Students are required to make at least three reflective posts (100 word minimum) to the comments of other students.   

You must begin by first stating “I believe your main (basic)point was”.  You may then proceed to discuss your viewpoint and advance or clarify you contribution to the discussion topic.

Discussion Topic

ADHD is a controversial topic, to say the least. When a child is presented with symptoms such as Alex, I would thoroughly research other mood disorders, as well as personality disorders. Since he was a victim of being bullied, I believe his self-worth declined. Which in return can harm a child’s development. If that child also has other factors, such as being overweight, sensitive, and even hyper-vigilant. It could result in a powerful trio of self esteem issues. I strongly believe medication was his most impactful option. His wellbeing improved significantly after taking medication. Though, I also believe the attention and care he received through his parents, teachers, therapists, and psychiatrist also helped his self worth.

Robin was heavily medicated in the 6th grade. SSRI’s on top of stimulants is a very potent combination for an eleven or twelve year old. Resulting in his frequent up and down mood swings, as noticed by his teachers. Robin didn’t seem to have the same kind or amount of sympathy as Alex received. Robin may of had a different type of reaction to his behavior from his parents, teachers, and doctors. Which may of resulted in his lack of motivation to better himself. Before medicating a child I think we should research quite a bit. Almost as a social worker would. I think this could also give an insight on how the parents react to the child’s behavior. Another question before meditating would be, Has the child seen a therapist? Is the child fed nutritionally balanced foods? Is the child malnourished with unhealthy drinks and snacks? Or even does the child have a stable relationship with food? 

A potential solution for robin would have been to start with therapy, particularly for mood disorders. Then a possibility of adding medications after studying how he reacts to therapy. Never a combination of SSRI’s and stimulants. Especially at such a young age. 

According to Dr. Castillanos’ research, the brain changes and rewires itself. He believes ADHD children have a different functioning cerebellum than other children, resulting in the disorder. The cerebellum is considered the mini brain, or co-processor.

The attempt to force Robin to take Ritalin was inhumane. Robin seemed the least violent out of all the children, also the one with the least amount of control over his own treatments. I wonder if his parents divorce branched off of the possible disagreement on his mother’s decision to force the Ritalin.

It is hard to compare the two due to the lack of information on Robin. Though, from what I can tell is that he didn’t have such a great support system. His mother treated him mostly as a burden/problem, and even abandoned him because of it. His behavior may have partially been due to a toxic parent. Even though Alex was the more aggressive of the two, he had a great support system, when he needed it most. Alex’ parents took him to a water park the first day on his new medicine. Which just goes to show how much his parents strived for his wellbeing. Seeing how Alex’ symptoms worsened as he took anti-depressants just goes to show how sensitive the brain is. Robin was given quite a bit more medication on top of anti-depressants, which resulted in being hospitalized.