by Mandie » Wed Jul 11, 2007 8:53 pm
That's awful Ally!!! I'm as outraged as everyone else on here... it was wrong of the teacher to contact the doctor (rather than you) and wrong of the doctor to try to force ritalin on you.
For the record - a lot of kids DO have ADHD. And a lot of those benefit from ritalin, or dexamphetamines. These drugs do have side effects, as do all medications, but when used appropriately, for the right children, they can have impressive results.
However - as somebody else mentioned above, it doesn't sound like your child fits the criteria for ADHD. The diagnostic criteria include symptoms like impulsiveness, poor attention, easy distractibility, difficulty with school work, being "on the go as if driven by a motor", difficulty waiting in turn, and so on. The DMV IV and ICD-10 (classification systems for psychiatric disorders) BOTH state that these symptoms must not occur in the presence of another medical/other condition that could also cause them. That is, if a child with a known learning disability has trouble doing his homework, that is NOT a symptom of ADHD, but rather a symptom of the learning disability. All of your son's symptoms could be caused by the learning disability, and his resulting self-esteem and difficulty with school.
Also, as was also mentioned above, the criteria specifically states that these symptoms must be present in TWO domains - e.g. home and school. The doctor didn't listen to you when you said he was okay at home, and just barrelled ahead with her own diagnosis - this is wrong! Parents know their children best, and one of the most important things a doctor can do is LISTEN to the parents - LISTEN to the mother who says her baby is "not herself today" , because she might be seriously ill and not just sleepy, as she appears to you. LISTEN to the parent who says their child is out of control at home. If your child had ADHD, you would not be denying it - you would be begging your doctor for a treatment!
I rambled again. In summary - your doctor did the wrong thing. Absolutely get a second opinion. And I would be writing a formal letter to the school, and arranging a meeting with the teacher concerned and the principal to discuss exactly why what they did was wrong.
Best of luck with your son Ally - it's a challenging time for any parent to discover their child has a learning disorder, not to mention having to deal with all this CENSORED too!!