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lilith....I have a masters degree in clinical psychology emphasis in marriage and family therapy, I have been practicing therapy basically for the last 2 year and up until about a month ago I taught a parenting class for about a year and a half.
I have seen individuals, children, couples, and families as a marriage and family therapist intern. I still have a lot of hours left to be completely licensed, but in my own estimate I have a good amount of experience and education.
Since I wrote the earlier response somewhat quickly, an adendum (sp?)...
I am not against medication...in fact, conjunctive therapy is generally the best way to go. However, ADHD is a propoganda based epidemic in our society that searches for quick fixes instead of long-term consistent and healthy parenting. My only contention is that not seeking out all options before medication or relying on medication soley is the wrong way to go.
Specifically with children, I believe medication should be avoided as often as possible because often problems are behavioral and not physiological....it is only easier to look at physiology because popping a pill seems more palatable than the struggles of day to day efforts of increased or more efficient parenting. However, there are cases (such as that 3-5%) whom truly need medication simply to function and for those, I completely recommend it.
Also I meant to recommend before to see an occupational therapist and/or a behavioral therapist.
Medication can actually be a permanant treatment (not a solution) for certain conditions....bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders (schizophrenia, delusional disorder, etc.), certain people with extreme personality disorders, and a few physiologically based disorders first found in childhood (like tourettes, extreme examples of authentic cases of ADHD, asbergers, autism, etc).
For any parents reading this, while on the topic of medication for children, a warning... the only antidepressant that has been approved by the FDA to be used on children is prozac. Although most antidepressants generally use the same mechanisms, they have not been tested like prozac on children... the problem is that doesn't stop many doctors and parents from giving them to their children (particularly teenagers).
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