For years people treated "hyperactive" children with a sort of exhausted tolerance. There was an idea that the child would "just grow out of it." Exasperated parents and teachers tried any number of interventions, none of which seemed to help. No one seemed to know what to do with these children...and then there was a new diagnosis: ADD or ADHD. This diagnosis and the following prescribed treatments have been hailed as either a great advance or shouted at as a warning that we are over-medicating our children. The rise of these new drugs has given way to a significant increase in drug abuse. Adding to the already high amounts of legal drug abuse, such as morphine, Prozac, Oxycodone, Valium, Vicodin, and Xanax, Ritalin, an amphetamine, is begin used and sold as the common street drug speed . When working on your project, keep in mind that these drugs have widespread benefits while causing large-scale addictions.
Questions to keep in mind: Is medication helping? Is there such a thing as ADD/ADHD? Should children be medicated if it is helping them? Are there any downsides to using these medications? Are adults looking for a quick and easy way to control behavior? What are the long-term consequences of such early drug use? Many doctors are concerned about this. Has society at large really weighed the dangers of fostering the belief in the young that there's a chemical solution to every personal problem? Does a drug become "safe" simply because it is prescribed by a doctor? Does "pushing" drugs on children become legitimate simply because it is done by drug manufacturers? Is drug therapy today's "orthodoxy"? Instead of drugs do young people instead need more attention, love, care, and patience? Can appreciating and fostering a child's good qualities can bring the harmony and calmness that parents and teachers naturally seek?
