Treat ADD Without Medication
Attention Deficit Disorder is today's leading psychiatric disorder. ADD individuals tend to be hyperactive, fidgety, impulsive, have difficulties with waiting turns and being patient, inattentive, forgetful, and have problems focusing, paying attention, or concentrating on one thing. It seems as though today, physicians do not hesitate to prescribe medications to children. According to studies, only 3 to 5 percent of school age children have ADD or ADHD, yet 5 to 15 percent are on Ritalin, which is the most commonly used drug for the disorder. (Smith, 2003) Drugs are not the answer. They are only a temporary relief from the problem, as they mask the child's behaviors. Doctors today seem to just write out prescriptions for these instant, "magical" fixes, without even attempting to look deeper to find the root of the child's behavioral problems. These pills aren't even safe, they come with serious side effects. Ritalin, which comes from the same family as cocaine, is said to cause appetite loss, anxiety, insomnia, tics, headaches, and stomach aches. It also only lasts 4 hours, for a temporary but quick fix. (Ullman, 1996, p. 42) There are so many better, longer lasting, safe, and cost efficient solutions to cope wi
(Child Development Institute, 2004) This goes to prove that people with ADD have great potential to flourish naturally, if they know how to. Other possible reasons why children misbehave are that they aren't receiving any attention, they want to achieve more power, they are compensating for being hurt and feel they need to seek revenge, or they may feel unimportant or rejected and have given up completely with following rules. I am glad that I was never put on medication back in the 1980s, and I was lucky enough to figure out ways to deal with it on my own. The child is told to focus and concentrate on one particular word, and if his or her mind wanders, they are to go back to the word. For example, most parents think their child needs to take away stimulation to calm down a child with ADD. I'm sure that we can overcome ADD without the superficial fix of medication, with all of these natural techniques. Teachers also need to be educated. In a lot of these cases, adults are turning to medication. Parenting molds the child into the person that they are, and is critical to the child's moods and behavior. It could be hands on, vocal, logical, visual, audio, social, or independent. One way to help ADD children without medication is to push therapy treatment, rather than medication. Children with ADD need to be in an exciting, intense, stimulated environment, otherwise they get too bored and initiate self-stimulating activities, like daydreaming or fidgeting. They need to be informed about the reasons behind a child misbehaving.
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