The Stigma Associated with ADHD

Last year I posted a status on Facebook in regards to a post that someone I knew had done. They had stated the following:





Why the rush to want to medicate children when they are a little excitable and only 5 years old...from the doctor no less. Because " a lot of parents like it because you see results and they calm down in about 20 minutes"


No thank you.






This was my response to their post. I am not trying to start a debate regarding this issue, however, I do feel the need to let people hear the perspective from a parent that has not 1 but both boys that have ADHD, as well as, myself. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain and is not something made up. Please educate yourself regarding this. My older son, since this was posted a year ago, took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills test in the spring of this year and in reading scored at the 13th level, which is 1st year College, in Math and science he scored as a 10th grader. He also made it into the S.T.E.M. program through the University of Iowa- Bellin Blank Center. Here is more information on this program: http://www2.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/schools/excellence/Default.aspx


This is the first year that my son's school, Cardinal Community School District, has had this program. My son, along with only 9 other students in his grade level, were accepted into this program. He attends twice a week after school from 3:30pm-5:30pm. He is being taught advanced Math and come December, he will be learning advanced Science. Without the help of the medication he takes, he probably would have been failing because of not being able to focus because of his mind running. The good thing is, we don't have to worry about that and never had to worry about him falling behind or struggling with his grades, because we did what was best for him and his future. So please before passing judgement on parents and saying they are taking the easy way out...educate yourself about ADHD, and think about it. Years ago, medication was just dished out, medicine has advanced greatly and doctors now start at the lowest dose possible and increase it slowly because they don't want children to have the "zombie" effect. They want those children to have the best opportunity for their futures, just like their parents want.


It is very heart-breaking to see posts like this...


When a parent agrees to try medication for their child, it is not out of laziness. Every person has the right to their opinions, however, don't say that parents want to take the "easy" way out. My older son Lyle, was started on medication at the age of 5 1/2. It was not an easy decision by any means but it was the right decision. How do I know this? As a result of him being on medication in first grade he tested out at a 7th grader in reading, he has been in the accelerated learning program every year and is able to focus and do well in school. Think what you want but there are benefits for a child that needs the medication. Most of the medications contain stimulants, which as we know, like with meth, it causes people to become hyper, super aware, unable to sleep, etc. For a child that takes this medication, their minds slow down and they are able to focus on tasks and are not trying to get their mind to filter out all the external stimuli around them. A child that truly has ADHD and is not given the medication, have a higher risk of drug abuse. Why is that? Because they are looking for a way to deal with their mind running non-stop. So don't judge without understanding the etiology behind the disease. When Robin Williams committed suicide, everyone said people shouldn't be afraid to seek help for depression and there shouldn't be a stigma on mental health diseases, and yet here you are, doing that very thing. You are holding up the stigma associated with ADHD. It is a mental illness just like depression, bipolar, etc

Educate yourself about the disease and not about the how parents are looking for the easy way out.