Many young boys have been prescribed ritalin simply because they couldn't concentrate in school.
@goatprarie
@Saguine@
@txradioguy "prescribed ritalin"
I was responsible for individual psychological testing of students in a jr. high school and two elementary schools. This was in the time period schools discovered ritalin to control students, was almost always boys. Here is the definition of Ritalin and below that is what I did when students were sent to me because they were not doing well in learning and tended to disrupt others who were paying attention to the teacher.
Ritalin: "This medication is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD. It works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain. Methylphenidate belongs to a class of drugs known as stimulants. It can help increase your ability to pay attention, stay focused on an activity, and control behavior problems. It may also help you to organize your tasks and improve listening skills."
These students were referred to me - I was supposed to find out why the student was not doing well. Before I did any testing, I talked to the student about his/her life from the time he/she was born plus asking him/her about what he/she thought of school. I was the only one who could suggest to the parents to go to a neurologist for evaluation. After the neurologist did an evaluation, he determined if Ritalin was appropriate for the student. I was not going to send a kid to a neurologist unless I knew the neurologist knew what he was doing. I went to a neurologist to talk to him about students referred to him. He was not a pill pusher; he wanted to know about the student first, so my report was sent to him about each kid I sent there and we discussed the results of my testing and his results of the neurology examination before Ritalin was prescribed or not. I was not a tool of the school to shut down kids' behaviors by giving them pills.
Story:
A principal referred a 5th student to me because of his behavior. The teacher was unhappy because this student ask too many questions, brought books which were not that grade level books, he would point out mistakes she made and he had a sex problem (he brought a pair of women's panties to school). The principal also thought this student was difficult for him to talk to.
The student was a delight. His father was an engineer and student learned math/physics from the father's books - he took those to school to learn while the other students were doing fifth grade math.
His sex problem: On Halloween, before treat or treating, the teacher told them to bring their treat bag to school so each one could show what they collected. He took his bag there along with the rest of the students. Someone had put a pair of women's panties in his bag, so there they were in the bag.
I asked him what he thought of the principal and he said, "He overreacts." (And he did; that was an accurate description of the principal). From my testing, I found he was at a 9th grade level of learning and more than that in math/physics.
I wrote my report and took it to that principal. I had recommended he be passed to grade seven right then if the parents agreed. The principal was delighted that he was getting rid of this student and certainly the teacher was pleased to get him out of her class. NO RITALIN FOR HIM. Most of the time, I could figure out a student's problem and pills were not the answer.