HUZZAH! Banned from Rentech.com!
Sandilou:
They say seeing is believing; I had my eyes opened wide when I saw just how much Ritalin can alter a child's behaviour;
We had a 6 year old kiddie who literally came into school at 9.00 and by 9.05 was throwing chairs at anyone who walked through the hall, then tried to climb up the pipework onto a low level roof. His eyes were moving around wildly and he was incapable of speaking to us because he couldn't focus. He was moving around constantly and had to be talked down by his parents and taken home.
After the subsequent exclusion from school, his parents felt they had no choice but to give him his prescribed Ritalin. They were worried about side effects so wouldn't give it on non-school days. (As it takes a few hours to kick in, Monday mornings were always potentially eventful). Later in the week, we were amazed to watch the same child, eyes heavily glazed from medication, take the lead in organising and playing a circle game with most of the members of his class. It truly was a camera moment!
Off medication, that child returned to his usual persona. He was hyperactive; I honestly believed that if he changed his diet, it would have helped considerably. because he consumed a high number of additives in his daily diet, which seemed to be made up predominantly of fast, snack foods. Bit ironic when you consider the parents concerns regarding the long term effects of Ritalin.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: Renatus on 2005 September 03, 10:30:28
Why on earth didn't I think of that astoundingly wonderful idea before? I'll just ignore all of my problems and they'll go away!
You'd be surprised how well this works. Humans are equipped with boundless capacity for repression and denial for a reason.
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Unfortunately, JM, it doesn't work that way. Like most problems with a physical cause - even if you are talking mechanical objects and not living things - ignoring a mental problem does not make it easier to deal with, as the problem will continue to worsen, and the person often ends up self-medicating with substances or behaviours that compound the problem still further. Furthermore, some mental issues (schizophrenia comes immediately to mind) when left untreated can lead to irreversable brain damage.
If at first it doesn't work, force it. If it breaks, it needed to be replaced anyway. More importantly, "self-medicating" is not IGNORING the issue. Didn't I mention to *IGNORE* it? Pretend that it does not exist. Ignore. Deny. Repress. Got it?
Quote from: SimsHost on 2005 September 03, 15:28:03
I suspect that what's missing from JM's analysis is that wetware can be misconfigured and damaged just like any other system. It's the most complex system in the human body, with more failure modes and effects than any other system.
By its nature, wetware is open to software damage through its sensory channels. There doesn't seem to be any virus scanners on the input channels, either. (Though it might help to disable the buttons for CNN and HBO on your television remote.)
Sensory channels frequently malfunction. I myself hallucinate on a regular basis. But do you know how I deal with this? Simple. I ignore it! They're hallucinations, they're not real. There is no hair-haired toothy monster that is chewing my leg off. The room is not on fire and there are no strobing lights. It's just an equipment malfunction. It's not really there. Nothing is wrong. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Why's this such a hard concept to grasp?
ZephyrZodiac:
Most kids thrive on attention, so what was positive for him may well still have been negative for you! I have a neighbour whose son was permanently excluded during his final year (15-16) which meant he couldn't take his GCSE's, all because the teachers found him too challenging! When I was teaching, if I had a kid like that in my class, who had ideas about things, I would think, great, this is a kid with a brain! But nowadays, teachers have to be concerned with getting the greatest number through their exams as possible, which means they no longer have time to deal with individual questions which will derail the lesson plan! This is Victorian training, not the creative, whole child approach which I learned at college!
You son is lucky that you are an educated person and have the ability to home-school him. In this country it's not easy for anyone unless they have a degree and/or teaching qualification to do this, but for some kids it's the only answer. and a darn sight more positive than putting them on drugs.
J. M. Pescado:
Quote from: sandilou on 2005 September 03, 18:24:22
We had a 6 year old kiddie who literally came into school at 9.00 and by 9.05 was throwing chairs at anyone who walked through the hall, then tried to climb up the pipework onto a low level roof. His eyes were moving around wildly and he was incapable of speaking to us because he couldn't focus. He was moving around constantly and had to be talked down by his parents and taken home.
This sounds like a kid who isn't beaten enough and is given too much sugar. Kids are like this when they don't receive proper discipline and are fed too much energy. Cut his food intake and paddle him.
Renatus:
*nods* I don't know a huge amount about Ritalin, but cases like your son's, SimsHost, is why is really bothers me. When I was in my teens I only knew of one kid - friend of mine - on it. He did definitely have some problems as he was born with a mild case of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and was diagnosed with ADD as well, and his father claimed he would go into violent tantrums without it.
At one point when our families were on a camping trip, and when we were preparing to go home he was getting out of hand I was told not to talk to him or he would get violent - but I talked him out of a tantrum anyhow, because I spoke to him like an intelligent human being who I respected, and he responded accordingly. I was shocked that me, at the time a 16 year old kid, could 'control' a supposedly violent 13 year old boy.
I'm sure there was more to it than that, but from the time I was in contact with that family it seemed that the single father was a milksop of a guy and didn't do much in the way of discipline. This had unfortunate results later, I'm sad to say...
After living with someone with a classic case of ADHD for five years, I really doubted how much the kid's problems were due to ADD and how much due to never learning much impulse control.
At any rate, I'm glad your son got something positive out of the whole experience. It sounds like he may have learned more about the inner workings of his mind, which is never wasted knowledge.
ZZ, you bring up some very good points and of course you are right. I think there might be some differences between schizophrenics that do get violent when they are delusional and those that don't, but I don't have any data on it so I can't really say. A delusional schizophrenic is rather frightening regardless, and the rush rush rush of cities certainly doesn't help.
Ah, so you don't have any data, JM. I'm not at all surprised. ;)
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