When my son started at formal school, his teachers complained that he was disruptive and they thought he should be on Ritalin. My ex-wife agreed with them, but I was completely and utterly unhappy with their conclusion.
The way I saw it, a child who was ADD/ADHD would have a problem concentrating on EVERYTHING, not just on their schoolwork. He didn't have a problem concentrating on things that were interesting or challenging - in fact, I NEVER experienced him as having a problem concentrating, no more than any OTHER child his age anyway. And his grasp of complex subjects, even at age 5 or 6, was astounding - he never accepted "because I say so" as an answer, he always wanted to know the REAL reason.
However, due to the way things used to work before the new Children's Act, and my ex-wife's spiteful relocation to the Cape to keep my son and I apart, I had very little influence/jurisdiction over what happened to my son - and his mother started administering Ritalin, knowing FULL WELL that I objected. Obviously, because my son and I are so close and always have been, he told me all about this administration of medication - but because she had 'custody', and the support of various "experts" (mostly just teachers), and a compliant G.P. to boot, I could do nothing about it.
I continued to object, though, and kept requesting that he be PROPERLY evaluated as to the suitability of this dangerous and sometimes fatal drug.
To make matters worse, knowing that I was vehemently opposed to Ritalin, she would administer the drug religiously while he was at school, but when he flew up to spend holidays with me, she would just not give him the Ritalin - so the poor tyke literally went 'cold-turkey' every time he came to visit. The withdrawal symptoms of Ritalin, incidentally, are comparable to those for cocaine... So the first week or two here he'd be battling withdrawal symptoms, and then, when he was finally settling down, the holiday would be over and he had to go back to the Cape and she would start administering this dangerous drug again. To me, that was just plainly and simply child-abuse - but in those days we fathers had very little chance of gettting the courts to agree with us, no matter HOW badly our children were affected.
Eventually, after he'd changed schools a couple of times, my ex-wife relented and had my son evaluated. Of course, I had to pay. But part of the evaluation was a standard I.Q. test.
I'll never forget the day I heard the results - I was travelling to work, about 06h30 in the morning, and my ex-wife phoned and said something to the effect of "We need to talk - I've had X tested and we have a problem". I went ice-cold.
Her next words answered ALL the questions I'd asked her over the previous years - "His I.Q. is off the normal scale for children his age. Apparently he's just bored at school".
And that was that - to this day, she has never admitted that she administered Ritalin wrongly, and she refuses to discuss the matter.
He was then enrolled in an exceptional school - one of the 'International Schools", a private school that offers an international standard education - and since then he hasn't looked back. He's won several Gold Medals in the Maths Olympiads, competing in age groups higher than his own, he's received awards at Science Fairs and expositions, and he's excelled in several other areas such as art, drama, languages, and debating. All areas in which, under the influence of Ritalin, he battled to keep up.
The first full year he was off Ritalin, in fact, he managed to complete two academic years in one - and passed with distinction!
Sadly, administration of Ritalin by his mother, against my express wishes and to his severe detriment, has left him with a couple of problems - like any addict, he occasionally craves the 'effect' the Ritalin gave him, and on occasion has even requested his mother to procure Ritalin for him, particularly when he's feeling stressed. This, against all reason and logic, she does. Which only means that he has to wean himself off the Ritalin AGAIN later. This cycle has repeated itself for the last few years, but thankfully he will be coming to live with me permanently from the end of this year - and then, for the first time, I will finally be able to protect him against this irresponsible and dangerous tendency on the part of his mother. Note well that she is not alone in her abuse of my son - she has been aided and abetted in her abuse of my son by the very people who should have protected him - the teachers, the school psychologists, and even the legal profession.
I've done extensive research on the subject - and I freely admit that there are certain cases in which Ritalin is the most effective and suitable drug for that particular child. But those cases comprise, according to many experts on the subject, a FRACTION OF A PERCENT of all the children currently receiving Ritalin for supposed ADD/ADHD. Nowadays, it is common for at LEAST 10% (sometimes even three times that percentage) of all children in any class/standard/grade to be classified as, and be receiving Ritalin for, ADD/ADHD.
Be that as it may, I knew right from the start that my son was not ADD/ADHD, and that Ritalin was not the right thing for him. But the teachers he encountered, instead of looking at his obvious intelligence and the quality of the questions he asked, saw only an irritation and inconvenience when he asked "But WHY?" - and his mother listened to them, rather than to the professionals I eventually convinced her to consult. It has taken me over a decade to reach the position where my son now recognises that the Ritalin is bad for him, and that his answer lies in academic stimulation and hard work - but he will always crave the effect he experienced on Ritalin.
Tell me this honestly: What kind of adult addicts their OWN CHILD to a dangerous drug like Ritalin, without first having every possible test done, consulting the top experts in that field, familiarising themselves with the possible side-effects and dangers of Ritalin, and trying ALL the alternatives?
Ritalin may very well be the right thing for your child. I don't presume to tell you that it isn't. But given the list of side-effects, and the fact that death can and does result as a side-effect of Ritalin, I would venture to suggest that you seek at least a second opinion on the matter, specifically and preferably from a psychiatrist who is vehemently opposed to the wholesale administration of such a potentially lethal drug to non-consenting and uninformed children. And don't allow yourself to be bullied into asking your G.P. for Ritalin by teachers whose only motivation is a pay-cheque. Always, always, always do what is best for your child - and if you're in doubt, find yourself an expert who really knows what they're doing. A General Practitioner and/or a schoolteacher don't come anywhere CLOSE to that description.