Ritalin

I was having a conversation with a co-worker of mine. We got on the subject of our children and how we like their teachers. I like my son's teachers very much. They really seem to care and work with his autism. During the school year he has had only 1 meltdown during class.

While the meltdown was in progress the teachers lead him out of the class into a sensory break. They applied a deep pressure massage and put headphones on him to listen to soft music. After about 10 minutes he was better and returned to class.

My co-worker explained to me that his son got a note sent home from his teacher. The note explained that his son wasn't doing his math and should be put on ritalin. That to me is not right. How can a teacher make you, the parent force upon a prescribed medication just so it makes her job teaching easier? Needless to say, he was upset and had quite the talk with the teacher and the principal.

I will never medicate my kids. I will fight the school system or pull my child out before that ever happens. To me, medications at a young age only ads up to a long term drug addiction. Not to mention withdrawal. Kids are energetic. Let them run and play. I will not turn my child into a zombie.

My brother-in-law has ADHD and was put on ritalin at a young age. That escalated to depression and he had to be put on anti-depressants. From that, he can't sleep and he's on medication for that. He has nightmares all the time. I do not believe a pill is worth the long term affects.

You see commercials to stop smoking. Here, take this pill. May cause suicidal thoughts, restless sleep, panic attacks, increased heart rate, etc. One pill and you get the side affects, in which, here's another pill for that and another and another. Not worth the risk.

Ritalin is a drug. No teacher has the right to make you do something to your child you are not comfortable with. If you want to control your child, get them involved with something that interests them for the sake of their happiness.

With my sons autism, he can't watch the teacher and learn. He has to spin wheels on a matchbox car while she teaches. That's how he learns. All kids are different in how they learn. Will I get a note from my sons teachers saying he's not paying attention in class? Teachers need to understand that some kids need to be taught differently than others. Isn't that why they become teachers in the first place?