Teachers drugging kids?

By G. Romero Wendorf

If I were a kid today, no doubt I’d be heavily dosed with Ritalin or whatever other new drug du jour (of the day) there is now for hyper and overactive kids. Boys, by the way, by definition,are, in my mind, overactive. Some, more so than others. And growing up, I was one of the most overactive boys on the block. Could never sit still. Was a constant disruption in class, always cutting jokes, talking when I should have been listening, driving my teachers crazy. Which is why I spent a lot of time out in the hallway.

The dreaded hallway was where teachers sent kids back in the 1960s in junior high when they couldn’t behave in class: “Wendorf, pick up your books and get out in the hall.” And I’d stand out in the hallway, next to the door, not learning anything, staring at the wall on the other side of the hallway, feeling like a dunce, waiting for the bell to ring. Didn’t matter, I wasn’t learning anything in class either. Why? Because I wasn’t paying attention and never did my homework. For me, back then, school was akin to being stuck inside a prison with walls.

But I was a voracious reader at home. So I guess in some ways, I was self-educated.

If I were in a charter school today, of course, they would have simply kicked me out. But like today, the real public schools had to “educate” me, no matter my misdeeds.

ADHD HELL

I was thinking about my long-ago nefarious days in the hallways of public education after I received a rather heartbreaking letter from a dad who signed his name with only his initials: J.S. His letter pertains to a story of his son and how he was force-fed drugs in kindergarten, so mandated by school officials,because he was allegedly suffering from a “hyperactivity disorder,” and what a number it did to his kid and to himself as a parent.

I’ve spoken to him by phone since receiving his letter, and I’m convinced he’s not exaggerating with regard to what happened to his son. In fact, turns out I know the guy, but couldn’t tell it by his initials on the letter.

“I really don’t want people to know I am, Gregg,” he said.

He’s fairly well known in the local community. And doesn’t want to cause his family a hassle.

“But I want my letter to serve as a wakeup call to parents: don’t let teachers do to your kid what they did to mine.”

So if he didn’t initially agree with dosing his son with a medication to quell his hyperactivity, and basically change the kid’s fun-loving personality, why did he agree to it?

“Because the teacher and counselor told me, ‘Look, if you don’t do this (give your son this medication), and he ends up hurting someone, you’re going to be held legally responsible, because you’ve been warned.’ ”

The threat of a lawsuit does have a chilling effect on people.

If I were this man’s son today, no doubt I would have been heavily drugged as well to force me to sit still and remain quiet and subdued. Basically turn Gregg into a zombie so the teachers wouldn’t have to put up with my disruptive ways.

But would I be the same person I am today? Some are thinking, hopefully not. But personally, I like who I am. Warts and all. I think, however, that chemicals delivered to the developing bodies and minds of young children can’t help but change the basic makeup of the individual and have that change carry well into the teen years and adulthood. And as a result, my personality wouldn’t be what it is today. Again, some are thinking: and that would have been a bad thing why? 

THE DAD’S LETTER FROM J.S.

The dad’s letter starts off detailing his son as a happy active boy when he started kindergarten, but then describes how his son’s entire personality changed once he was put on ADHD (Attention Defici Hyperactivity Disorder) meds. In other words, this guy’s son obviously had the same thing I had as a kid, based on the hours I spent in the school’s hallway while the rest of my class carried on in an orderly manner inside the classroom. In other words, his son, like me, is a rowdy boy who has a hard time sitting still and remaining quiet. But back in my day as a kid, ADHD wasn’t yet considered a “disorder,” per se. It didn’t really become a “cottage industry” for psychiatrists and the pharmaceutical industry until the early 1980s.

Today, its diagnosis and treatment are still controversial. Wikipedia.com has a pretty good summary of both the history and the controversy surrounding ADHD and its diagnosis. To treat it, Ritalin may no longer be the number-one drug to treat ADHD, but its consumption in the U.S. still accounts for 80 percent of the number of pills sold, with an estimated 2.4 billion – that’s billion with a capital B -- doses of Ritalin administered annually. Meanwhile, its critics maintain that it’s being over-prescribed without enough research into its harmful effects.

I’ll leave out the name of the school J. S.’ son attends, only because if I named it, being a responsible journalist, I’d have to call the school and/or principal for a rebuttal, so I’d rather just leave out the name of the school from the letter, since no doubt, the same thing is happening at multiple schools in multiple schools and districts across Hidalgo County. Not so much in charter schools, however, since as I previously mentioned, for the most part, they don’t tolerate kids who misbehave. They simply kick them out and send them back to the real public schools who by law can’t deny admission to any student, no matter what so-called behavioral problem they may carry with them into class.

But here is the dad’s letter written in its entirety:

HYPER AND HAPPY: 

NOT ALL CHILDREN NEED MEDICATIONS

To the editor:

Two years ago, my son began his kindergarten year at (a local elementary school). My son had always been an energetic and active boy; “A bundle of joy, my little boy,” I always said. But, very soon after starting school, his kindergarten teacher brought his energetic activity to the attention of my wife and me. And while it may have been a new experience for him coming off pre-K, with more structure and formality in the kindergarten class, his teacher didn't seem to associate his behavior as such. To her it was more of a “medical matter.”

Within a month and a half of school starting, my son had been placed in in-school suspension about five times; each time because he supposedly misbehaved. And I do believe he misbehaved, but I think it was, in part, because he was being provoked by some of his fellow students. As a result, his behavior was scrutinized, and any little thing he did was an excuse to discipline him. 

It got worse. The teacher ordered us to meetings, with the principal, counselor, and nurse in attendance. Their recommendation was that my son needed to be placed on ADHD medication. Having worked in a pharmacy, I refused. Why would they want to sedate my baby, just because the teacher did not want to work a little extra in handling him; just to make her day easier?

Her reasoning was that my son could one day hurt another student, or even her, and that she was losing time with other children because of my son. They even brought it to our attention that IF he were to hurt someone, WE, as parents, would be liable because we refused to put him on medication. 

So, against my decision, my son was placed on medication. The firstday my wife put the medicine in his morning juice without him knowing it, and he drank it. I cried so. I didn't want to see him after it started to work. And that's the way it was each day; he didn't know what we were doing. And after school, it got sadder. We drove our son home while he was lying on the floorof the vehicle because his stomach and head hurt -- side effects of the medicine. 

So it was, every day, except weekends, when we wouldn't give it to him. And those days were when I would see him like my real son used to be prior to the meds being forced upon him: happy, laughing, playing, and not quiet and stunned like he was when he was “dosed.”

But then a new school week would arrive. And the days I went to have lunch with him at school, I would see him walk in the cafeteria, last in line, and I would get a lump in my throat. He wouldn't smile, he looked scared, just staring around him, and he wouldn't eat a bite. He would tell me his heart felt like it was beating fast and that he felt nervous.

Of course he did. He didn't know he was taking medicine, so in his mind, he wondered, 'why do I feel like this?'

I hated myself for doing that to him. I cried many times. Summer came, and we didn't give it to him and slowly he gained his weight back as he began eating more. 

A new school year started, and we met his new first-grad teacher and discussed what his previous year had been like. We told her we were not going to give him medicine this year. She supported us all the way and explained that she would treat any behavioral problems she had with him as they came up. 

My son did GREAT this year. He improved his reading, big time, his math is awesome, and not once did he get in trouble. And on top of it all, he LOVED his teacher, always giving her hugs. He was one of the most popular kids in the class, always making them laugh with his silly ways.

And the best of all, each week I went to have lunch with him, many times he would be in the front row, smiling. And his appetite, OMG, like a bear, like he had always been prior the medication we had been forced to force-feed him.

I look back at last year, and I get very angry at the way my son's situation was handled by the principal. By the teacher.

For one school year, my son endured being under the influenceof drugs. His brain was chemically induced to keep him still, supposedly because it was best for him -- and everyone else, obviously, including his teacher – the real culprit behind it all. 

And the realistic part of it all, there are parents who go along with this regimen, either because they too do not want to deal with their kids' energy, or perhaps because they believe in what the school officialsare telling them.

I DIDN’T.

And even though I will never confront them with my real thoughts on the matter for persuading us to drug my son, I have the satisfaction of knowing that the Lord blessed me with a very happy boy. He is the best, and I love him unconditionally. He brings me endless days of laughter and sunshine. 

Please, parents, grandparents, legal guardians, think twice, even three times, four, whatever it might take before putting your children on medications, whose real side effects may not be discovered for years to come.

If your little bundle of joy really needs a medication for Attention DeficitHyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), take him or her to a competent pediatrician and let them diagnose the problem.

But if your child is energetic, “hyper” as they say, they may just be normal kids being kids. 

I'd rather have a hyper, happy son than a sedated kid who doesn't show activity. Wouldn't you? It's the Lord's Blessing to have a happy child.

And as far as his former kindergarten teacher is concerned, thankfully she retired and can no longer contribute to the ruination of children.

Sincerely,

J. S., Hidalgo County

Ed. note: The drug given to J. S.’s son is called Vyvanse. It’s a trade name for Lisdexamfetamine. If you choose to GOOGLE it, it’s list of possible side-effects, both physical and psychological, is rather lengthy. And some of them – delusions and paranoia, for example, tics – are even scary, especially for someone as young as five o six.