Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Medication?
I recently heard from a friend who has struggled with a certain son's behavior for several years. She's upset because her husband and mother insist that she look into putting him on ritalin. She has studied attachment issues, reading every book on the subject since she and her husband adopted this son and his brother. The two boys had a background involving early abuse, abandonment and several placements. She has held off having him tested for ADHD because she has read that many children with trauma related issues present as having ADHD, when in fact, they need to work through the trauma and the attention symptoms will resolve themselves. She has observed that when she is unencumbered by other stresses in life, and free to give him extra support and attention, he is able to function normally. But since life doesn't always allow her to always concentrate only on him, his behavior digresses. She prefers not to use medication. What would you tell her?
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2 comments:
The stress on the family needs to be balanced with the needs of the child when raising a child with attachment issues. It's true kids do better when parents are themselves consistently regulated and available. But life happens. Certainly, helping parents use effective intervention techniques is critical. But, in my experience, if the child's behaviors exceed the family's ability to cope with those behaviors, the presenting family stress can become a barrier to healing. So, are meds the answer? For some it helps. There are also alternative health options, like neurofeedback or supplements, but that's often not covered by insurance, unfortunately. Thank goodness the family has such wonderful support from your agency. Having support from professionals who truly understand and empathize with the challenges presented is crucial.
Hello!
We have a friend who was dealing with similar problems with her adopted son. He was tested for a lot of different problems - ADHD being one of them. We work with a food science company that has helped many people with lots of health issues including ADD & ADHD. We connected her with friends who were dealing with similar issues and she decided to start her child on our nutrition products. Her child has had great results and feels a big difference when he takes his "shakes". It would be much better for her to check into nutritional answers that help equip the body to deal with issues than to take meds that treat symptoms and have side effects. When I was a classroom teacher, I had so many children who said they didn’t like the way they feel in the meds. I'd be happy to talk to her in person and introduce her to people who have seen great results with their children and these issues.
Brian Kruis
505-863-2645
bpkruis@yahoo.com
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