Add and meds

At the Conference, Learning and the Brain, a Dr. Baumgardner spoke on the issue of the teenage brain.... a risky business.

I am sure everyone will agree that the teenage brain is a scary place to visit.

A member of the audience asked about the use of meds as an intervention for students with ADD.  She mentioned that many parents balk at the idea - out of hand... fearful that it will turn their child into a zombie or more charitably change the personality significantly. 

The Doctor pointed out that many of these "scare" stories are based on anecdotes that happened to children when these drugs were first formulated. Current research has led to new meds as well as better ways to monitor meds and he suggested that such effects are far less likely to happen.

Then he framed a question that I suspect more parents and teachers should reflect on:

It is well to consider the negative side effects such meds may induce. BUT there should be equal thought to the possibility of the positive effects. 

If a parent decides not to medicate, and other interventions do not work, then the child is being condemned to a life or struggle when there might have been a solution. The decision not to medicate forces the child along a different life path than he could take had the meds been tried and succeeded.  He suggests that parents suspend their fear of meds long enough to see if they might work. --- The meds can always be stopped. 

Something to ponder. 

A parent could say I don't want my visually impaired son to wear glasses because they will impair his good looks... even if it means I am condemning him to a youth of clumsiness.....

What are the long term consequences of these meds?

What are the long term consequences of not taking the meds?