A thought-provoking article I just read in “The Washington Post National Weekly Edition,” states that the debate over the effectiveness of long-term drug treatment of children with hyperactivity or attention-deficit disorder has been reignited. For years, millions of parents have assumed these drug treatments were safe and okay to administer to their children over the long run. A recent study builds a case for an opposite conclusion.
The article stated, “In August 2007, the MTA (Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With ADHD), researchers reported the first follow-up data, which by then no longer showed differences in behavior between children who were medicated and those who were not. But the data did show that children who took the drugs for 36 months were about an inch shorter and six pounds lighter than those who did not.”
In light of this study that says that the drug treatment stunts the growth of children, I wonder what other aspects of the child’s experience is stunted? The study confirms short term benefits in child behavior modification, but over the long term the effects disappear and there is no difference between children who are medicated and those who are not, except that the medicated children are stunted.
Hmmm, this is not cool…
The article adds, “With the MTA having followed the children for eight years, the latest data have confirmed that there are no long-term differences between children who were continuously medicated and those who were never medicated.”
As I read this study, I grew increasingly grateful for the Christian Science approach to healing. People sometimes complain that Christian Science requires “too much work.” In other words, Christian Science demands reformation and spiritualization of thought for genuine healing. Some people don’t like to put in the work that spiritual healing asks. They want an easy way out. They don’t want to face their demons and conquer them. They turn to drugs. “Pop a pill and all your troubles go away,” so some believe. But, as this study confirms, this is temporary illusion. There may be a short term effect, but the long term is not good, and can be quite the opposite.
Confirming many people’s tendency to dose with drugs rather than commit to character transformation and improvement, the article ended with this observation: “A yet-to-be-published study…found that 95 percent of parents who were told by clinicians to first try behavioral interventions for ADHD did so. When parents were given a prescription for a drug and then told to enroll their children in behavioral intervention programs, 75 percent did not seek out the behavioral approaches.”
It sounds like its time to get back to the “old-fashioned” approach and give the children what they really need. And that’s not more medicine, but more love, attention and care that enables them to feel closer to God, comforted by divine Love, and able to gain the resulting peace and calm that comes from being spiritually minded.
I have heard the results of behavioral approaches. Startling and so interesting … one researcher found that children were overstimulated and bombarded by their environment to such an extent that they were suffering from the equivalent of post-traumatic stress. He worked with parents to strip down and simplify the routine and the environment, and the kid’s natural healthy nature came bounding back. I have worked along these lines and found that effective simplification comes from purification and spiritualization. And yes, that gives us time and opportunity to express more loving attention. thank you for this.
There was a book out about 7 years ago that debunked the whole ADD/ADHD ( Attention deficit hyperactivity Disorder).Amen.
It is interesting to me, as an experienced educator, that these so- called behavior problems manifested by kids are ( sorry, educators) really about classroom teachers with poor to ineffective classroom management skills. This needed to be rebuilt in thought and then i suspect we would not have this ” problem.”
The solution? Love ’em. Firmness with kindness. And love them, as God sees us and loves us.
Keep up the great work, Evan.
Mary
PS. And a heads up- the ” new’ disability that everyone must run out and get ( what does MBE say about the new Parisian fashion?)are the beliefs of Autism and Asperger’s. These, along with childhood depression, are to be rooted out now.
Hmmm, my classroom experience (27 years worth) says there is plenty of blame to go around. Some of it is poor parenting skills, some health issues, some poor classroom management skills — but mostly a change in societal values and speed. It is a side view of the same values shift that is plaguing our economy with a reckless disregard for the big picture and everyone has a part to play in shifting back to values, principles, and practice that grow effective strong kids.
Just food for thought:
When BONANZA first came on TV it was a huge milestone. Instead of one camera filming action from one angle they used six cameras from six angles. Now days, in few minutes of TV watching we can see hundreds of camera switches and angles often going on at the same time…. and we wonder what kind of things make kids hyper?
Is it really a minimal brain disorder or is it a society that is moving so fast that by the time this years college freshmen graduate their technological information will be virtually obsolete.
It’s easy to forever argue over who’s at fault, but from my perspective the only thing that counts in any learning is rigor and relevance and it’s relevance that makes rigor possible. And, that is true in CS practice as well. Relevance makes it possible to invest the necessary rigor it takes to practice it’s teachings.
Somedays I do think it is hard, but every demonstration puts my nose back into the books because the rewards are relevant and worthwhile so I don’t mind what it takes it takes to get there. When I get there I find it’s wasn’t that hard.
Listening to God is easy
arguing with error… that’s hard work!
Several years ago I came back to C.S. after about 40 years of dealing with materialism. It was the result of a healing and a need to seek the Truth. Somtimes I still struggle, but to hear some of your comments from Sumit I find it comforting.
A friend of mine interviewed a psychologist from Austin, TX, on this subject. If you type in this website name — http://www.wildestcolts.com/john/clay.html — you’ll be surprised at how his thoughts about children approximate the Science of Being. Look for the interviewers references to Mind (capital M), to Mary Baker Eddy and to her textbook!