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Featured Message
A CULTURE OF DEPENDENCY January 22, 2007
After attending the DCF symposium on transitioning young adults to DMHAS or DMR, I was saddened to hear the speakers, including the child advocate admit to the failure of this system.
Perhaps
as children these young adults came from families experiencing an
unfortunate time in their life. The referral to the DCF department is
The process goes like this…….A referral followed up on by a home and school visit and families will be told what to do. They will be handed a list of expectations that need to be met and many things to do. The threat of the removal of children is always there. A psychological evaluation is done on all family members and a diagnose is made and therapy and medications will usually follow. All mental health treatment is covered by the state medical card and the court sometimes will order and pay for this evaluation. I believe the reimbursement to the mental health care providers is good. However this is not so with the basic healthcare providers, dentists or any doctors specializing in physical ailments.
When a child is labeled with a mental illness and put on mind altering drugs, this begins the stigma and automatically sets them outside of society. Many times their “conditions” worsen and they exhibit negative behaviors and thoughts. The school’s sometimes reject these children leaving them lacking education and social skills. Their self esteem is poor. These dangerous medications can lead to substance abuse and the possibility of jail. Often these kids end up in legal trouble and become entangled in the court system. If these children do not end up expelled from school and sent to jail, they may find themselves in a psychiatric hospital. This is a horrifying experience for anyone. They may go to a RTC. These “treatment centers” are could be unsafe and understaffed. Foster homes have been known to at times also abuse and neglect these children.
If the parents lose their parental rights, they will not be part of their children’s treatment plan. This leaves many parents feeling helpless and insufficient and is detrimental. It weakens any trust or bond between parent and child. Workers do not check up on these kids enough and children resent parents if all did not go so well in their placement.
With this kind of treatment, of course help is needed in “Transitioning”. Of course the transition will have to be from one department to another, one hospital to another, one jail or prison to another, or one RTC to another. Either way we have created a culture of dependency at a large expense to our state. The admittance of this will never justify what has been done to these young people and their families.
Patricia Sabato of Ablechild.org
*Her son was held by DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) and forced drugged against her wishes.
A Powerful Letter Written to Dr. Fred Baughman, Ablechild Board Member and Pediatric Neurologist.
Greetings Doctor,
My name is Cliff (last name withheld for privacy). I was diagnosed with ADHD as early as second grade and as such my entire educational life except college was filled with nothing but painful memories mainly from my authority figures, like teachers and school administration. I would like to briefly share with you my testimony in those years that supports your outlook on ADD/ADHD.
It is interesting that in all my life I thought I was alone in this world with my beliefs on ADD/ADHD. I found it interesting that ever since I was such a young boy everyone talked about ADHD and knew OF ADHD but none of the doctors, psychiatrists, and counselors who diagnosed me could tell me exactly what is WAS. Or, the definition would be inconsistent from one person to another. For a long time I felt this was because it was a newly discovered disease and was not completely understood yet. However ten years later to the now, the disease is still entirely vague.
To begin, I was diagnosed with ADD and hyperactivity in 2nd grade. That was a long time ago so some of my memories do not serve me well. However I remember very well how that teacher felt about me. There was definitely a personality conflict between us. I believe she just wanted to shut me up in class, and her way of doing so was torecommend a checkup and look into medications to calm me to my parents.
Was I hyper? Did I cause disruptions? I sure as hell did! I was 6 or 7 back then though. I was a young boy who wanted nothing except to play and have fun. I ask you this, what 6 year old kid wants to sit in a classroom perfectly still for 8 hours? Would you be more concerned with a 6 year old boy who stared at the wall for 8 hours and appeared to be attentive or would you be concerned about a normal 6 year old who wants nothing more then to play.
When middle school came around problems escalated for me. I had problems getting good grades in class and my parents felt that it could be to this disorder, this so called ADD. I went to countless psychiatrists and counselors to get tested. All I could remember was that riding my bike, playing video games, and card games with my friends was more important then school. Maybe I just needed a little more discipline back then. All the counselors said the same thing, I was ADD and some said ADHD. Some recommended drugs others did not.
Now most of these stories are pretty standard; young kid gets diagnosed with ADD, family goes through hell and has to fight dealing with it.
The thing I remember the most was the number of adults telling me how I was different I was. I feel this is worth noting as I foresee thisdamaging young children's self esteem.
"You don't process information like the rest of the kids out there. You think differently." Some of them said I could think faster but too many thoughts invaded my brain. There are tons of other bullshit stories I heard from these people, it all said one thing. All of these statements resulted in one painful repetitive memory. Everything anyone ever said to me in regarding ADHD or ADD was basically this, I am dumber then the rest of the world and I need special care.
Do you think a 6-9 year old boy doesn't know when someone is calling him stupid? Well I was not stupid then and that is what those adults made me feel like. I feel that any adult who singles out a young kid and in a single blow attempts to crush their fragile self esteem should feel repercussion.
Finally high school came up and my father and I had a long discussion as to what to do. He said I had the option to try drugs or we could try different approaches. Fortunately I was a strong individual and I had convinced myself early on that I was not dumb, Special, or any slower then any one else in this world. If anything I felt I was smarter and more intelligent then my peers.
I had many conflicts and struggles with professors and administrators of high school who felt I should be put on drugs. A fellow class mate of mine Cody Louis took Ritalin where I did not. I observed over the years his reactions to the drug and the world he lived in. By the time he was a senior he was grinding the drug into a fine powder and selling it to classmates, and he himself would indulge in the cheap high of crushed methylphenidate. He was out of control but I do not believe it was because of this ADD or ADHD. I believe he was that way because of multiple factors in his life. He was an only child and ridiculously spoiled. He could get away with almost anything in school by simply blaming it on his disorder. He took special classes all the way through high school that basically just passed him through. Overall though I think he was misunderstood and he was insecure and felt he had something to prove with everyone. He was a little spoiled punk kid that needed a swat on the rear from his father, nothing more.
The school pressured me to follow the same actions as Cody. They knew how I felt about drugs so they would keep trying to put me in these special education classes. I sat in a special ed class once and I was astonished by how dumbed down they were. I mean this class truly insulted my intelligence. I was literally waiting for the teacher to pull out the coloring book and play color in the lines. It was no wonder that Cody acted the way he did having to put up with such nonsense.
Finally my senior year in high school came around and I made it all the way through with no drugs and no extra help except with my own understanding of myself and how I learn best. I also must note I had strong parental support and my result as a person is largely due to their guidance.
Finally at the end of high school I came to a few major conclusions about ADD/ADHD.
My first conclusion was that it simply did not exist. To support my theory I propose this idea. We were all born looking different, we are all different sizes shapes and colors. We all view things perceptively differently. What in the world makes our society feel that we all must think exactly the same?
My second theory is that drug companies push this ADD/ADD disease in an effort to boost sales.
My last theory was that no one knew what ADD/ADHD was in the first place any how so it was all just a huge bogus joke.
My end results are quiet nice. I am now 22 years old. In 2 months I will graduate with a 4 year degree in the coarse field of Cisco Network Management from Westwood College of Technology. I am the only one that I know of in my high school class that is graduating with a 4 year degree. I am also one of the very few who left my home town to go out and make something of myself. Many of my old, so called normal, classmates are still back at my home town living with mom and dad doing virtually nothing to better themselves. I am one of the better students in my class and have had several offers already for a job or internship in my career field. Everything in my life is going up.
The terrifying thought is, where would I be today if I would have been gullible enough to fall for those drugs like so many other children and parents do. Where would I be today? The thought scares me.
At present it rips me apart to see parents carelessly dose their children on drugs without even researching what they are getting into. It is all propaganda that has succeeded.
I ask you this simple question. Where are the Einstein's of today? Where are the Edison's of tomorrow? They seem far and few now days.
It is encouraging to me to see that other people have questioned whether or not ADD/ADHD even exists.
Thank you for your time. I applaud and support your future campaigns.
Cliff
I
am not real sure how to start out a letter about the past 10 years of
my life without others getting bored and not reading the most
important parts of this. I am sure there is a lot I will forget
to say, but I am sure that those reading this will understand the most
important part of this
whole story.
All
of these children were raised pretty much by me, in the country with
no neighbors and very little family around. Their Daddy traveled
a lot in his job. School
life starts for my daughter with a bang!! Before we were truly
into the 1st six weeks of school our daughter’s teacher was sending
behavior notes home almost daily. The teacher asked me,
"Has she (my daughter) been tested for A.D.H.D.?" Hum, seems
I remember hearing this with her nurse at birth????? Okay, I
assume they know what is best for her? My response to her
teacher is that, “NO she has not, but what you recommend we will
do.” Off we go to the Doctor’s office and out of his office
we leave, with a prescription for drugs in hand for my daughter. Oh, I
remember this one sentence from this Doctor’s letter regarding my
daughter, "ALMOST SURE TO BE A FAILURE @ ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL
GOALS." Remember this is Kindergarten I am talking about!!
Okay,
at this point in time, I found Ablechild’s web site and I cried for
over three hours printing off stuff from this site. I wanted any
information that I could get because I knew I had a fight ahead of me
and I wanted to be prepared.
My
older son has had several teachers who tell me "Him with ADHD?”
“No, I don't see it!" FUNNY HOW ADHD IS NOT SEEN ANYMORE,
DISAPPEARING AS IF IN THIN AIR. FUNNY NOW, MY CHILDREN ARE
VIEWED AS CAPABLE IN LEARNING.
I
want others to know that my baby, my youngest son, Joey, and
ABLECHILD.ORG, is the one who opened my eyes to this. Through
Joey this happened when his big beautiful green eyes looked up at me
with puddles and he said "MOMMY WHY CANT I BE NORMAL JUST LIKE
YOU AND DADDY AND SISTER AND BROTHER?" Now if I didn’t hear
that cry for help I wouldn’t have been much of a Mom. I then
found Ablechild.org and their important information, which helped me
fight back against what I found out, was wrong.
Here is a letter written to Mrs. Vicky Dunkle, Ablechild Vice President, Pennsylvania and mother of Shaina Dunkle, a little girl who died at 10 from a ADHD drug prescribed her.
Vicky, This is the first time I have posted here but I have been reading these posts and following your fight for close to a year now. My nine-year-old son was almost a victim of the public schools labeling and drugging agenda all because they failed to teach him to read properly. They had him in the resource room for reading and it did him no good. They constantly blamed it on his inattention, not their poor teaching methods. My husband and I made the decision to not have him tested by the school. I have a history of bi-polar disorder in my family and I would absolutely not risk the use of stimulants on my precious only child. We moved him to a Montessori school this year. He is learning at his own pace and thriving. I never hear a negative thing about the child. I just wanted to thank you for all you and the others here have done for my child and all the others. God bless you. Julie California
My
son was forced to take
Ritalin and another drug
for ADHD. I was told by
the psychiatrist and the
psychiatric social worker
(worked with the
psychiatrist) that unless
my son was medicated, he
could not attend school.
I filled out the form
stating who forced my son
on meds.
Here is a letter written to Mrs. Vicky Dunkle, Ablechild Vice President, Pennsylvania and mother of Shaina Dunkle, a little girl who died at 10 from a ADHD drug prescribed her.
Hello Vicky, My name is Candace and I just read your story about your daughter Shaina on ritalindeath.com. I want to thank you for informing me about the dangers our school system. I too have had it recently, albeit subtally suggested by my sons school that he may "benefit" from the use of ritalin. They tell me that he lacks concentration, cannot stay on task and has to be repeatedly reminded to complete assignments. I thought I'd do some research on the internet when I came across your story. I want to thank you for your bravery in helping parents like myself who feel like they have no other choice but to give in and medicate their children. Since when did elementary school teachers become medical doctors? Once again Vicky, thank you for your story. Your beautiful little girl did not die in vain, she helped one mother in Hamilton, Ontario make a very educated decision.
Take care. Candace
Yesterday I got a call from the mother of a child whom my daughter goes to school with. She really helped me to see this for what it is. I felt that I could tell her anything....and did. I cried on the phone with her for over an hour. She helped me to find a new doctor for my daughter. She directed me to which child psychologists could help. She told me about nutrition as a helpful tool. I think my outlook has now changed. I have switched doctors. I HAVE NOT GIVEN MY DAUGHTER STRATERRA. I will not lose my daughter to some ridiculous notion that if a 4 year old is friendly and outgoing well she must have a chemical imbalance because apparently teachers just want their students to sit in the corner and not talk to anyone and not participate. We are NOT talking about my daughter getting nasty reports home about fighting, swearing, smoking in the bathroom, etc. We are talking about, "Your daughter had a bad day because she wouldn't sit next to the teacher." or "Your daughter had a very bad day because she drew a smiley face on another girl's hand". GIVE ME A BREAK. She's 4 and she has NEVER been around other children......EVER. She will do anything and everything possible to be friends with them. I am proud of my daughter for loving school as much as she does. I think she would go everyday if I let her. But if this crap keeps up I will rip her out of there so fast and put her in a school that actually likes CHILDREN and not miniature adults. I see what's going on in my daughter's class and it has more to do with politics and popularity that anything else. How sad at such a young age that this is already apparent. That's what I get for living in a small rich town. We just moved here so we are the outsiders.
I wished I'd asked for advice 7 years ago. Please, don't give your child adderall, or anything else for that matter. I'm a mother of five children, two of which have been on ritalin/concerta/adderall for 9 years combined (our 14 yr. old for 7 years and 9 yr. old for two years). Let me describe my 9 yr. old so that you can decide for yourself.
Sharon,
mother in Alabama
February
3, 2003 by Kelly Wolfe for Battle Creek Enquirer Reader's Views
A Letter Written to Mrs. Patricia Weathers, Ablechild President and Founder
Dear Patty,
I am a 22- year- old college student pursuing a career in Elementary Education (K-6). I also work in an Elementary School in North Carolina as a teacher assistant. I saw you on the Montel Williams show and I want to say, keep it up! Nothing upsets me more to hear someone say that they were pressured to have their child put on medication for ADHD. I think that there should be more parents like yourself that want to educate other parents about the negative effects of drugging today's children. Just wanted to let you know that there are also some teachers out there that support you also! Keep up the good work!!
Laurie
First email from Karen
My son was "diagnosed"
ADHD in second grade (he is now 11). I immediately and without
question advocated Ritalin. Intuitively, I knew it was wrong, but I
was desperate. At first, I was relieved to have an explanation
for his behavior problems at school, but it soon became apparent
that having the diagnosis in place was detrimental. I had
given control of my child's education to strangers whose only
concern was to keep him drugged. From my point of view, school
was basically a nightmare. I cried myself to sleep at
night; I cried when I dropped him off at school. I knew what
was waiting for him and felt I had betrayed him. I hated
myself for buying into their lies and deceit. Finally, it
dawned on me that for my child, things would not change.
That's when I decided to homeschool. It's
challenging, to say the least. I
work fulltime and homeschool in the evenings, but he's off
drugs and actually knows a lot more than I realized. The
school environment was causing the problems, not the ADHD or
behavior issues.
It's immoral what the schools, drug
companies and medical community are doing to our children and we, as
parents have a responsibility to make these institutions be
accountable. I, for one, have lost faith in a system that
requires, no, demands, a "one size fits all" attitude.
It's not only absurd, it's sick.
I am sorry for your loss; it breaks my
heart to think of what your family has gone through. Please add
my voice to your cause.
Karen
Second email from Karen
I would consider it an honor for
you to post my e-mail and any future e-mails I may send. After
having felt so defeated by the school system, I find it hard to
believe I could inspire or move other parents to question
anything.
My son was diagnosed ADHD at the end of
second grade. I strongly advocated Ritalin as did the school
and his doctor. Intuitively, I knew it was wrong and so
constantly questioned the appropriateness of my decision. I
naively thought that once the decision was in place and he was
taking medication, the pressure from the school would lessen and he
would get the support he so desperately needed. How wrong I
was!
During third grade, he decided he wanted
to eliminate the morning pill. I received a hysterical phone
call at work from his teacher (who he had mistakenly told). "Why
had we taken away his morning pill? I couldn't do
it; I was wrong for doing so. If he was suffering evening
rebound effects, why wasn't he on medication 24 hours a day? Ritalin
is to ADHD children as insulin is to diabetics". I was
speechless, but not when I learned that my son was at her side
listening to her diatribe against me! I complained to the
principal who was patronizing. If he was not ADHD, she said,
the medication wouldn't help. I immediately put him back
on the morning pill. I felt depressed and defeated.
That summer was spent drug free. I
dreaded the beginning of fourth grade when I would have to make
the decision whether to medicate him or not. We began the
year without medication, but I was soon in the principal's office,
throwing my hands up in despair. There had to be a program for
my son! She did not offer any other suggestions other
than medicaton. I learned of IEP's from an outside source and
immediately began to advocate one for my son. To show good
faith, I asked his doctor to put him on Ritalin and recommend an IEP
eval. I called every week for information and about a month
after my initial request, was told that because he was
doing well on medication, they had arbitrarily and without my
knowlege, decided to design a behavior plan for him instead. I also learned
that the school psychologist was considering he had some form of
Autism. I said nothing, filing this information away for
future reference, and continued advocating for the IEP.
Finally, after nearly two months (it took them two months to come up
with a behavior plan), the teacher called me. The school
psychologist had just returned from an Aspergers seminar and
considered him to be Aspergers and not ADHD. I knew that
legally and ethically, the team was not qualified to diagnose.
I reported the incident the following day to the head of Special
Services and to the Superintendent of the school district.
They were patronizing and evasive. No one from the school
would return my calls until three days later. I pulled my son
out of school until I could decide what to do, but I couldn't decide
anything. I was paralyzed with doubt and fear. I was on
an emotional roller coaster; one minute I believed they could be
right and the next I believed they were completely wrong. In
November of 2001, we met to discuss the behavior plan, which I
agreed to, but continued advocating the IEP. He qualified for
speech therapy and occupational therapy in January of 2002.
That summer was again spent drug free.
We began fifth grade on medication and with a somewhat open mind,
but soon it was evident there were problems. I complained
early on that he seemed to be struggling and began advocating a more
intensive IEP, with support in reading and writing. The team
would not qualify him, the teacher said, because his academic scores
were too high. How could they not qualify him if he was
failing all subjects but spelling? Were they blind or
insensitive? Finally, a behavior specialist with some kind of
special behavior plan was brought in from another school district.
His plan was based on recognizing only positive behaviors
and after speaking with him, I felt optimistic for the first
time. My son loved it and moved up quickly from
level one to level three. But the teacher refused to implement
it correctly; it was time consuming. Meanwhile, his academics
continued to suffer, although there was some slight improvement. I
continued to advocate a more intensive IEP. Finally, after numerous
complaints from me, the behavior specialist "approved"
re-evaluating the existing IEP. I wondered why
his opinion counted more than mine, but said nothing. In
January 2003, he qualified for support in reading. My
happiness was shortlived. He soon started having more problems
with behavior. His classmates continued bullying him and
calling him names. The teacher seemed to think he deserved
some of it because he provoked it. At this time, he
took things into his own hands and took six Ritalin pills (60
mg) unbeknownst to me (I kept the medication very carefully hidden). I
knew something was amiss, but he wouldn't confide in me, so I
watched him carefully all evening. The next morning he
confided he had taken the medication. He was inconsolable, but
assured me he hadn't meant to cause himself harm. He only
wanted to behave and be popular. He kept him out of the school
that whole week.
After that, everything deteriorated.
I finally decided to file notice of intent to homeschool, but when I
notified the school, they came up with a plan for part time school
and a buddy system. I thought it was odd that I had begged and
pleaded with them for support and all of a sudden they couldn't
offer me support fast enough. The behavior specialist
wanted to meet the following week to discuss options, so I agreed to
postpone withdrawing him until the following week, however, I made
it clear he wasn't necessarily staying in school either. The
day before the meeting, I requested a copy of his IEP file (on the
advice of an attorney) and reviewed it that evening. I was
dismayed at the disparaging remarks made about my child by his
second grade teacher. I decided that moment to homeschool,
but went to the meeting to hear about their "plan". The
teacher did not bother to show and neither did the behavior
specialist, who had called the meeting. Since that day in
early March, my son has not been back to school.
I am not here to rant and rave against
public education, but I would urge parents to look at ALL of the
education options out there. Especially if their child marches
to a different tune or is exceptional in any way. But am I
qualified, you ask? Public school officials would like
us to believe we aren't qualified to make decisions about
our children's education, but I say who is more qualified or more
dedicated than parents? I still constantly question the
sanity of pulling my child out of school, but he's doing well and is
completely drug free. And although I work fulltime and we
study evenings, I am finding I don't spend any more time
homeschooling than I did advocating for him with the school.
There's no pressure to medicate and I am in charge of his education
for the first time. That makes it all worthwhile.
Karen, A concerned mother in Washington State
Dear Parents for Label and Drug Free Education,
I have been teaching for 17 years. 14 of them were at Junior High and 3 at High School. I use to be that medications were the answer. However, I have come to believe that is the furthest from the truth. I believe the who concept of "emotional disorders" have been designed to elicit a huge new market for drug companies. That new market is called, "Children". In the past children have taken little in the way of drugs. Only children with unusual health problems. By tagging everyone with "bi-polar", ADD, ADHD, depressed, etc they have opened up a booming new market. Each one of us is different in many ways. Why is education constantly trying to shove all children into the same shaped slot. Why do we constantly continue to mass educate students the way we have been doing for decades. Most of all why are we tampering with unknown health risks of the healthy born children we bring into the world.
SDR
Dear AbleChild.org,
Thanks so very much for your response and we are going to contact Alan and we have signed the petition. My Brian has an appt. at the University of Virginia on the 18th for his second opinion. We count it a blessing that we found this website and even with the misfortune of such a medical condition as heart failure at 25, it would be a blessing to be able to make a stand and prevent this from happening to another child. Brian is really relieved to find out that he WAS NOT a problem child growing up, instead the problems came from the ill effect of ALL the drugs that was PUSHED upon him! Another interesting twist to this is at the age of 9 my brother Noah, now 20, was being forced by a teacher for mom and dad to have him tested. Thank God mom and dad stood firm against it and demanded that he change teachers first, and nothing ever developed from there. Because today Noah is serving our country in the USAF, enlisting after Sept. 11. This would have never happened had he been labeled. Please keep us in Prayer and again thanks for your help! Many Blessings,
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