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Carlos had been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Children with ADHD are easily distracted and often impulsive. It’s hard for them to focus for long periods. Drugs such as Ritalin — a stimulant that increases brain activity for increased alertness and attention — is a common treatment for ADHD. Most of my students took this drug — but not Carlos. His mother insisted that he remain drug-free, but she didn’t look for any alternative methods to help him. Teaching Carlos wasn’t easy. He would challenge me whenever I gave him a directive. If I told Carlos to sit, he’d stand. If I asked him to stop sharpening his pencil, he’d grab another student’s pencil and start sharpening it. When I presented a subject he didn’t understand or one that he found, as he put it, “extremely boring,” he’d talk throughout the entire lesson. And because he didn’t understand what I was saying, he would jeer at the ones who did. After I discussed this incident with Carlos’ mother, she took him to a doctor who put him on Ritalin. I was relieved that the woman finally decided to do something about her son’s health — but I later regretted that Carlos had to take medication. Although I was relieved that my student no longer disrupted class, I realized that the drugs altered not only his behavior, but also his personality. The pre-teen who was once so full of energy now moved slowly and methodically like a soldier. Yes, Carlos had become more obedient in class — he followed directions, completed assignments, and was quiet — but my beloved student was no longer himself. Carlos was and is not alone. “Since the early 1990s, North America has turned to psychoactive drugs in unprecedented numbers for the control of children,” according to the website of Dr. Peter R. Breggin, a New York psychiatrist and author of The Ritalin Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You (2002), who estimated that probably more than five million children enrolled in school are taking stimulant drugs. There are plenty of parents that may not want their children to take pills, but, like Carlos’ mother, they give their children drugs because it’s what the doctor ordered, or they feel they don’t have a choice. There are parents who actively seek alternative healing methods, but many times it’s difficult to stay hopeful during treatments that can go on for many months and sometimes years. According to Don Massat, owner of Beyond Wellness, a Tinley Park holistic health care that caters to children with behavior disorders, these parents may try a certain therapy for a while, but stop when they don’t see immediate results. One of Massat’s clients is an exception. When Debora Dennis’ daughter, Michaela, was diagnosed eight years ago with Tourette syndrome, Dennis refused to give her daughter any medication. “If my daughter had taken the medicine for Tourette, she would have had to take a blood test every month to determine whether or not she had liver damage. I wasn’t willing to take that risk,” Dennis said. A competitive ice skater, Michaela, 17, can even remember a doctor suggesting she get botox injections in her neck to alleviate tics, a symptom of Tourette which includes uncontrollable body movements and vocal sounds. “If I agreed to the treatment, I’d have to give up skating.” Then Michaela injured her back. A friend suggested she get a massage to help alleviate the pain. She then tried cranial sacral therapy, a kind of bodywork that involves the manipulation of cerebral spinal fluid. Michaela said that when she does cranial sacral treatments on a regular basis she isn’t bothered with tics as much. Some drugs create illusions by making it appear that the condition has improved or gone away, but the drug is simply suppressing symptoms. Most alternative therapies work slower than drugs, but they work on a deeper level, and get to the root cause of the problem. Healing starts with the parent. “Alternative healing works best for kids when the parent believes in it or when he or she is willing to take care of their own health in a natural way,” Massat said. Parents can only do for their children what they are willing to do for themselves. When a parent is willing to manage their own health without using drugs, then they’re better able to help their children alleviate their symptoms naturally. Five years have gone by and it appears Carlos is still taking medication because he still has that zombie-like look in his eyes. I understand his mother’s decision. She wanted to help Carlos, but I can’t help wonder what would have happened to Carlos if his mother had sought alternative healing for her son. |