I recently read an article in The Globe and Mail regarding Canada’s health system. It said, “Last year, more than two million prescriptions for Ritalin and other ADHD drugs were written specifically for children under 17, and at least 75 per cent of them were for young males.”
With the population of Canada reaching just over 33 million, this is a huge number and remotely disturbing. According to this 7 to 10 percent of kids under 17 are affected by ADHD, when globally only 3 to 5% are diagnosed annually. Our Canadian children that much more prone to ADHD then the rest of the world, I don’t think so.
They’re blaming this problem on the bias of teachers and saying that female teachers cannot control hyper boys and thus blame it on ADHD. Which may play a part in these statistics, but teachers aren’t the ones prescribing the meds. Doctors are the one diagnosing kids after just one visit and prescribing the ADHD meds. Aren’t doctors the one who made $249 million dollars selling these meds last year? The kid goes home and takes the pills, calms down, the teacher is happy so the parents are happy. Why experience your kid to these drugs just because the teacher can’t control them in class. Maybe we should try giving our kids a little less sugar before we start giving them Ritalin.
There’s obviously legitimate kids affected by ADHD. All I’m saying is that beware of your children’s behavior because as a parent you know your child the best, and if you really truly believe your kid has a problem then bring them to testing. Ask yourself is it the teacher only having a problem with the child, is the child bored in class? The Canadian school system is wonderful at meeting the needs of only those you can sit in a desk all day and listen to the teacher speak, without any hands on or other alternative learning.
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