Drug 'em Up

This is my rant against over-medication of children. This last week, a public school came in with 44 students, over half of whom were on some pretty hefty medications. The ailments ranged from ADD to Autism, Hypochondria to Tourette's, and many other unnamed disorders. Now, I am not trying to imply that these ailments don't actually exist (I have worked with quite a few students with Autism/Asperberger's and Tourtette's), I am wondering about the medications some of these children are given. One child was on a heavy mood-altering medication in such high doses that he was barely functional. He was a severe hypochondriac, constantly in pain, lacked any semblance of social skills, and was always maltempered. One day he was lying on a bench crying, and I leaned down to put a hand on his shoulder to ask if he was okay and he pulled away from me like I was about to stab him. I spoke to his teachers about it and they just said it was his medication, and he works himself into these funks and there's not anything anyone can really do about it. This child is eleven years old! How is he supposed to function in society as an adult? Now obviously I don't know his case history, but what can be so severely wrong with a child that he needs extremely high doses of mood-altering substances that leave him completely incapable of functioning?

Another child struck my heart particularly hard. I don't know what exactly he is diagnosed with, but he had to wear patches that constantly streamed mood-altering drugs into his body. He was in several of my classes, and did well in both of them. The only difference I noticed in him was in his communication skills. For example, he took my "I'll Fly Away" class, where I teach about various forces that affect flying airplanes (drag, thrust, gravity, lift, etc.) and Bernoulli's Principle (probably spelled wrong), and then we make paper airplanes. Every child was able to design their own paper airplane, although for those who have never done it I do teach a very basic design. This student was the only one who made a completely original airplane without looking at a book or at my demonstration. (This design is similar I've seen others do, so he might have already learned it, but it was incredibly complex and difficult to remember, so even that shows he has a decent level of intelligence). When it came time to fly the airplanes, one of the other boys in the class looked at the design and insisted it wouldn't fly. I encouraged the student and let him know that I thought it was a very creative design and I've seen others similar that flew very well, but he had already shut down. Everyone was supposed to come up with a name and a purpose for their plane, and this student could not tell me the name or the purpose, and just stood there staring blankly at his airplane. So there were clearly some issues in his head, but it mostly seemed to be a self-esteem issue instead of a psychotic episode (I realize I'm not a therapist and I only knew this child three days, so I apologize if my observations seem amateur). He also took my fire class, and constantly raised his hand to volunteer answers about what fire needs, what kind of structures you can use, and was even able to comprehend and contribute the concept of fire being a conversation of chemical energy into thermal energy (none of the children got this, but this student understood it rather well). Later that day, however, he had a very difficult time filling out the evaluation for the program until I sat next to him. I walked him through the first steps, thinking perhaps he had a learning disability, but he could read and write and understand things just fine. He just didn't start until I asked him specifically to do so. I'm wondering if the patches he wears have created this issue, or if it was prevalent beforehand. His teachers told me that his mom and his therapist are currently trying to decide if he should be institutionalized. A ten year old! In a mental hospital! A creative, intelligent little boy being sent away from home... the idea of it just astounds me. The teachers from the school even admitted to me that many of the parents don't want to deal with their children's various issues and just drug them up and keep them sedated. How is a child ever supposed to develop a personality, develop quality relationships, or transition into adulthood while on substantial amounts of sedatives?

These are only two examples, but to paint a better picture of the amount of medication and various issues these students had, one of the most well-functioning students in the entire group was autistic. And he did really well with everything - comparatively - with only a few modifications needed (more constant instruction, more hands-on work, etc.) What is happening in the parenting/pediatric society that so many children need intense medications? Are there alternatives? I tend to find that students diagnosed with severe ADHD and other attention/behavior issues, who have difficulty in the classroom, excel dramatically during their time in our program. I won't get into my whole nature-deficiency/video game & tv over-stimuli theory, but if even just a few days being active out in the woods can help a child learn and focus better, perhaps we should start getting a little more creative about the way we look at children's issues. I realize, not being a parent, I don't have a full comprehension of what it's like to raise a children who struggles in certain areas. However, as an teacher, I think there's hope for these children if we just get a little more creative, reassess their needs, and stop doping them up just to get them out of our hair.

There, rant over.