by Carla Conward

Created on: December 03, 2008

Nodding off at his desk as I am teaching a lesson on Measures of Central Tendency, my most "active" student is now lethargic, almost on the verge of appearing sedated. I am concerned. Behind a vacant stare, I notice a child who is in pain, the kind of pain that discourages the presence of emotion. His eyes cry out for understanding. If he could speak through his stupor I believe that he would say, "Help me!". I asked him if he was ok. He responded, "They upped my medication." Sad.

He is not himself. He has been told that he was hyperactive and that he should act according to societal ideals; unfortunately these ideals are opposite of his innate extroverted self. He is encouraged to be someone else. Acting according to what society would place at the top of the list of socially acceptable behaviors. Something has calmed him; it has made him a different person, too calm for his personality. What caused the change in his behavior? Without this "something" that has made him behave differently, he is intelligent; he is smart, he is an active little boy that enjoys making every situation an exciting one.

Ritalin is the culprit; the stimulant that has produced a monster of a disease that plagues many young students in American academic institutions. This disease is spread quickly as the student is labeled "hyperactive" when in fact he may just be a normal child, active and energetic. The student is called "special" when in actuality he is just different than what society calls normal. Unfortunately, the student is diseased because someone cannot "control" him or because his mind or body is operating out of the normal realm of societal acceptance and expectations. Misdiagnosis and overmedication are the diseases that sicken a child's normal behaviors and create artificial behaviors in an otherwise normal child. That is what many children experience as a result of over diagnosing many learning and emotional disorders. Is ADHD over diagnosed in children? I believe that it is.

Prescribing medicine to a child who retains information by banging his pencil on his desk (hearing a consistent beat, music) or getting up out of his seat and walking around (kinesthetic) is required to sit in the "special" class, take "special" medicine, and become labeled a "special needs child". It is awfully difficult for me to concentrate on things that do not capture my attention (anything not interesting or presented in a dull manner has the ability to zap my focus). I am oftentimes disorganized

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