I have to share my story concerning Ritalin.When my daughter was in
kindergarten there were some behaviors issues to deal with.We kept hearing
ADD from her teacher.I basically took her to my son's neurologist to shut the
woman up ! He gave questionnaires for us & the teacher to complete.Whe we
discussed the results I wasn't surprised.Based on just the teacher's answers
he would say that she was full blown ADD , but combining with our answers
he'd only say borderline ADD & would NOT prescribe meds.He said 5 or 6 yrs
old in her case was too early because she might outgrow some behaviors etc.My
husband took her to school the next day.The teacher asked when she was going
on the ritalin..Her jaw dropped to the floor when he said , "She's not!!"
Shortly afterward we had our intake interview with St.Louis regional center &
related that story.The woman looked at us & said "That teacher just wanted to
make her job easier!!" No truer words were ever spoken! This was a special ed
teacher.She is trained to deal with behaviors. We did eventually put her on a
low dose in 4th grade. It has improved her concentration.We are keeping tabs
on its effects & she was not taking it during the summer.I'm glad we were
smart enough not to have a knee jerk reaction & put her on it too earlier.

Karen