Quote:
Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
While thankfully this is still a hypothetical question for me, I'd like to think that I would never be cowed into medicating a child today because some child psychologist says it might lead to drug abuse later.
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It wasn't a child psychologist, but a child psychiatrist (and a personal friend -- not one treating any child of mine, and with no particular axe to grind either way). You make it sound like some quack with an agenda wants to put a kid on medication, just for the hell of it. Hardly.
Ritalin (and other amphetamine derivaties) has been used for 40 or 50 years as a pediatric medication. It is one of the most (if not the most -- I was going to say "the most", but do not have perfect clarity of that recollection) studied drugs for pediatric use. The phenomenon of children WHO HAVE ADHD and are not treated for it being at higher risk for later drug abuse is a studied subject -- not some psychologist making something up.
For someone as analytical as you, I find it hard to believe (and, dare I say it, yes, I dare -- disappointing) that you would so flippantly dismiss the risk.
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