemployment, school suspension and/or expulsion, junvenile delinquency and relationship problems.

You have to realize that children cannot even be diagnosed until he/she reaches a certain age which I believe is 7 or 8. Just because he has problems focusing doesn't mean that he has ADHD. All children have short attention spans, but adults just can't tolerate them as much for some reason. Now that there are drugs to take care of the problem, they are being resorted to much too quickly. I have a Psychology and Education background and ADHD meds are not the answer in your case. Your child might just need some extra attention. You have to remember that all kids require different levels of attention and have various needs. Don't be hasty in trying to apply a label to your son, because once it's there, it sets off a chain of events that you might not want to deal with (i.e., counseling, special education, etc).

whatever you do, just please dont medicate him...there are classes and groups you can go to to learn special techniques on how to help him with homework, and to chill out in school..and a child 5 years old is way too young to be taken to a counselor, he doesnt understand that he is having problems, hes going to think that he is in trouble and not fully open up to the counselor, taking the tv and video games away will help, let him express creativity through art or music, just be calm with him, get on his level and be silly with him..but think of it like execise..you need a "cool down" so that could be like story time, or listening to a cd or something like that

What are your thoughts on giving benadryl to a baby that won't stop crying in the night?

I don't care for this trend. Do you remember when ADD first came out? And now its' ADHD. In five years, it'll be ADDHDDHD.

Maybe he can't focus because he's not challeneged or interested in the material. The problem doesn't always have to be a disease.

Try getting the book called, "Allergies and the Hyperactive Child", by Dr. Doris Rapp. Read all of it. Make sure you remove all sugary things from your son's diet, as well as other junk foods, white flour products, soda pop, Kool-Aid, Juice Beverages, and also peanut products if he seems to have temper flare-ups., etc. See if he begins to settle down a little bit. Do read the book, which can be found through used online booksites - it is a wealth of information.

Do you want your kid to be a on amphetamines?
Kids will be kids in my opinion.
I'm just the type that looks for other solutions than pills.
I took it in high school improves grades, decreases sleep, and appetite.
Main effects I dislike is the effects on sleep.
Google it. Or check out :
http://add.about.com/od/livingwithadhd/a...

I don't like the drugs...we are a population of immigrant risk-takers,the ones willing to leave the security of home for the promise of something better....we have been selectively breeding this risk behavior for 200 years....ADHD is a natural result...we need to deal with it without drugging up our kids...

if all else fails I would say the medication, i don't think it would hurt to try. Also google the Feingold Diet, a special diet that has helped many kids with ADD and ADHD. Good luck.

My second oldest son had a lot of problems in school, we very reluctantly put him on Adderall and he was like a different child. I would definitely recommend it.