Jane..my son got a thorough work up before the Ritalin was prescribed.
No doctor is going to prescribe Ritalin just because a teacher thinks
a child needs it.  Mark now takes Adderall because of the side effects
of the Ritalin.  Ritalin or Adderall is needed for him.  But since he
also Asperger's Syndrome it wasn't enough.  ADHD can overlap, a child
can have both, as in my son's case.  You seemed to entirely missed my
point.  The kids that truely have ADHD need Ritalin, Adderall or one
of the prescribed medicines to help them get through the school day
effectively.  My point also was that some kids are also Asperger's,
which is often goes undiagnosed.  It's genetic, not caused by alcholism.
Or, at least, suspected to be genetic.  I resisted giving my son
Ritalin at first because of people like you that gave me horror stories
about Ritalin.  When he's not on his Ritalin or Adderall he learns
absolutely nothing at school and totally disrupts the class.  But in
case, he also needs the Risperdal to help control his bent toward
arguing.  I know what I'm saying is falling on deaf ears......
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