"Khai's evaluation had been recommended by his school principal and teacher in the spring of 2016. "Our son?" wondered Roman and Khai's mother. The collection of labels painted a picture of a profoundly dysfunctional child. That was not their son. Khai was certainly energetic and sometimes inattentive. He was also an active, high-energy boy, much like Roman himself was at that age. Labeling Khai "disordered" seemed absurd."
"Medication was recommended for Khai, and the school's principal warned his parents of the dire consequences of not medicating: Later in life, he could self-medicate, become a drug addict, and even end up in jail. But the prospect of medicating Khai with a stimulant, classified as a Schedule II drug by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (along with methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl), felt wrong."
Parents of a seven-year-old diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, learning disorders, and a tic disorder questioned the label and resisted stimulant medication recommended by school professionals. The school's evaluation recommendation and dire warnings about future addiction and legal troubles prompted extensive research into nonpharmacologic options. The parents viewed stimulant classification as a Schedule II drug and felt medicating their son was wrong. They pursued alternative therapies, adjusted family and marital dynamics, and considered educational changes to better support the child. A body of literature offers different conceptual frameworks for ADHD and suggests that family therapy, marital therapy, and school changes can help many children begin to thrive.
Read at Psychology Today
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