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special practitioner to take the step past a quick behavioral checklist and really search for the root cause of the behaviors. The practitioner should be trying to find out answers to some of the following questions: Is the child bored in school? Is the child highly creative? Does the child learn differently or have a temperament that is not conducive to "proper" school behavior? Could there be family issues or failure of the parent to discipline properly? Is the child really showing age-appropriate behavior and the parent needs to change?

Unfortunately, most practitioners work under a strict time schedule. In order to make money to pay the high insurance and low payments from HMOs, most visits are minutes in length. With the practitioner's time limitations, parent's hectic lives and the practice of drug companies to hand out free samples and being major promoters of ADD/ADHD sites, a prescription is definitely the easy way out.

However, medicating our children is not always the best option, even if the medication supposedly works. Just because a child is being calmed down with the use of an amphetamine, is it really appropriate? Short-term results alone should not be the proof positive of a behavioral disorder. Before taking any medication, one should always weigh the side effects and risks of that medication in addition to checking out non-medical alternatives. Diabetics or those with high cholesterol are sometimes urged to change their eating habits and lifestyles sometimes in addition to medication and sometimes not. Should we treat our children's issues with any less care?

As parents, we must be our children's biggest supporter. We should ask lots of questions of teachers, doctors and ourselves when a problem becomes apparent. Because behavioral diagnoses are more difficult to determine, we have to be the responsible one to step up to the plate and take charge of the issues facing our children. Many times medication will not be warranted, but sometimes it will. No matter the decision, it should only be made when we truly know all the facts and can make an informed decision.

References for statistics:
http://borntoexplor e.org

Learn more about this author, Linda J Banks.
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