quote:

Originally posted by Maureen P:

quote:

Gerry,

your a little off in regards to kate. Kate just tries to do so with the emotional attachment. Sometimes she is a bit one sided or clinical but that is her thing it is what she does it is how she rolls. Before judgement try to look at things through different eyes.

Just in case you missed it.

quote:

Originally posted by --Kate:
It's nothing personal, Gerry, but I am curious about whether we can go back to your original post.

Would you help me out with my reading of your original post? I've reposted it here:

quote:

My son, now 29 years old, was in private school - 1st grade. He could not read which alarmed me. I took him to my peditrician who suggested that his wife, a child psychologist and expert in learning disabilities, would test him. She could not find any learning disabilities but suggested that he MIGHT have ADD. He never was hyper. He had problems concentrating and was easily bored. So the pediatrician suggested that we MIGHT try Ritalin to see if it would make a difference.

Proposition: ADD does not require hyperactivity. ADD is a medical condition that pediatricians can identify, but even so their diagnosis is in the realm of "might."

quote:

I also took him out of private school and enrolled him in public school in New Jersey after having a long discussion with the second grade teacher. She said "I will fix the problem" She tested him and he scored in the 98 percentile all accross the board, except reading which was in the 30s. We tried out Ritalin and there was an overnight diffference. After 6 months my son was tested again he scored in the 96 percentale with reading 94.

Unclear whether the teacher's "fix" was RitalinTM, but it made "an overnight difference."

quote:

Because I am originally from Holland I can related to Mikel's story. ADD and ADHD were severely under diagnosed in Holland and many adults now have an epiphany of sorts learning what their problems have been all their lives and that simple medication can help them lead a very constructive life.

Proposition: Because ADD is underdiagnosed, many people suffer because they don't have the benefit of "simple medication."

quote:

As for my son here in the U.S., fearmongers and those AGAINST Ritalin somehow got to me and I took him off his meds at the age of 12, since I was led to believe it is addictive.

Proposition: I am not responsible for my choice; the fearmongers are.

quote:

That was the BIGGEST mistake I have ever made. He became dysfunctional, could never finish anything he started. He went through HS but could not concentrate at University so he copped out.

Proposition: fast forward to a dismal life without Ritalin

quote:

He is now 29 and is seeking a doctor who is willing to give him something to counter his ADD. He was on Ritalin for 6 years.

Proposition: he's now past the fearmongers and now onto a path that will get him some help.

quote:

Right now I would love to have a doctor that would prescribe medication for my son to counter his ADD, in 15 minutes.
I have not discovered one, but if there is please let me know.

Proposition: get me and my son on the fast track to a prescription.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:
Yes it IS personal Kate

1. ADD by definition does NOT include Hyperactivity. My daughter is a psychologist and I have the DSM-IV-TR in my home for a very long time.
2. He had ADD and still does at 29 years of age.
3. The teacher had nothing whatsoever to do with his Ritalin. He was NOT diagnosed by the school system but privately by our pediatrician.
She just happened to be an excellent teacher.
I also took him TWICE a week to a reading expert who used an Israeli program and it had him reading in 6 months. So together they helped him remendously. He is a avid reader.
4. There was on Dutch tv a weekly show on "special" people. Some thought they were gifted. The man running the show was Chech and spoke Dutch with an accent. No matter WHO appeared on his show and how silly they were, he always left these people their own value.
After he had quite a number of adults having been diagnosed recently with ADD, he asked one lady what would happened if she didn't take her meds. He asked her would she do this and have a tv camera follow her. Now before she went on her meds she would from time to time forget to pick up her daughter from school.She couldn't finish her tasks at home, which was a mess. She showed on tv that besides the meds she now takes she has a board in her kitchen on which she writes every day what she has to do and crossses it off when she's completed the task. So, at the requrest of the moderator, she stopped her meds, and the camera followed her. the first day started off ok but as the day went on she became more and more confused. He would ask her how she was feeling. It was a very profound experience for her and the viewers.
5. Parents want to do the best of their children. There was at that time and still is a very large contingent of rabid people who will, no matter what insist that these meds are addictive and make a junkie out of your child. That is blatantyly false. I red all the information. What I have subsequently learned is that an ADD person will always have to take his/her meds, for life. One does not grow out of it. THAT I learned in Holland, where a lot more reasonable information is available.
I fell for the hype, no one wants a junkie for a son. So your question IS personal and insulting.
6. Fast forward NOTHING.
A dysfunctionial person although aware of his dysfunction up to a point, does not tend to want to go to oodles of medical tests he cannot afford (wonderful medical system we have here) because of his accident and skull fracture.

Get my son on the fast track to the proper medical examinations and the meds he needs in order to function properly.

Insult noted.

quote:

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.

"The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.

quote:

I'm a pretty strong opinionated person, and I speak my mind. But I don't step on someones soul when they share a story about their son. And I don't attack anyone's children.