whats up so far

Children are the next generation; good health is what Americans are striving for. There seems to be a pill for everything. There is a pill to lose weight, there is a pill to stop the sniffles, everything. Parents want the best for their kids. They will pay outrageous amounts of money just to make their child’s life the best it could be. The American Psychiatric Association has been a very reliable association because they have the knowledge and the power to help kids think straight, and lead normal lives. Many parents like that therapists have been there and will always be around. What happens when such reliable people become over-reliant on drugs? Like said before there is a pill for everything. The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) in 2002 promised that there are wonderful drugs that aren’t addictive. They were wrong and they need to fix this act. Ritalin has worked wonders, both good and bad. Ritalin needs to be seriously looked into. When glimpsing at the bright side of Ritalin use, it seems like it is a wonder drug, but then there is the not so bright side, there has been deaths from using Ritalin for too many years.

Ritalin is what many children need. Unfortunately is exactly what their bodies can’t handle. Ritalin is a blessing for parents with children whose brains are hyperactive. It is the ultimate ‘chill pill’. It helps children focus for at least four hours. Even though school can last more than six, most children can get by on only one dose, given in the morning. This is likely because the good feelings the child experiences from controlled behavior are enough to sustain him well into the afternoon. However, a second dose can still be given if needed. Ritalin, also known as Methylphenidate, is recommended for children under the age of 18, to help control Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, previously referred to as ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder. According to icpa4kids.org, there are approximately 4 million children, in the United States alone, diagnosed with ADHD. All of these people, Ritalin is helping lead productive lives. The only people certified to diagnose a child are people have a medical degree, from medical family doctors to trained psychiatrists. This side of Ritalin should have parents excited to help their children with living somewhat normal, focused lives. The sad thing is that the BPCA is okay with a drug that has a much more large down side compared to its upside.

Seeing the bit of good Ritalin can be doesn’t make up for the complete opposite side of the spectrum of the drug. There have been 51 deaths among children taking drugs for ADHD in the US since 1999 (Boseley). This should be a big concern for parents with children taking Methylphenidate. This monstrous drug has been the cause of 186 deaths between the years 1990 and 2000, and 56 deaths in February 2006. One of these deaths was to a 14 year-old boy named Mathew. He seemed to be completely happy and healthy. Then on March 21, 2000 he suddenly died. He was prescribed Ritalin at age 7. His parents thought that Ritalin was a blessing, but it turned out to be disaster. The normal heart of a young teenager is 302 grams. Due to Mathew’s large use of Ritalin, his heart weighed an extra 52 pounds. Another scary fact, Methylphenidate damages the heart and its vessels.

Wow Breana has a pretty intense and personal topic. I think she is very much so on the correct track on narrowing sown her topic. Like me she has changed her mind from her first choice. but i think she is doing very well making her topic very controversial. But maybe she can go more into how these drugs are harming people, and why. i don’t really know how to help her anymore on how to narrow it and make it better because i think she is doing avery good job on her own. With more research and time her paper will be very intersesting to read. Its lke my paper in a sence, many parents and loved ones of children with such tramatizing symptoms. And way to be breana for being brave enough to write on a personal topic. I don’t think I would be able to do it. Good luck and I hope you get some of that information some docotrs “forget to give you.”

Seeing the bit of good Ritalin can be doesn’t make up for the complete opposite side of the spectrum of the drug. There have been 51 deaths among children taking drugs for ADHD in the US since 1999 (Boseley). This should be a big concern for parents with children taking Methylphenidate. This monstrous drug has been the cause of 186 deaths between the years 1990 and 2000, and 56 deaths in February 2006. One of these deaths was to a 14 year-old boy named Mathew. He seemed to be completely happy and healthy. Then on March 21, 2000 he suddenly died. He was prescribed Ritalin at age 7. His parents thought that Ritalin was a blessing, but it turned out to be disaster. The normal heart of a young teenager is 302 grams. Due to Mathew’s large use of Ritalin, his heart weighed an extra 52 pounds. Another scary fact, Methylphenidate damages the heart and its vessels.

This is a bit out of order but I like this part more than my PIE paragraph, so I will work on that and post it soon.

Ritalin is what many children need. Unfortunately is exactly what their bodies can’t handle. Ritalin is a blessing for parents with children whose brains are hyperactive. It is the ultimate ‘chill pill’. It helps children focus for at least four hours. Even though school can last more than six, most children can get by on only one dose, given in the morning. This is likely because the good feelings the child experiences from controlled behavior are enough to sustain him well into the afternoon. However, a second dose can still be given if needed. Ritalin, also known as Methylphenidate, is recommended for children under the age of 18, to help control Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, previously referred to as ADD. There are approximately 2 million children, in the United States alone, diagnosed with ADHD. The only people certified to diagnose a child are people who have a medical degree, from medical family doctors to trained psychiatrists. This side of Ritalin should have parents excited to help their children with living somewhat normal, focused lives. The sad thing is that the BPCA is okay with a drug that has a much more large down side compared to its upside.

Children are the next generation, good health is what Americans are striving for. There seems to be a pill for everything. There is a pill to lose weight, there is a pill to stop the sniffles, everything. Parents want the best for their kids. They will pay outrageous amounts of money just to make their child’s life the best it could be. The American Psychiatric Association has been a very reliable association because they have the knowledge and the power to help kids think straight, and lead normal lives. Many parents like that therapists have been there and will always be around. What happens when such reliable people become lo reliant on drugs. Like said before there is a pill for everything. The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) in 2002 promised that there are wonderful drugs that aren’t addictive. They were wrong and they need to fix this act.

Vallee, Manuel. Pharmaceuticalizing Childhood: Ritalin usage in France and the United States    

            http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/4/3/0/6/pages243069/p243069-7.php

            This is just a slide show, but in it Manuel shows how America and France are so different in diagnosing children with ADHD. It has some reasons to why France is working so hard in making it more difficult to prescribe children with unneeded medication.

 National Institute of Mental Health  About Teen Deppression: A Fact sheet

http://www.about-teen-depression.com/teen-depression.html

            This Article is talking about how the rate of teens with depression has increased so dramatically within the past few year. It also talks about the different ways of treating depression without medication.

 Corey, Gerald, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, P. 315-316.

        In this part of the book describes a study which was performed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck called ‘Cognitive Theory of Depression’ challenges the notion that depression results from anger turned against themselves.

 ”Depression.” 4 May 2008 <http://www.kidshealth.org>.

            So many kids are told that they are depressed, its making them even more depressed. This site talks about ways to help prevent depression.

 pharmaceuticalized American life http://www.medrants.com/archives/2532

            This is a doctor that takes a sarcastic look on how America is stuck on drugs. This will help me because he and I have the same outlook on the subject.

 Psychiatric Drugs and your Child

http://breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38

                        Dr. Breggin expressed the same concerns as I have. He believes that too many therapist are relying on drugs to cure everything.

So I am going to be completely honest, I am not quite sure about how I will be going about this paper on child psycology.  But I have seen, with some minor resarch, that there has been a big controversy with linking child developement and psychology. Some Therapists say that child developement is based on adaptations to the environment, social, and cultural influences.  The controversy is that its based on active or passive development. Its quite interesting that therapists can say that a child’s development is based soley on their on decisions. They say that it is all whether they want to be active in ‘choosing their own path’ or to be passive and let others decide who they should be. This controversy has been around for years, but it has been very subtle, but its intersesting reading about the arguement and how intese it has become over the last 50 years. The first group of therapists think that developemet is gradual without sudden change. The second group is saying that it is all pretty sudden. based on hormones and abrupt changes in a childs life, developement is very much so effected. The problem is that I haven’t done enough major research to decide who side I am ready to take. Both sides are somewhat correct in my opinion. but we shall see.

Chantel was saying that she could not decide what she wanted to write about. The two subjects she brought up was Meth abuse in Wyoming, or the false preception of the body. By this I believes she is talking about how young girls want to look like their Barbie dolls. This is ver controversial, and the Meth abuse would be a wonderful paper, unfortunately, I don’t think anyone would really argue against the fact that Meth abuse is a serious problem. I would suggest that she writes on the bodily image. I believe there is a real problem in our world today. One of my favorite TV channels is TLC and one of its newest shows is “Toddlers in Tiras”.  This show is very frightening. It shows little girls that are more obsessed about their weight than I am with mine. This is WRONG! But what is even more disturbing is that the mothers on the show are making these little girls eat only certain things, say certain things, making them wear more make-up than most girls I know that are 10 years older than them. I believe the bodily image has been bent all wrong. As for Jason Thompson’s essay, the first topic would be very interesting to see what direction he goes, and . Therefore, I vote for essay number 1!

English this year has been an all knew experience. It has been an English class with its up’s and down’s, but every class does. The debates and in class discussions have probably been the best part because you get to see how big and small the world can be. Everyone’s true emotions come out when controversial subjects arise. I like to analyze what people are thinking when other people are talking. Analyzing people is quite a task, which makes it all that much more fun, and interesting. Teenagers and Adults who can understand what is going on is challenging, yes, but young kids on the other hand, they are a bit more of a handful. They don’t know how to hide their emotions, but then again they don’t always have an opinion on what is going on around them. Processing children’s thoughts is very intriguing, and I have always enjoyed having a challenge. Therefore, in order to help me overcome this challenge, the topic I want to write my research paper on, is child psychology. Child psychology was one of the majors I considered, but I couldn’t make up my mind. I am hoping this paper will help me finally declare a major. Then again it could end up horribly and make me not want to declare a major yet. We will just have to see.

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