Is it beneficial or useful to diagnose young children with psychological disorders such as ADHD, bipolar, and anxiety? Are such diagnoses often "easy outs" for other problems, such as child neglect, child abuse, or some other form of poor parenting? Are many of these children simply acting their age? Does diagnosis cause some children to act the way they are diagnosed from being labeled? Can personality be accurately measured when it is not yet fully developed in a child? Can medicating children foster dependency on mood altering drugs as adults? Your thoughts on any or all of these questions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Emily Chittick
16 comments:
I think it is useful to diagnose children with psychological disorders. I don't really think it is an easy out for other problems, some children really have these disorders, and need help. Sometimes a parent can only do so much, and they have to turn to alternative solutions. That doesn't mean you are a bad parent, you have just done all that you can. I don't think personality can be measured yet in a child, but if that is the case, they can stop medication when the personality has developed. I think it all depends on the situation or the person when it comes to affecting them as adults. Not everyone that needed behaivior drugs as a child, will feel dependant on them as adults.
Caitlin Parker
I guess I have to look back to the past to gain knowledge for the future. I cant say I agree with all the testing and labeling of children with disorders. In some cases it may warrant that, however, I feel alot of the times it is just an easy out for parents who dont take the time to raise/mentor the children. You know isnt it funny, we have to have a license to drive, a certain age to vote and smoke, shouldnt you have to be licensed to be a parent. I was a scout leader for several years and some of the scouts would " act out" and when I would reprimand them or threaten to talk to their parents, they would say "I will just tell my parents I forgot to take my medicine." I do think their minds are still developing and that medication in most instances are not the way to go. Our society has became a " take a pill" society. We think drugs will fix everything. Now after having typed this I think I will go take my pills before I forget. Including the pills that try to keep me from forgetting :)
Dave Crain
My son has several diagnoses, ranging from Bipolar, to Oppositional Defiant Disorder, to Anxiety and Depression, and finally, (thank God!), ADHD.
I knew, from the time my son was born, that there was something different about him. He was extremely irritable from birth. He wouldn't sleep without me holding him. If I put him down, he would wake up and begin crying again.
As a toddler, I noticed even more pronounced differences between him and other kids his age. I also had two sons prior to this one, and I knew that this son was different. He was extremely intelligent, but walked a bit later, was easily aggravated, had a lot more aggression, and was prone to bouts of inconsolable loud crying. I was the only person who could calm him down. My son also learned to be potty trained much later than usual.
My son was born this way. He did not learn these behaviors. He is not acting his age -- at any age. He is different from the other kids, and always has been. He has few friends, gets into a lot of trouble at school for defying authority, and consequently, has missed a lot of school. Fortunately, he is extremely intelligent, so he can catch up when he gets back to school.
We have tried every sort of punishment there is. Nothing has worked. What worked for my other two sons, has not made any impact on this kid.
Personality, albeit immature personality, is evident from birth. We mature and grow, but you can follow some childhood traits into adulthood.
I can assure you that the kids who have to take meds to control themselves, do not want to be on these meds. The meds make them sleepy, dizzy, sick to their stomach, and it is embarassing when other people find out that they have to take meds. My favorite t-shirt says "People like you are the reason people like me have to take meds!" That one cracks me up. These kids get laughed at all the time, and the joke is always on them. I think shirts like this turn the tables back around on society and laugh at it!
I got my son into motocross at 7 years of age. We went to a freestyle motocross event, and he liked it so much, he became obsessed with the sport. A few months later, I bought him his first motocross bike. Since then, my kid has been glued to his bikes. When we lived in the country, he was outside riding his bike every single day. You couldn't get that kid off his bike. Now that we have to live in town, it's killing him not to be able to ride every day. He used to race every single weekend, and practiced out at the track at least once or twice a week. I learned how to be a motorcycle mechanic just so I could fix his bikes and keep them race ready. It was just him and me going to all those motocross races. I whole heartedly supported his sport, and still do. I even sent out letters to all the local motorcycle dealerships, explaining his problems, asking them to sponsor my kid, and letting them know that I was, at that time, having him race motocross in lieu of taking pills to see if it would help him. I got two dealerships to sponsor my kid! He does really good when he's riding his bike -- he's like a totally different person. But, as soon as he gets off his bike and the adrenaline wears off, he has problems again.
I don't like taking medication. I don't like giving my son medication. He is 13 now, and I have asked him what he wants -- and he has chosen to take medication. He doesn't like feeling the way he feels. He doesn't like getting into trouble all the time. He is particularly depressed and sad because he has no friends. This is the part that hurts me, as his mother, the most. This child is all alone, all of the time. If it weren't for me, he would have no one. My ex-husband left us a long time ago, but even when he was around, he couldn't handle the way our son was. When my son would have problems, my ex-husband's response would be to get mad and want to beat him, which, of course, I couldn't allow; so I would grab my child up and carry him off somewhere where his dad wouldn't hear him, and hold him and talk to him until he calmed down. I was afraid his dad was going to be abusive to him.
What is left of my family, doesn't understand and can't handle my son, so they avoid him. Same thing for my ex-husband's family. HE HAS NO ONE BUT ME.
I have tried numerous psychiatrist and psychologists, and joined support groups for other parents with kids like mine, but there is no magic answer. Each kid is different. What works for one, may not, and probably will not work for another. If you read any of the online support groups for parents of these kids, you will see the heartbreak that we, as parents of these special kids, go through.
We have only lived here for 2 months, and in the first week at his new school here, I got called to the school 4 times. The second time they called, they were already trying to shove my kid off to another school: a school for behaviorially "disturbed" kids. Ha! Fucking figures! Just like everywhere else. No one, at any school, wants to help my kid. No one wants to do something extraordinary and try to understand and help him. They just want to shove him under the carpet, and get rid of him. They only want to deal with "normal" kids. Is my son any less of a human being just because he has problems? I don't think so. In fact, I think he is a wonderful human being. He is extremely compassionate, intelligent, has common sense, and is extremely talented. He is an excellent motocross rider, and he's taught himself how to play keyboards!!! He writes all of his own songs, and they have brought people to tears. His dad even cried when he heard his son play for the first time. He threw away this little person as if he were trash, because he was a bit harder to deal with than "normal" kids. Then, he sees that his son is extremely talented, and he feels like shit (as well he should).
I have raised this child by myself, and it has not been easy. People always think that I must have poor parenting skills, but if they looked at my two older sons, they would see that I did raise my kids right. This is NOT about parenting skills -- good, bad, or indifferent. This is about a chemical imbalance in someone's brain. They can't help it, and us parents don't know what to do about it, except to keep trying.
Nothing has worked miracles, so far, but I'm not giving up. Even if the rest of the world has given up on my child, I haven't. I just hope that I live long enough to see him become an adult, so that he never has to live with, or rely on anyone who doesn't understand him and love him.
My advice to everyone else who doesn't have to deal with a kid of their own who has these problems -- do something extraordinary! Be a Big Brother, or a Big Sister! Give of your time to be a good role model to a troubled kid or a kid who doesn't have a mom, or a dad. You never know -- you may change a life. Hell, you're life may be changed!
Stacie Carlson
I think diagnosing a child with a disorder is helpful, however I would caution a parent from pushing a diagnosis too quickly. I have adult friends who were "labeled" as children, and if you met them, you wouldn't even know it. Yet, because of that label that was tagged on them during their youth, they have not been able to pursue certain jobs.
Not to take away from the many youth with psychological and nuerological disorders who deserve proper treatment and medication, I do believe that many parents and teachers are very quick to improperly diagnos and medicate a child instead of taking the time and energy to help the child figure out why they act and feel the way they are and help them learn coping skills and techniques. I have a friend whose child has had 3 VERY different diagnosis over the last 5 years by school teachers and counselors. My friend and her husband didn't accept the labeling and didn't give their child the recommended medication. Instead they researched their options, tried countless different coping techniques, adjusted their sons diet, adjusted their parent techniques - they tried EVERYTHING. They were exhausted, frustrated, emotionally drained...but they never gave up on him! Finally, he is now 14 and doing incredibly awesome. They found things that worked and helped him and they discarded the rest. 5 years later, many sleepless nights, alot of tears, and a bucket full of tears...their son never was put on medication, never labeled with a disorder, and is doing great!
I also know people whose children were labeled, put on medication, and still struggling in public schools. They have enrolled their children in "special schools" and their children are for the very first time in their life seeing success and enjoying fitting in and making friends. It is amazing and heartwarming to watch them belong.
Being a parent is so tough. We have the hardest job in the world and we don't even get instructions! I think sometimes the "instructions" are internally built in side us. I have two very different children. One daughter is a straight A student and the other has a learning disability that resulted in many difficult years at school. I sometimes had to spend days researching ways to help her. I had all kinds of opinions suggested to me. But, in the end I had to listen to that inner tug that comes from that special place deep within a mothers heart. I had to make choices that I thought were best for my daughter, which sometimes were not the choices that well meaning others around us would have chosen. But, I know my daughter better than they do. She is doing awesome these days and I am very proud of her for not giving up!
Jan Baker
I dont believe its neither doctors or whoever shouldn't be diagnose any kids at such an early age with problems because maybe its just a phase and they are going to grow out of it.yes i believe they are just acting there age. and nothing is really wrong with them.yes it does when doctors tell their parents that their child has aproblem their parents are going to act different toward the kid and everything is going to change. No it can't because when a child is little you don't know what kind of personality they will have. We shouldn't be giving kids medication simply because they are going to become dependent on it and what if one day they don't take there medicine and something happens. I feel children shouldn't take medicine.
Edwidge Philizaire
From Debra Porter:
I think that diagnosing such disorders as ADHD, bipolar, and anxiety is stupid for young children. But other disorders that are much easily noticeable (such as down syndrome, etc.) are okay to diagnose. I think how can a child have these disorders at such a young age, nothing has been happening to them that can be that traumatic. I think that if children act like their diagnosis, that is what they are doing -- acting. I do not think personality can be measured, you said it yourself, it's not fully developed yet.
I think it's possible to diagnose some of these problems in children, even if they go away with age. I dont think they're just acting their age, because it's the disorders that make them act different from other children their age... I don't think a diagnosis could make a child act like it, because that's not really how children think. they don't want to be different from everyone else. On the other hand, if our society would learn to just accept that some people have social "disorders" which make them a bit different from everyone else, we wouldn't NEED the medicine! it's just trying to make everyone act "normal".
the 7:41 comment was Blake Diehl.
I don't know this is a really tough one for me. I can understand why parents want medication for there children and everything but I don't think it's completly right. There are some psychological disorders that do need to be addressed at very young ages and stuff but at the same time in regards to things like ADD and stuff to that nature I don't think it's necessary to use prescription drugs for that. I personally think I probably do have ADD and I've never gone to a doctor about it. I know though when I go over the top with some things that I need to stop. Or if my mind is completly drifting from one thing to another I do a pretty good job on getting back to the topic. I'm just not real big for prescription drugs to begin with but I feel that these disorders should be dealt with teaching how to address it and practice at it opposed to just popping a magic pill.
Dan Berger
From Barb Beals:
Emily, I think that this ties in with my question very well. I think that it's a result of wanting/needing attention of a child. I also think that it is an easy out for parents to have their child diagnosed with a problem than to accept the fact that they don't dicipline their kids. It also gives the kids an excuse to act the way they do and call it a "disorder". In the olden days they called it bad parenting. I think that with proper dicipline a child would snap out of these handicaps and be a normal productive citizen. My cousin's son was diagnosed with ADHD, and Mood Disorder among other things. I think that it is possible to use medicine to treat these to help the child maintain an acceptable presence in school,church,or even in the home itself; but I believe that all too often it's a crutch. And think of this, in our society there is a pill for everything. If you act like an asshole, they can give you a pill, if you can't sleep they give you a pill. If you can't cope with life you try to commit suicide by taking a bottle of pills. A pill is all too often a "cure all" it makes me sick that parents don't teach their children the respect of their elders, teachers, even their family. So yes I think that a diagnosis will cause some kids to act the way they are diagnosed so they have an excuse to act out. Either out of a lack of attention, or a lack of the right kind of dicipline.
Emily!! haha...this is from Steph Einck! what a surprise :)
I think it is because it allwos your child to understand what is wrong with them. You are able to get your kids tested for those diroders to clarify the reasons they act the way they do. It might be, but i dont think it is the number one reason. Some kids who werent abused have these disorders and getting medication helps them. I think children will act the same way no matter what. When they are younger and they get diagnosed they really wont know what is going on and what it really means. I think personality can be measuered even if it isnt fully developed becasue [eoples personanilties normally stay the same, they change a little bit as you get older and mature more, but for the most part you can tell the personality when they are young
I think it is very benefical for diganosing children at a young age. This will help teachers and doctors help the children adapt to their problem. The children can be given medication to help them when it's needed, and the children can learn to adapt to their problems at a younger age. Under NO circumstance should these problems be "easy outs" for poor parenting problems. If children are diagnosed with these problems, the parents should also recieve help on how to be better parents of these childten. These disorders may just be because of age but if they adapt to handle them, they may go away by their adult years. I believe that personality does change over the childhood years, but at a gradual rate. I believe that some kids are getting drugs at young age that don't need them, and this may affect their adult lives.
Jeremy Lamb
I think it can be beneficial to diagnose a young child or children.
If you know what you are doing, because some of these doctor can give a child or children the mediciation. I think a child or children act because they some love. The doctor should momitior them first before he or she make a decision.
the last comment was from Catina Moore
I think that if the child does have a disorder then they should be diagnosed with it. I think that if they don't have a problem then they shouldn't be diagonsed because then it gives them special treatment that they don't deserve and it isn't fair for the other kids. I think that if they child has been neglected or what not then they should have to be looked at and make sure and then get taken out of their home to a new one. I don't really know this topic so i'm not much help...i'm sorry!
Sonja Paul
I dont agree with trying to measure a child's personality because it's not yet fully developed. I also feel like diagnosing a child with anxiety is kind of ridiculous. what child has anxiety? what do they have to worry about at such a young age? I do however think that it's okay to put a child on ritalin if they are really hyperactive...I dont know I guess I can see both sides of this.
Ashlee Meredith
Post a Comment