>We did resist giving our son medication, and waited until he decided that he wanted to try it (16 years)
I sincerely think this is a good thing to do and gives people a healthier relationship to mental health than being coerced into taking drugs with harsh side-effects.
> coerced into taking drugs with harsh side-effects.
You're not guaranteed side effects. If you do experience them, you'd normally get different medication options.
Also, you can have discussion about it and the effects. If you end up anywhere close to coercing regardless of side effects, it's not the drugs that are the problem.
>You're not guaranteed side effects. If you do experience them, you'd normally get different medication options
"Not guaranteed side-effects" is also something that's technically true, but essentially bullshit. Here's a study [1] where 71 children were studied. How many children had adverse effects? 71. This is how children are often convinced to take drugs. They are misled by people who either do or should know better, rather than being told in a more honest way "well yes if you start on methylphenidate you will have side-effects, but the pros outweigh the cons for many children". This might not be coercion, but it is manipulation. This destroys their trust in the mental health system.
What actually happens is you take the drug, you get side-effects, and you are asked if you can tolerate them. If you can't tolerate them, you'll likely switch from methylphenidate to amphetamine or vice versa, and then see if you can tolerate those or one of the many IR and XR variations or various slightly different drugs. If you can't, it's onto Strattera. Then onto guanfacine/clondine (which can also be stacked with stimulants). Then it's to off-label stuff like Wellbutrin which seldom works. Then if you've done everything you might, in some places, be offered a chance to take desoxyn.
>If you end up anywhere close to coercing regardless of side effects, it's not the drugs that are the problem.
Well, my own childhood was filled with manipulation, coercion, and perjury which were all done to subject me to medical treatments that otherwise I would have never have willingly done or been eligible for. All four of these things involved my parents and a board certified psychiatrist. Maybe I just had a fucked up childhood, but just in case I didn't, I praise people like the above poster when they show respect for their Childs autonomy. I never had a chance to develop a healthy relationship with the mental health system, so I praise parents who give their child that oppertunity. When it's so easy to just go, well my child's disabled, they don't really know what's going on, I'll just manipulate and coerce them and they'll thank me one day.
When that happens, it might not be the drugs that are the problem, but your child may associate drugs with coercion, with manipulation, with non-consent. Useful wonderful miraculous drugs become a scapegoat for a problem adults caused, to your child's detriment.
I've never personally had any them, just a mild loss in appetite, that I appreciate, as I am on the pudgier side. It makes me calmer and have even feel deeply asleep , after taking them. Also have been off them for weeks sometimes and on again when needed, with no side effects. If you are actual sufferer of ADHD, the effects and benefits are almost immediate. Not everyone might react perfectly to one type of medication, that is why there are different types out there.
I sincerely think this is a good thing to do and gives people a healthier relationship to mental health than being coerced into taking drugs with harsh side-effects.