by Bonnie Thomas

Created on: June 14, 2008

There are two sides to every issue. This is definitely the case when the opponents of Ritalin rally against advocates of Ritalin. Ritalin is one of several medications that are utilized to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD. Additionally, behavior therapy may be used to treat ADHD. As a teacher, I have seen both sides. I have seen instances when medicating the child did not work. I have also seen students that benefitted from taking the medication. A few special children come to mind when I think of ADHD.

The first is Tyler. Tyler came to my classroom with the diagnosis of ADHD. Tyler is a very bright student. Tyler exhibited all of the textbook signs of ADHD. He could not sit still, constantly paced, continuously blurted out statements that were irrelevant to the discussion, exhibited a variety of behavior problems, and was off task most of the time. The most troublesome trait that Tyler exhibited was his impulsivity. Tyler did not think before he acted and this is what often caused trouble within the classroom. Tyler was a disruption to himself and to all of the other students within the class. I felt that he was missing out on a lot of instruction due to his time off task. Finally, Tyler began to take medication. This seemed to help tremendously. Tyler could focus and stay on task. He no longer blurted out statements during class; in fact, he rarely spoke. He would focus on his assignment intently. What once took Tyler fifteen minutes to complete, now took an hour. He would not stop until he was finished, though. He displayed that "zombie like" side effect that some parents and teachers have witnessed in their children and students when taking medication. I cannot say that I believe that medication was the answer for Tyler. It was obviously beneficial for all of his teachers and the other students, but is it really fair to medicate a student for the good of others?

Another example is Doug. Doug came to me as a seventeen year old student that had been qualified for special education services for his Other Health Impairment, which was ADHD. It had also been documented that Doug was dyslexic. Doug and his mother were against medication. Doug is a special case because he was court ordered to obtain his GED while in our regional juvenile facility. Upon entering the program, Doug stated that he had recently learned to read and really enjoyed it. Doug had test scores of about a sixth grade student. What a challenge!

I soon found Doug to be a

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