Do you think that children with ADD/ADHD should be medicated

[GFSummoner]

It should remain with each family to decide.

My personal opinion is that society is over medicated.

Not to say that these prescriptions do not work, which they do.

[RadiantFlare]

No, and this article best explains why.

To sum up the best arguments against medicating children I will offer this quote from the article "...The illusion that children’s behavior problems can be cured with drugs prevents us as a society from seeking the more complex solutions that will be necessary. Drugs get everyone — politicians, scientists, teachers and parents — off the hook. Everyone except the children, that is."

It annoys me and discourages me having seen in the past few years alone how over-medicated and obsessed with popping pills America has become. This trend towards getting kids hooked on drugs is fairly obscene. All the kids that I knew in school that were on these kinds of drugs were either so addled out of their minds that they could not concentrate OR by the time they graduated high school they were so addicted to the pills that they would have meltdowns at the idea of not having their drugs anymore. Whatever happened to these kinds of drugs being the last option? Now it is all about pills and more pills for every little thing a kid does.

[Dorinkingu]

I think before they jump to drugs, they should try altering their diet and undergoing therapies and stuff.

You'd be surprised about all the ailments that "normal" food can cause. Organic ftw. heart

[Stereoblind]

ADHD is one of the most controversial topics in modern medicine, and for good reason. If the medical community hasn't come to a conclusion about this, it's very unlikely we will, but for the sake of the argument I will say "sometimes."
ADHD is overdiagnosed and has contributed to the decline of the field of psychiatry in the eyes of the public. As an aspiring physician I have to say I'm not even considering psychiatry, and this is partly because of the corruption in the field. ADHD is the go-to disease when a doctor can't figure out what is wrong, or when they want to make a quick dollar. The symptoms of ADHD can be easily attributed to many other things, such as an unhealthy diet (high sugar can do terrible things to a child), an ineffective approach at teaching, or just plain old bad parenting, which we so often overlook. I believe ADHD should be diagnosed and treated only in severe cases after it has been proven that external factors are not to blame.

[Electrik Cloud]

I have ADHD. I have a hard time paying attention in class and focusing on homework. I'm easily distracted. But my doctor won't prescribe me anything because I'm an AB honor roll student.

[Official Jason Black]

I have ADHD. I usually just use caffeine to calm me down. It usually works. I've never taken any medicine for my ADHD, because my dad (who happens to be a doctor) says that he thinks it's better if I just learn to deal with it. He was the one who told me that caffeine calms down some ADHD people. Which is probably why I'm so hooked on Mountain Dew.

[Kit Kat Purrpurr]

I was typing something long and meaningful about how I feel that medication can help, like how it did in my situation, but the page refreshed.

I dislike how people are all anti-medication, because it can help. Depends on if you have the right medication and the right dosage. Meds aren't for everyone, but they aren't evil.

I never had any social skills when I was younger, which made elementary school and the first half of junior high s**t for me. When I was diagnosed with ADD, we slowly raised the dosage of my medication, and we eventually found the perfect balance. I have no problems studying and remembering things, and I have never had to deal with any side-effects. Plus I hate the way I feel without meds. Sitting still in a chair is painful, and my appetite is gargantuan.

[8-bit Anteater]

Yes. I know people with one or another and they just act like a ******** up car if they don't take it. However, it may be different for different people, some may do well without it, what do I know.