Agree and disagree.

I was diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD last year at the age of 50, soon after my son was diagnosed with same. I am the dad.

He was in a bad way with emotional and sensory overload. He was depressed and said he wanted to die, a bit worrying from a seven year old. The school was hopeless.

We whipped him into a more suitable school, which was private.

After much agonising we had Ritalin diagnosed. The effect was dramatic.

Ritalin is not a mind altering drug. It simply regulates the uptake of dopamine,

It is a stimulant, but i calmed him down. In a "normal" child, Ritalin acts like "speed".

So the reaction to the medication is further confirmation of the diagnosis.

We kept him on Ritalin to give him and us time to puzzle out what was going on.

One by one we identified particular issues he had and helped him understand them.

Then we stopped the medication and he was much better.

He still has problems that need to be dealt with. But the Ritalin provided the space to get things on an even keel.

My youngest son is very energetic and boisterous. Not all the time. But when he gets into this mood he is a challenge.

It has been suggested that he get Ritalin. I have said no.

He is a very happy and optomistic child with a cheerful disposition.

He can be quite a handful. But I see his behaviour as that of a normal little boy embracing life with enthusiasm.

The acid test for me is simple. If the child is hyperactive and happy it is not a problem. The adults have to just get over it.

If the child is unhappy and hyperactive it is a problem. Not for the adult but for the child.

By the way GPs are not allowed to initiate a prescription for Ritalin, It has to be done through a specialist.

The Nice guidelines simply confirmed what is best practice anyway.

The only real change was sanctioning Ritalin for adults.

I have no doubt that there are plenty of children misdiagnosed.

Just as there are thousands of adults with ADHD who have been wrongly diagnosed as schitzo, biploar or whatever.

I don't buy your line about the drugs companies.

In my experience, Ritalin is not offered in the first instance generally.

It is the parent, after much soul-searching, who ask for it.

How are the drug companies influencing the parents.

The one thing that nobody ever considers is that Ritalin use is going up because, er, it works.

Research has shown that treating children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with drugs is not effective in the long-term. After three years of treatment, drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta work no better than therapy.

Long-term use of the drugs can also stunt children's growth, and the benefits of the drugs have been exaggerated. (www.mercola.com)

Teacher's job is to make their lessons interesting but not keeping children guite.

Many children with "diagnosed" ADHD are just mislabeled. They have vision or hearrring  (1 in 5!)impairments, languaqe  or handwriting problems.  80% have  attention and behavior problems due to allergy to food, especially grains, milk and sugar.

It is  easy to make 'a label" of disease like  ADHD and  give a child  strong stimulant-calming (?) drug keeping him giute for the rest of his life.

Have you, Peter, investigated ritalin's side effects in internet or just believe your doctor?

Side effects can include psychosis (abnormal thinking or hallucinations), difficulty sleeping, mood swings, mood changes, nervousness, stomach aches, diarrhea, headaches, poor appetite leading to weight loss, gum and skin bleeding, dry mouth, and irritability - less common side effects include palpitations, high blood pressure, tachycardia, blood disorders, and stunted growth.

You may visit http://www.ritalindanger.com/ for more information. There are numerous similar sites created by parents who children sufferring from drug side effects.

Last week the United Kingdom government says Ritalin should be avoided whenever possible and never given to children under the age of five.

Of course, it takes much more efforts and common sense from parients to helping their children with proper diet, exercising, nutrients.  All choices are yours.

Elena,

I enjoyed your thoughtful post.

We were aware of the potential side effects. My wife was particularly worried about the stunted growth.

We did not use Ritalin for a long time with him.

His reaction to R further confirmed his diagnosis. he first morning he took it he fell asleep in the car on the way to school. Something he had not done before.  This only happened the once.

A stimulant putting him to sleep? In my view this was his brain cutting some slack for the first time.

We used R selectively and for a short period while we got a handle on him. He does not take it now.

By the way, I am on Ritalin and a lifetime of depression and anxiety have gone after taking it.

I also packed up my 40 a day cigarette habit at the same time after many, many, doomed attempt.

In the case of me and my son, we have brains that take up dopamine too quickly. All that Ritalin does is regulate the brain's uptake of dopamine. It is not a mind-altering drug as it sometimes claimed.

People with untreated ADHD have a high tisk of developing an addiction. If you are hungry, you eat. If you are thirst, you sleep. And if your brain is demanding more dopamine it wiill seeks it out through drink, drugs, gambling and other addiction. My smoking, it seems, was an attempt at self medication.

Every medication had side effects. Would you give your child aspirin after reading this

http://cks.library.nhs.uk/patient_information_leaflet/anti_platelets_aspirin_low_dose/side_effects

Ritalin is simply a way of regulating a natural metabolic function. Much like insulin in diabetes. What worries people is that it can seem like messing about with the brain.

So you have to weight up the risks. You look at the potential side effects and then look at the other risks. Without medication and other therapy there is a 50 per cent of a child being

* addicted to substances

* Lifelong depressed

* Excluded from school

* Given a criminal record

* A self-harmer

* Socially isolated

* Unemployed,

With medication and other therapy the risks reduce to that of the rest of the population.

It is hard, I suppose, for people to understand how a drug which is potentially can addicitive can actually prevent  an addiction.

It is an echo of Edward Jenner, the father of vaccination. He was laughed out of court when he said he could protect you from the Pox by injecting you with the Pox.

When we give our children vaccines we are infecting them with a potentially deadly disease.

The advice last week simply said that other options should be considered. Which is what any sensible parent would do in any case.

I would agree that giving a child Ritalin and not doing the rest of the work with the child is not only useless but is dangerous. Anyone who thinks that Ritalin is the complete answer are wrong.

I heard a story about a family who gave their ADHD son Ritalin. But they just left him in front of the TV for years. He ended up on cocaine.

I beginning to research other methods. We are going for a full blood test and chromosone test.

My son is a really healthy eater and is given freshly cooked food. He acutually enjoys vegetables and fish.

I have noticed that he does not drink very much and wonder wether he has a serine deficiency in his blood.

A combination of therapy, medication and diet can all complement each other.

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It amazes me that WDDTY has failed to spot that NICE bashing something that only really benefits pharmaceutical companies. NICE is the main thing that stands between the tax payers and the massive pressures that Phama puts on the NHS. We should be celebrating NICE, not bashing it. Only medicines that can be shown to to really give good benefits at an affordable price are let through.

But to accept this begs the question - what if they ever cast their eye on NHS alt med? So, it must be condemned - just in case....

I do believe Bryan was in fact handing out an accolade to NICE, not bashing them on this occasion.  If you read his article properly you might find the compliments hidden in there!!!

I agree that ADHD is often used as a label to account for very energetic children and sometimes as something that will assist parents to get enhanced benefits.

My daughter has ADD, but is a very bright student, just starting her second year at university. She was diagnosed at age 14 but decided not to go down the medication route. We tried helping her organise and up until A level that worked. However, at degree level, she was not able to study sufficiently to pass her first year first time. She had no idea how to study and had always relied on a quick brain and a good short term memory. This didn't work at university.

She went back to her psychiatrist and asked to try drugs. She said for the first time ever she now could read a page and know what she had read, instead of reading it four times and not being sure.

She takes it when she needs to. This means that during the summer vacation, when she was not working, I would occasionally come home and find that total lethargy had set in, with accompanying anxiety. The inability to organise and 'get going' at times has been a source of considerable depression to her.

I have also been diagnosed with ADD, but do not take medication. However, I teach, am open about it, and instruct my students that they must make sure I write down an appointment with them, otherwise my brain might not remember.

We both eat fresh fruit and vegetables and hardly ever go up and down the aisles of the supermarket, where you will find the processed foods. We both know that we have the potential to be addicted to something and have a slight coffee addiction, which is a form of self medication. When someone can drink a cup of coffee to relax, as I do, it should flag up the fact that my body chemistry is different.

Sally - yes I know. But it is amazing that Bryan has to present his arguments as contrarian.

Good grief - the Daily Mail exposes the corruption of health charities by Big Pharma and their undue influence on NICE. Remember where you read it first!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1065757/Drug-companies-bankrolling-charity-campaigns-lower-price-NHS-cancer-treatments.html

"Groups including the National Kidney Foundation, Beating Bowel Cancer, and the Alzheimer's Society received six figure sums from drug companies last year.

These charities have been among the most critical in attacking the National Institute for Excellence over its decision to restrict access to drugs on the NHS."

My son is ADHD and it actually took us around 5/6 years for diagnosis and eventually medication, and several more years to yet the correct medication.

He went from being almost permanently excluded from school (due to almost 40 days exclusions in one school year) to absolutely no exclusions what so ever !!!

We were also offered Clinical Psychology appointments which were an absolute waste of time as I know more about the condition than the Psychologist did, and she only wanted to help with home issues, I can cope with him, school, however, were not coping and just thought an exclusion was the answer.

Its all well and good NICE recommending other forms of treatment to help families but is the funding available  ? ?  In my experience there are huge waiting lists for these other services and meanwhile the child is driven deeper and deeper into a cycle of not fitting in.

Jane - I also drink coffee to relax ?????

My grandson has ADHD. He is taking Concerta to control it. If he didnt take this medication he would be an absolute nightmare. He showed symptoms from a very early age but doctors would not diagnose him until after he had started school. My daughter has tried a couple of times to discontinue the meds but had to put him back on them. He also has learning diffilculties too which doesnt help. His school DO NOT try in the slightest to help when he has a problem. He too has been excluded a number of times simply because the school cant cope. Teachers need to be taught on how to deal with these kids. He is coming up fifteen now and is a really lovely lad WHEN he is taking his meds.