Mike Duvos writes:
They cease to play incessantly with fidget toys and they get on with their lives. Maybe you would prefer to "help" them by not letting them get medication. Maybe its "unnatural". Could you explain to me, however, how you are making their lives better by not giving them their meds? I mean, what concretely is better about their lives?
If someone has some sort of cognitive disability which can be diagnosed and for which treatment with medication is appropriate, I have no problem with that. But vague claims that "Johnny won't sit still" hardly constitute such a workup.
You are dodging the point. There are lots of people for whom it is easily demonstrated that a small dose of Ritalin makes a dramatic change in their quality of life. The scientific studies are numerous, and unless you are prepared to tell me what flaws you find in the studies you have not even examined, I do not see that you have evidence backing your opinion. Given that there are people who are demonstrably helped in their lives by Ritalin, could you explain to me why it is that they should not be taking the medication? Please back your statement up with documentation published in a refereed journal or conference paper -- not with Mike Duvos' off the cuff opinion based on his years as a computer professional.
You miss the point. You spoke of involuntarily medicated kids. Most of the kids aren't involuntarily medicated.
Let's see. At the beginning of this message, you were questioning Tim's qualifications to suggest kids were overmedicated. Now you are telling us that the kids are qualified to give informed consent to the very same thing.
Hardly consistant, even for you Perry.
Totally consistant. It is a person's own business, not a third party's business, to decide what they should be ingesting and when. Tim is supposedly a libertarian and supposedly opposed to drug laws that prohibit people from taking what they want when they want, or, presumably, deciding for their children what they should be consuming. He also supposedly thinks that people should keep their nose out of the personal choices made by others, and gets downright cantakerous when anyone voices the least opinion about how he runs his life. However, if a family, with the willing consent of their child, decides to make a choice about how to best watch out for the welfare of their own child, Tim sanctimoniously chimes in, along with the rest of the peanut gallery. I mean, Tim would be offended if anyone told him what to take, but he feels perfectly happy telling other people how to run THEIR lives. So, yes, I'm consistant. Its my business, and mine alone, if I shoot morphine, or take Penicillin, or decide to do none of these things. I may choose to consult with a doctor about my condition on the premise that he is a qualified professional and can render me an educated opinion. Tim's opinion is, however, neither educated nor wanted. He should mind his own business with the zealous rage he applies to those who attempt to mind his business. I'm consistant. Tim, and possibly you, are hypocrites.
Seriously, though, the really dumb thing in all of this is the constant pretending that drugs both do and don't have the ability to enhance performance. We vascilate between "Drugs are never the solution" and "Take this pill twice a day with a glass of water." This is a very mixed message indeed.
You don't hear me giving it, do you? Drugs are wonderful things at times. A dose of morphine a few times a day can make the difference between unbearable pain and being able to function. A tablet of common aspirin can utterly change your day from an experience filled with headache to a productive and happy one. A dose of any one of several antidepressants can take people who have repeatedly attempted suicide and at the very least give them enough time to work out their problems and learn to deal with life. Of course, drugs can also be damaging. One tablet of Tylenol is not so bad. 100 destroy your liver. An occassional drink rarely hurts. Being falling down drunk at all times is unlikely to improve your life. Drugs are sometimes of use, sometimes not of use. Any use has to be evaluated by the person contemplating taking the drug. Any mixed message does not originate from me. Perry