THE MEDICATED CHILD

Have you ever been confronted by your child's teacher and told that maybe you child needs to be tested for A.D.D, A.D.H.D. , or even being Bi-polar??

A MUST WATCH

                          FRONTLINE: THE MEDICATED CHILD
     Available on Netflix or on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5lE8BAbnyQ
   
     From the time my oldest son was in kindergarten till the 3rd grade I had to battle with one "concerned" teacher after another. I remember having Vinny's Pediatric office on speed dial because it was one issue then another.
   
     In Kindergarten the main concern was that maybe my complications in childbirth with him caused nerve damage and they wanted him tested. They also brought up A.D.D. claiming he seemed to look out the window quite a bit and was not always on task. Dr. Dixon on the other hand didn't agree.

   First Grade they wanted me to get with the doctor to have him tested for A.D.D. Once again he was caught gazing out the window and now the teacher thought he was acting bored. So I made the appointment to consult with his doctor about the teachers concerns. I on the other hand had to disagree with them but I told the doctor that I wanted to test him just to be sure. I took home the book like packet and went to filling out Vinny's complete history. They wanted to know everything from pregnancy to how he did daily. I also sent the teacher her portion to fill out as well and we both sent our parts to the doctor. It was after all his final call on weather or not to test further. Not to my surprise he said that he didn't believe Vinny needed to be tested but to keep him updated of and changes.


   Second grade was a little more of the same. I honestly began to think my child was a sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde having to sit at conferences and listen to teachers describe a child I had never met. This year not only was A.D.D. brought up but they thought that maybe he had learning disabilities. Yet another rerun of the year before filling out all that paperwork, more doctor appointments and the teachers bringing a helper to sit with Vinny to help him one on one. Final decision: the Doctor still did not think he needed to be tested and I still was in agreement.

   Third grade was the year that everything came to a head and I had finally had enough and I believe the doctor felt the same way. Vinny was starting to loose all interest in school. His handwriting was not the best but no matter how hard he tried the teacher would hand it back to him to redo, he was made to stay in from playtime daily because he kept having to redo work. He was at the point of giving up and even came home crying regularly because of his teacher's actions and embarrassing him. When I told the doctor about how he was being treated I remember he  made a pretty rude comment regarding the teacher needing to do her job. I broke down and demanded that he be tested.  The school finally got their way. Vinny was not only  tested for A.D.D. He as also tested very intensely for learning disability's as well as his motor skills. I remember when all the testing was over I had to sit in a room with the principal, vice principal, counselor, Test giver, and Vinny's three teachers to discuss the results. His teacher that had caused all his pain was sitting right across from me just waiting to give me her "I told you so" because she was just so certain that she was right. The Test giver started out by telling me that a child with learning disabilities would score a -15 or lower. She continued on to say that Vinny was far from having any disabilities. Vinny had actually scored a positive 25. They did find that he had weak hands and that was why his handwriting was so poor but ultimately   NO A.D.D.!!!! I remember looking Mrs. LaRachelle in the eyes the whole time the results were being read. It was like a Victory that day. If I had gone for second opinions every time a teacher had complained about something they were "concerned" about till I found a doctor that agreed Who knows what kind of medications or even worse what kind of shape my son would be in today. 

   Since the Fourth grade till his present year of eighth grade I haven't heard one word from any teachers about any concern other than a couple "needs to be more organized" or "forgot his homework".  

  And the moral to my little story is, no one knows your child better than you. Don't allow yourself to be pressured into something you don't believe!!!

  I watched Frontlines: The medicated Child for the first time tonight and it really helped support how I felt about not medicating my children. I think some (NOT ALL) parents like the idea of having some wonder drug to slow down their active child. But really how can one live with themselves seeing that these drugs are altering their child's true personality and in some cases turning them into "zombies". I agree that in some cases medications maybe needed but if your doing it because your to lazy to keep up with your child... SHAME ON YOU!! Children are supposed to be active, they are supposed to want to play, and yes they even misbehave at times. Don't medicate what you see as a problem BE A PARENT.

 *AGAIN THIS DOES NOT PERTAIN TO EVERY SITUATION*