Medication is always a touchy subject to discuss when it comes to family, friends, coworkers, your students, and the list goes on and on. It seems like everyone has an opinion formed. Opinions can be positive due to it being a miracle drug and making behaviors or symptoms disappear. They can also be negative, because they completely changed your child's personality and behavior and you can hardly recognize them. Either way opinions have been formed, but what happens when you have a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD? What happens when you have been exposed, influenced, and have your mind made up about the use of medication for this specific diagnosis and then all of the sudden it is your choice?
There are a couple of things when deciding about medication for someone who has a diagnosis for ADHD. First, who diagnosed your child? So often we take our children to their pediatricians who has prescribed the medication, but have they completed the evaluation necessary to ensure that the behaviors/symptoms your child is exhibiting is in fact ADHD and not a Specific Learning Disability or an environmental factor? Or maybe the teachers at school are telling you, your child is having a hard time keeping his hands to himself, and is avoiding work and acting out and then they say, "I think your child has ADHD." Then what? You take them to the pediatrician and tell them his teachers are saying that he has ADHD and then all of the sudden, you have a full prescription ready to go.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to get a psychoeducational evaluation completed by a licensed professional to accurately diagnosis ADHD, and rule out the possibility of a Specific Learning Disability, or any other environmental factors that may be impacting how your child is acting in school or at home. It is only then, when you have an accurate diagnosis that you would even consider medication. However, you may be surprised that your child could have ADHD and the Licensed Psychologist NOT suggest you take them to the doctor! Your child could have a mild form of ADHD and simply need accommodations and behavior modifications to support their diagnosis.
Medication is such a touchy subject, but there are so many variables to consider and I hope I was able to bring some perspective to the subject. The take away from this, make sure you have an accurate diagnosis first!