<p>thanks dr.nancie. wonder if i could pick your professional brain a bit more: Do you think kids with attention issues do better at certain types of colleges?</p>
<p>I really don't know any school that is quite like Reed- although I admit we didn't look at east coast schools- lots of kids from east coast though & there is a shuttle bus to airport
Thanks for the congratulations although D did the hard part ;)
you can congratulate me- when I finish ( and start) reading her 45 page thesis!</p>
<p>In our case, this disorder affects every aspect of S's life (and always has), including everyday activities and things he is deeply interested in, not just school or boring tasks. After treatment, the difference in his ability to function as a person was the equivalent of giving a person glasses or a hearing aid. In other words, he had been granted a personal miracle. An essay on this topic would have been anything but negative, in my view.</p>
<p>Drnancie, I agree with you, completely. I do similar work, and offer similar advice. Always talk from the positive, not from the negative; never sound apologetic when speaking about yourself or your attributes.</p>
<p>Occcasionally, I see good "disability" essays, but they are rarer than the negative ones. JMO</p>
<p>AFAN,
If, by being uninformed, you mean having ADD myself, and refusing to take meds, reading SEVERAL books on it, being friends with teachers who see ritilan abused, and having a masters degree in boichemistry along with enough passion for human physiology to read everything I come across about the subject, from both traditional and non traditional sources, then, by all means, please inform me as to something I don't already know. Oh, and I am the father of a 2 year old daughter that I look at and would never, EVER want to make her stoned at a young age EVERY DAY of her life with a coccaine derivative. I mean it sincerely, if you are going to make a statement saying that I am nu-informed,, you must possess some bit of knowledge on the subject that I have yet to come across. Inform away! Please, no personal attacks, just tell me how I am wrong. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.biopsychiatry.com/methcomp.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.biopsychiatry.com/methcomp.htm</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.rense.com/general37/ritalin.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.rense.com/general37/ritalin.htm</a></p>
<p>"Coke and Ritalin produce results so similar that test animals do not even discriminate between the two drugs."</p>
<p>"I am a child clinical psychologist and I always recommend having the guidance counselor address it, rather than having the essay or the rest of the app about it. it looks negative and whiny."</p>
<p>No offense, but don't you get paid for your time to inform the schools? Of course you would reccommend it to be professionally done!</p>
<p>toms, drnancie stated that she would have "the gc" address the diagnosis. drnancie did not recommend that she should address it on behalf of the student.</p>
<p>Wow, apparently I am stoned right now. I had no idea. It's interesting that being able to think clearly and being able to actually sit down and work are symptoms of being stoned. Perhaps this is why psychiatrists universally think that ritalin et al are not a good way to address AD(H)D! </p>
<p>A few thoughts:
1. People who are ritalin addicts but don't have ADD will react quite differently to the drug.
2. I believe that people with ADD have problems with their dopamine receptors...
3. Injecting ritalin directly into your blood via injection is different than taking 10 mg at a time or whatever.
4. All this being said, you are correct in saying that we don't know much about ritalin and its long term effects since it's a new drug. It's also true that some people abuse ritalin and some psychiatrists do not go through sufficient testing before prescribing the drug (I went through 10 hours of diagnostics, for example.) This should give us caution when thinking about using an addictive stimulant or giving it to our kids.</p>
<p>Look, I am not trying to be sanctamonious but the original poster of the thread asked for opinions. I am playing devil's advocate and saying that if I were an admissions prof. at the college, I would have reservations about admitting someone already addicted to a powerful drug. It would be no different to me than admitting someone addicted to alcohol or who smokes pot every day to cope with life. Our bodies cannot differientiate between a "perscription" and a "street" drug. Having said that, I did a lot of partying in college but still managed to keep my priorities in check, so I know it can be done. </p>
<p>The problem came when I was attacked personally. To that person, all I have to say is that at least I will not go to the grave with the guilt of placing my child on an anphetamine. I mean come on, where does the line between pharm. companies profit and common sense become blurred. If we could test for ADD in the woumb, would it be wise for mom to smoke crack to expose the baby to amphetamine. You may think it is a poor anology, but there are people who don't think twice about giving a 4 or 5 year old this powerful drug. I don't buy that these drugs make ADD people only feel "NORMAL". If that is the case, ADD people would never feel the affects from cocaine, and I doubt anyone would argue that point. I would be willing to bet that placing ADD children on a sugar free diet, and making changes like adding wild salmon 2 X a week over time would eliminate the need for many of the perscribed drugs. That however, is an entirely different topic for a different forum. The point is, I gave an opinion which was relavent to the topic and it wasn't a PC opinion so I was attacked personally. , I felt the need to at least respond to the attacker with FACTS, not not a rebutal of a personal attack..</p>
<p>tomslawsky: btw, my daugthter is not taking ritalin, but rather an ssri. are you opposed to all psychiatric medications? </p>
<p>and one bit of advice: as a parent of a 2-year-old, never say what you would "never" do. as your child's life unfolds, you may find that your ideas and thinking about things changes....</p>
<p>I think there must be a huge difference between crack and Ritalin/Dexidrine
From what I have read- crack cocaine is instantly addictive
I have had prescriptions for both Ritalin and dexedrine.
SOme I have forgotten to fill until they are expired-I forget to take it- so I prefer to have a precribed dose of an extended version so I only have to remember once a day.
If it was so addictive- why is it so hard to remember to take?
My attention is so bad that I have to repeat things to myself when going from one part of the house to the other so I don't forget what I was planning to do- this includes * using the toilet*- with medication that isn't as much of a problem-
we also treat it nutritionally- but I beleive that trying to convince people that a disorder or illness can be treated nutritionally in all cases is harmful.</p>
<p>If you don't want to use medication - great- if you don't want your kids to take medication- fine as long as a doctor agrees that it isn't harmful, but ADD can't be cured simply by switching to a sugarfree- wheat free diet- if it can, then it wasn't ADD but Allergies and food sensitivities.</p>
<p>I also wanted to point out that colleges are not going to discriminate against students who have an illness or disorder that is properly managed
Whether a combination of homeopathic remidies and wing chun kung fu help you manage your aspergers or if you rely on allopathic remedies for your OCD, if it is managed- then you are likely able to withstand the stresses of college life.
If something comes up during your college work that indicates that you need some time off to get rebalanced- then the school is likely to suggest that- and may even require it- but colleges- unless they are perhaps Scientology adherents, are not going to say OMG- this student is on MEDICATION! they obviously can't handle the intellectual life- because everyone knows that Intellectuals CAN"T be addicts!</p>
<p>I agree ^^^^emeraldkity4</p>
<p>IndianaKate your quote -
and one bit of advice: as a parent of a 2-year-old, never say what you would "never" do. as your child's life unfolds, you may find that your ideas and thinking about things changes....</p>
<p>I was told the exact same thing when my D was about 8 months old. Best piece of advice I was ever given!</p>
<p>someone indicated that I am paid to inform the colleges?</p>
<p>no, I test and treat kids.</p>
<p>Parents pay me to help their children.</p>
<p>I still haven't seen anyone discredit where these drugs are less dangerous than using small amounts of cocaine. By the way, I never said that switching to a sugar free diet would cure ALL cases of ADD, please go back and actually READ my post. This would allow ONLY the people who need to take the meds to get it. Also, you say that if changing your diet leads to ameleriation of symptoms, then you don't have ADD, you have food alergies. Please show me proof that at least SOME of the people with ADD do not have as a root cause or at least triggered by food allergies. The last time I checked, no one knows what causes ADD, so why are you so sure that food allergies cannot account for at least some of the cases? Do you really think that diet and disease aren't tightly coupled in a high percentage of the cases (for many diseases, too)? As far as "never" giving my daughter a cocaine type amphetamine, I stick to it, at least for ADD. My god, all you have to do is read the insert that comes with the medicine, actually read it carefully. If she had a staph infection, I WOULD give her antibiotics, if she had a any disease, I would carefully weigh the risk/benefit of a drug perscribed to her. What I wouldn't do is listen blindly to a doctor who's bread is buttered by the pharmeceutical industry which is motvated purely by prophit, dispite the TV commercial. I would listen to him/her, but I would take it upon myself to find out as much as I could before I made the decision.I am truly sorry if I offended anyone here. Like I said before, I wasn't going to say anything else untill I was attacked persaonally as being "ignorant", or at least my statement was attacked.</p>
<p>SSRI's: things your doctor might not have told you (and prob. doesn't know)
<a href="http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/SSRIPHA200410.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/antidepressants/SSRIPHA200410.htm</a></p>
<p>toms - thanks for the links, but believe me, like most educated parents who agree to medication for an adhd child, i did tons and tons of research on risks, benefits etc. I made a very informed decision and feel confident it is the right one.</p>
<p>Fair enough. I just hope 10-15 years down the line, you feel it was worth it because you won't be dealing with the addiction/health issues associated with taking drugs every day of your life.</p>
<p>Many drugs have side effects- blood pressure medicine has side effects, as does cholesterol medicine, diabetes medicine etc.
It is a trade off-
I personally didn't like the medication for depression, the side effects hit me, before I was at a theraputic dose, and so I stopped taking it after trying several different types over the years.
However- I also was hospitalized twice in the psych ward as well as had several episodes where I was a danger to others as well as myself- it would have been better, if I had had a medication that could help me, that I could take, and I hope that progress is being made in this area.
HOwever- I am wondering how a medication that I forget to refill, that I forget to take- can be the same medication that is associated with addiction/health issues.</p>
<p>I have likely had ADD all my life- whatever the cause.
I remember feeling like something was wrong with me, because teachers always told me and my parents how smart I was, if I would only try harder. BUt I was trying as hard as I could, but school was still very hard for me- it led to feeling like I was a failure, because I certainly was not acheiving what was expected of me.
I dropped out of school when I was 16- and didn't go back until I had, had my first child about 8 years later.
I dearly wish that I had been accurately diagnosed, when I was young enough to change my self concept, and believe that I could succeed.
I think it would be great if we could wave a nutritional magic wand over every one who is ill, and they would no longer have to take medication to function.
But for those of us, for whom that doesn't work, it is a great relief to know that there are medications that we can try, that can give us some help with our symptoms.</p>
<p>Dexedrine may be addictive to those who are addicts, but I am not.
I do have a question- what exactly is it about cocaine that is so harmful and leads you to compare prescribed medication for attention deficit disorder to it?</p>
<p>This is interesting
[quote]
Prenatal cocaine exposure not linked to
bad behavior in kids
GAINESVILLE, Fla. Toddlers exposed to cocaine before birth exhibit no more behavioral problems than other children their age, despite early predictions that crack babies would grow up to be delinquents, University of Florida researchers say.
Studying 3-year-olds exposed to crack and powder cocaine in the womb and a similar group of children who were not, UF researchers found that disruptive behaviors in children actually seem to be linked more closely to maternal depression than prenatal cocaine exposure.
In all of the various outcomes we have looked at, people have expected very bad things, said Tamara D. Warner, a postdoctoral associate in the UF College of Medicine and lead author of the study. These dire predictions were made about this group of kids. This study shows there really arent the huge problems that we might expect.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>OrangeBlossom, my daughter has these same issues. She is on ADD medication which helps, but is by no means a cure-all. Would you mind sharing what kind of treatment, if any, your child has had for the executive function problem? Please feel free to PM me.</p>