When you receive a diagnosis of ADHD for your child the doctor or psychologist will most likely mention using medication to treat the ADHD. Medicating your child can seem like a very scary thing. After all, medications have all types of side effects. Do you want to use medication to treat your ADHD child?
Well the answer can be a difficult one. There are several things to consider before using medication to treat your child's ADHD. You as a parent want to do what's best for your child and sometimes medication may be the answer.
Consider these questions before you decide if you want to use medication to treat your ADHD child.
- Is the ADHD affecting my child's education?
School can be the toughest setting for a child with ADHD. They struggle to be able to keep on task. They have difficulties sitting in their seat. They blurt out answers without raising their hand. While they are trying to focus on their schoolwork they have a hundred things running through their minds. - Does the ADHD affect your child's social life?
Sometimes children will not want to be around a child that is always in trouble for not staying in their seat at school. Other children may not know how to take a child that is always on the go. Children with ADHD often have trouble waiting their turn when playing a game. This can cause problems with other children. It can be very hard for children with ADHD to make friends. - Why are you concerns about using medications to treat your ADHD child?
List the reasons you are concerned about using medications. Many parents are afraid of the medicine's side effects. They worry that their child will become addicted to the medicine and lead to other drug use later on. They have heard the horror stories of children on ADHD medications becoming depressed and committing suicide.
Whatever the reasons you feel unsure of using medication to treat your ADHD child you need to remember, if you choose not to use medication, your ADHD child still needs some type of treatment. There are pros and cons to using medications to treat ADHD. You and your child's doctor will have to figure out what ADHD treatment is best for your child. Usually a combination of treatments work best.
As scared as you may be about using medication to treat your ADHD child, they can make a huge difference in your child's life. ADHD medication can allow your child to focus on their schoolwork. It can help them remain in their seat during class. They can listen to what the teacher is saying because their mind will be clearer. ADHD medication can have many benefits to your child.
This article is not to sway you for or against using medication to treat your ADHD child. It is simply to make you consider both sides. ADHD is a condition that needs treatment. That treatment may be medicine, or it may be therapy, or a combination of both.
Comments
As a former elementary school principal, I am quite aware that attention difficulties are just the tip of the iceberg. ADHD children can't filter out distractions, finish tasks on-time, use their memory optimally, etc. A pill doesn't teach these skills.
My wife and I opted to use cognitive training for our son, Alex. We used Play Attention (www.playattention.com) and ADHD Nanny (www.adhdnanny.com). We've been very successful with these approaches. We also changed our parenting skills with great success.
It's just important to know that medicine teaches nothing. Parents and teachers must actively participate to help change a child's life.
As parents we need to remember that there's more to do than just medicating over the summer. As a former principal and educator, I'm aware that 1 - 4 months of academic achievement are lost over the summer by the average student. It was far worse than that for our son, Alex. Thus, we began the next year with a big deficit.
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