Ritalin as treatment for ADHD essays

Ritalin as treatment for ADHD essays Imagine your child is entering school for the very first time. Imagine also your child has been diagnosed with the same disorder that over 2.5 million school-age children in the United States have been diagnosed with in the past decade, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) a disorder that affects at least one child in every classroom in the U.S. the disorder is marked by hyperactivity, inattentiveness and, impulsiveness. Now you must make the tough decision to medicate your child as a treatment for his disorder with the all to popular medication prescribed for this disorder called Ritalin. Though you are aware of the many controversies surrounding your decision, you are confident this is the best decision for your child because it has been scientifically proven that Ritalin is the best treatment for ADHD. As a prescription medication, Ritalin an amphetamine has been around for a long time. It was first invented around 1930. Back then, doctors used Ritalin to treat adults for narcolepsy, a sleep disorder. In 1937, scientists discovered that it could also be used to treat children with severely disruptive behavior and hyperactivity problems. Since the early 1960s, Ritalin has been used to treat ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD. It has been the most commonly prescribed drug for these disorders since the early 1980s (Beal 20). Although many professionals oppose medicating children with Ritalin, for most children with ADHD/ADD, medication is an integral part of treatment. Medication is not used to control behavior. Medication is used to improve the symptoms of ADHD so that the individual can function more effectively (CHADD). Some research studies suggest that stimulant drugs such as Ritalin increase the concentration of dopamine within the brain , and, in doing so, enable the child to gain control over his behavior, to pay attention to the most important stimulus entering his brain, to c...