It disturbs me how people can continue such archaic thinking.
Stigmatizing getting sound counsel is like thinking human beings are less intelligent because they have darker skin, or thinking that women shouldn't go to school.
Radicals will do just about anything to hold on to concepts that give them power to manipulate. As if to say to a hurting person, "Don't get help because if you do, you might realize I am leading you down a destructive path."
If you need help, don't let anyone stop you from seeking good counsel/therapy. It could save your life.
Sister do you think that children should be given drugs for ADHD?
Little children die from the drugs.
Do you believe ADHD is a disease that can be treated through medication?
Could you explain the objective tests that are performed to prove that a small child has a chemical imbalance?
__________________ "all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
~Declaration of Independence
Considering that God sometimes doesn't answer for years, this could be quite a long prayer meetin'!!
__________________ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! HE IS THE ONE who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for HE IS THE ONE who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us. (Romans 8:33-34)
"The greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity". –Erwin McManus
I believe that drugs for ADHD and similar disorders are waaay over-prescribed. So are anti-depressants.
That still doesn't mean that there is no one who legitimately needs help.
Amen you preach it sista. You go girl.
__________________
People who are always looking for fault,can find it easily all they have to do,is look into their mirror.
There they can find plenty of fault.
Sister do you think that children should be given drugs for ADHD?
Little children die from the drugs.
Do you believe ADHD is a disease that can be treated through medication?
Could you explain the objective tests that are performed to prove that a small child has a chemical imbalance?
I believe you are sincere in your belief that medication to treat ADHD is harmful to children.
I don't have a dog in that fight. And I'm no expert on the subject you are using to try to negate the ENTIRE FIELD OF PSYCHOTHERAPY including practitioners like counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists.
The effects of hormones, neurotransmitters, and chemical imbalances in the body are visualized through observable behaviors and physical symptoms. We have organs working inside of our bodies that we can't see, but we know they are functioning because we have physical evidence before us.
Are you an expert in the field of neurology or biochemistry? I'm not, but I've studied enough to know there is physical, observable evidence that is undeniable regarding treatment through therapy and psychotropic medications. Doctors are HUMAN BEINGS and sometimes they get it wrong.
I posted an article on my blog here on AFF regarding my views about the education system promoting the diagnosis of ADHD in "hyper active" boys. I'm highly skeptical of this diagnosis and have strong feelings - as you do- on this subject.
However, I still believe there is true merit/benefit to destigmatizing mental health treatment including counseling and medical intervention. THAT IS MY POINT. I don't believe integrating Christian values with sound counseling principles is tantamount to compromising my strong belief in the healing power of the Holy Ghost.
"Popular belief and scientific dogma notwithstanding, the term 'mental illness' refers to unwanted behavior, not medical malady."
Um, yeah. If someone sees flying unicorns, hears voices, takes on multiple personalities, or is depressed beyond hope, that's not illness. It's just unwanted behavior.
(Back to reading. Not quite bored out of my mind, yet.)
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
HERE IS THE PAPER I WROTE FOR ENGLISH COMP CLASS LAST YEAR REGARDING RITALIN AND ADHD:
Puppy Dog Tails
Dora Hammer
10-26-08
While performing my morning ablutions, I usually listen to right-wing talk radio. Laura Ingram featured an author named Kathleen Parker who was touting her book, “Save the Males: Why Men Matter and Why Women Should Care.” Although I had heard rumblings on the subject of the American “boy crisis” in the classroom, this was the first time I really took notice. Kathleen Parker’s point is not an attempt to negate the progress of girls in their scholastic endeavors, but emphasizes the fact that the feminization of the classroom has put boys at a distinct disadvantage. After considering Parker’s premise, then reading Ellen Goodman’s article, “Getting Real in the Classroom,” I tend to disagree strongly with Goodman’s statement that the “boy crisis” is not “all it was cranked up to be.”
To further support her findings, Parker points out the media portrayal of men in movies and sitcoms as “bumbling idiots” who need a woman to help them get through any crisis that may arise. The following quote from Parker’s book is especially striking:
“Listen to the experts: Esther Vilar, in her best seller, ‘The Manipulated Man,’ calls the American male "the most exploited, the most suppressed, the most manipulated man on the face of the earth;" Linda Bowles said "It isn’t even close, the most abused, vilified, and sexually harassed Americans are white, heterosexual males. I don’t know why they put up with it — and I wish they wouldn’t;" Blackstone said ‘Woman is the favorite of the law.’”
Parker further states that boys are being emasculated by the educational system since the literature is geared more toward giving girls strong characters to emulate while stripping away male swashbuckling heroes that might encourage boys to “act out” violently. Instead of nurturing boys’ rough-and-tumble natural tendencies, Parker says, “we devalue the strong masculine type [and] reward the feminized male.”
With my young cousin, Ian Dane, I witnessed this very scenario played out before my eyes. His parents were encouraged to put him on Ritalin from age seven. His condition was regarded as a serious disease or ailment that was truly pitiful. I found his exuberance delightful and enjoyed his loquaciousness. His parents, however, regarded his constant fiddling and incessant commentary as tiresome and annoying. So, the cure was to administer a magic Ritalin tablet so the dear boy could “focus.”
After witnessing this exchange during a family gathering, I became concerned and did some research on the side effects of Ritalin. The results were alarming. I actually found a website posted in memory of a 14 year old boy who died due to an enlarged heart caused by long term use of Ritalin. The parents were intimidated by their son’s teacher and student counselor to get their son on a regimen of Ritalin. Otherwise, they would be reported to CPS for child neglect and abuse. The website states that schools receive government funding for every student that is diagnosed with ADHD and medicated and placed in special-ed classes. This drug has effects similar to amphetamines and cocaine and is considered a Schedule II illicit drug. Kids sell their Ritalin to their non-ADHD classmates for a healthy profit.
The point here is that the majority of children who are diagnosed as being “behaviorally challenged” are boys. In Gerry Garibaldi’s article, “How Schools Shortchange Boys,” he states that being labeled with the special-ed classification is the “bane of the modern boy.” These boys learn to work the system and intentionally underachieve because they know they can. They expect their tests to be modified and simplified so they can pass. Their special-ed instructors “assist” them with their homework so they won’t have to suffer a loss of self-esteem should they make a poor grade.
Former male feminist, Warren Farrell, became an advocate for male rights once he discovered that the feminist movement was discouraging the role of men in the raising of their own children. The feminists immediately disavowed their association with him and he became a pariah to their cause. He concluded the following: “I definitely agree with choices for women, but I do not agree with choices for women when they eliminate choices for men.” The fact that over one third of the children in American live in homes where their father is absent, is a profoundly sad commentary on the state of our culture.
After considering the contributions of so many experts on this important issue, I find Ellen Goodman’s conclusion that “we need to worry more about children one by one, and less about whether boys are losing their place at the head of the class,” to be an oversimplification and lacking of a full understanding of the dire implications of this problem for our society. We should get back to celebrating the snails-and-puppy-dog-tails side of boys and regain some equilibrium in our educational system.