My son’s case wasn’t severe. The specialist basically said “I can diagnose him with ADHD if you want” after seeing him for a 30 min session (may have been an hour). The specialist laid out options and let us decide. They never recommended anything. That’s the way health care is these days in this part of the country. Don’t fool yourself into thinking the specialist just knew the right answer and we just ignored it; that’s not the way it worked in our case (and probably most cases).
I feel like you guys are crazy to act like this is a infallible binary diagnoses or that one solution fits everyone. Or that as parents we shouldn’t be cautious with a drug that will affect the way our child thinks. That’s just bonkers.
Also you don’t seem to understand that ADHD is a mood altering disorder in itself. So in making the choice to give your kid a “mood altering drug”, which seems to be your particular axe to grind, you may in fact be helping them.
You should also consider the possibility that the medical professionals you have talked to have detected your strong opinions and have chosen the most effective strategy - to validate your thinking to the extent possible - because it is in the best interest of your child. They gave you options because informed consent is a thing.
There are in fact clinical guidelines for when treatment is recommended vs. not - a clinician can apply their opinion of course but there are evidence-based standards of care, derived from a huge amount of data and careful analysis over time. It sounds like you’re placing your individual judgment above the long history of the combined effort of some very smart people.
Listen, I don’t know what is going on in your case. Your younger kid might not have any disorder or need treatment, but this arrogant “As a parent…” framing doesn’t help. I just hope they don’t grow up performing below a level that they potentially could, or in some degree of emotional distress, because they couldn’t get the treatment they needed at the time they needed it.
Finally, please consider the known competing risks of treatment (including non-pharma) and lack of treatment.
My son’s case wasn’t severe. The specialist basically said “I can diagnose him with ADHD if you want” after seeing him for a 30 min session (may have been an hour). The specialist laid out options and let us decide. They never recommended anything. That’s the way health care is these days in this part of the country. Don’t fool yourself into thinking the specialist just knew the right answer and we just ignored it; that’s not the way it worked in our case (and probably most cases).
I feel like you guys are crazy to act like this is a infallible binary diagnoses or that one solution fits everyone. Or that as parents we shouldn’t be cautious with a drug that will affect the way our child thinks. That’s just bonkers.
Also you don’t seem to understand that ADHD is a mood altering disorder in itself. So in making the choice to give your kid a “mood altering drug”, which seems to be your particular axe to grind, you may in fact be helping them.
You should also consider the possibility that the medical professionals you have talked to have detected your strong opinions and have chosen the most effective strategy - to validate your thinking to the extent possible - because it is in the best interest of your child. They gave you options because informed consent is a thing.
There are in fact clinical guidelines for when treatment is recommended vs. not - a clinician can apply their opinion of course but there are evidence-based standards of care, derived from a huge amount of data and careful analysis over time. It sounds like you’re placing your individual judgment above the long history of the combined effort of some very smart people.
Listen, I don’t know what is going on in your case. Your younger kid might not have any disorder or need treatment, but this arrogant “As a parent…” framing doesn’t help. I just hope they don’t grow up performing below a level that they potentially could, or in some degree of emotional distress, because they couldn’t get the treatment they needed at the time they needed it.
Finally, please consider the known competing risks of treatment (including non-pharma) and lack of treatment.
These responders don’t have kids, have never been in your situation, and feel they just know best with no experience at all.