The Effects of Medication on Young and Disabled Students
Medicine has a whole new meaning today. Especially when it comes to mental disabilities, medication is seen as an instant ‘cure’. Every individual has different needs and reactions to their mental disability. They each have their own wants for what they think is best for them. Along with the debate about whether or not to use medication, there has been a sharp increase in the number of diagnoses, especially in children. The National Center for Health Statistics report that in 2011–2012, 7.5% of children aged 6–17 were taking medications for emotional or behavioral difficulties. There has also been a fivefold increase from 1990s in the number of individuals under the age of 18 who are on psychostimulants. It seems as if prescriptions are increasing exponentially. Are medications healthy for such small children? Does this affect their schooling in some way- educationally or socially?
Kids who move and wriggle constantly as they sit are labeled as distracting. Kids who can’t finish a full homework assignment in one sitting are labeled as ignorant. Kids who change the conversation frequently are labeled as annoying. Aren’t these all common behaviors of children? No child is perfect — it is impossible to be. Nevertheless, families and teachers are witnessing these events and assuming immediately that something is out of the ordinary. Children are then taken to psychiatrists and are promptly diagnosed and handed medication. Parents and teachers just want an answer and a ‘cure’ to make home life and school more functional. They only want the best for the child, and they think medicine is most efficient. Doctors do not run a multitude of tests to accurately give an explanation for the ‘different’ behaviors. They also do not supply many options for these children besides taking drugs since they have pressure from pharmaceutical companies to sell their products. Kids are then left with no option but to take the synthetic ‘cure’.
These drugs come with lists of side effects. For example, ADHD stimulates can lead to sleep problems, decreased appetite, delayed growth, headaches, stomachaches and moodiness that can lead to depression. Many kids report feeling like a zombie and unemotional when they are using the drug. There is also the problem of finding the right dosage that is healthy yet effective. A child’s liver will be put in to danger almost immediately. This can create anxiety and distraction within itself. Children become anxious about taking their medication and feel as if they cannot function without it. They know the medicine is ‘shutting them up’, but they don’t complain because they aren’t disciplined as frequently. This is such an unhealthy personal viewpoint for the child. They have been reprimanded by their teachers and parents for being disruptive, distracting and inefficient. But as a result of a new drug they are able to perform tasks ‘normally’. It can even lead to the child not receiving the customized attention from teachers that they pine for in order to efficiently learn. Taking medication only fixes the symptoms and not the cause. In the short-term, the student may feel more competent in school. The dependency on the drug can be destructive. A person should love themselves for who they are- not who they are when on medication.
If a child’s behavior is proving to be an issue, why don’t more parents and teachers follow a behavioral therapeutic approach? In the UK, most of the children diagnosed with ADHD have to go through a mandatory cycle of behavioral therapy before being prescribed a drug. There aren’t billions of different medications. How can a few types of medications cater to every single child? Behavioral therapy is much more individualized and specified to help the children more effectively. There is much more freedom in this process.
There are obvious cases where medication is a necessity. For many patients, therapy doesn’t prove effective. The ‘problem’ is chemically based and can’t be altered in therapy. Some find a huge relief in the sense that they can take a pill, go to school happy and make friends without any anxiety. Others perform better on tests and have increased motivation to do well in school. Nevertheless, there is no harm in trying other methods first that don’t involve serious medication. Madison, a 22-year-old taking medicine for OCD said in an online reflection, “I have a huge problem with younger kids taking it, because a) it could be a phase, or b) they are not the ones who are able to control it — their parents make them take it. It works for me, because I’m educated about it.” Madison states that after going through the cycle, medication for little ones isn’t a good idea. They have so much growing left to do.
Labeling these mental disabilities as things that need cures only leads to increased prescription of medication. The stigma around the proper way a child should act has fueled a frenzy of diagnoses and premature use of medication. Teachers and parents simply need to have more patience and explore alternative ways to help their child. Mental disabilities shouldn’t be looked at as issues that need to be examined and treated immediately. Rather, cooperation and help from external factors can be extremely beneficial over time. Medicine can do more harm than good in majority of cases. Children deserve beneficial assistance in coping with their emotional and behavioral differences.
For an audio version of what is written above: https://youtu.be/vtfCpgI_BZc