dysTalk Flip - Ritalin - General Advice Other - Forum - dysTalk

my friend is an adhd child. he is negative thinker, and hard to comunicate with others... i want to helf him but i dont know what to do! can you helf me??? please!!!!

30/08/2009 09:23:03
nhelramos

Susan,

In response to your post re what Ritalin is I'm not an expert but have done some reading and thought the following might help.

Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is a prescribed drug and is often used for children with ADHD. I can also be prescribed for narcolepsy related symptoms such as fatigue, drowsiness etc...

It's usually taken as tablets or as a patch. In terms of their impact on children with ADHD understanding is significantly limited. There have been numerous reported side effects including: hallucinations, mood swings, impact on diet including weight loss, sleeping problems. There are probably others as well.

Would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this.

James

01/10/2008 13:51:49
James32

I read a similar comment about dyspraxia written in a newspaper (I think it was the london paper.)

I have been diagnosed with very mild dyspraxia and was quite insulted to hear it described as an excuse made by middle class parents to explain why their child is under performing in various areas.

For someone who has very mild dyspraxia, it is very easy to see even in me that the classic symptoms of dyspraxia are clear. I find it much harder to catch and kick balls and my hand-writing is very hard to read (thank goodness dystalk is electronic!) Furthermore, although I refuse to admit it to my friends, I can be very disorganised.

As a result, I firmly believe that dyspraxia, and ADHD for that matter are not excuses but real issues and people who call them a 'made-up disease' are even further lowering the confidence of those who really do have it when they should be aiding them.

29/09/2008 12:55:26
Ryan1 (Member)

On BBC (again!!) this issue cropped on their sometimes amusing News Quiz program. At risk of sounding lacking in humour I found one of the pannelists comments about ADHD a bit offensive.

You can hear it here (about 11mins 40secs in):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00dl0k7

ADHD is described as being used by middle class parents as an excuse for children who are just badly behaved. Personally I found it completely distastful and ignorant. Maybe that's what one should expect of the BBC. Not sure if anyone agrees?

26/09/2008 19:50:22
Michael

Can anyone tell me a bit more about Ritalin. What is it? Who uses it? And what is it's intended impact and what are the side effects?

25/09/2008 15:56:19
Susan

Thanks for your post, Michael.

I looked up on the site after your recommendation, and watched (in dysTalk style!) the related video.

Here it is if anyone's interested:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7632972.stm

24/09/2008 18:32:08
Marta

I heard on the Today programme that Ritalin has been banned for all children except those with severe attention problems.

Does anyone know, in this case, what ''severe'' constitutes?

24/09/2008 06:56:08
Michael