ADD / ADHD and Ritalin

Ritalin is a central nervous system stimulant first introduced in 1956. It is used to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and adults suffering from narcolepsy.

Ritalin works by increasing the activity of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and important for reinforcement of behavior. By blocking transporters, Ritalin allows more dopamine to reach receptors in the brain - thus increasing attention signaling and helping people with ADD and ADHD to focus.

Ritalin has a good track record of helping children with hyperactive disorders, and is well tolerated by most children. However, there are some who should not take Ritalin, including children:

• Under 6 years old
• With marked anxiety, tension, and agitation
• Who have glaucoma
• With motor tics, Tourette's syndrome, or a family history of Tourette's syndrome
• Taking MAO inhibitors
• With bi-polar disease

Ritalin, like all prescription drugs, does carry the risk of dependence and can cause unpleasant side-effects. When Bi-polar Disease is misdiagnosed as ADHD it can cause violent behavior, so diagnosis should be well considered.

Because each individual is different, some children who have ADHD do not respond well to Ritalin treatment. In addition, some parents recognize that Ritalin does not address the underlying cause of ADHD and fear that the side-effects could be more dangerous than the treatment - and thus wish to avoid its use.

Sarah was one of those mothers.

Following is a case study, written by a Bach Flower Practitioner, outlining the story of Sarah and her son Ronny:
Sarah came to me distraught for a consultation about her son, Ronny, a second grader. Ronny was on probation at his school, and the school psychologist had told Sarah that if she wanted her son to remain at the school, Sarah must immediately start him on Ritalin.
Sarah looked exhausted. “I know about Ritalin and its side effects,” she told me. “The school is simply incapable of dealing with my son, and they want to drug him no matter what the price.”

“And how do you deal with his behavior?” I asked her. The entire time we’d been talking, Ronny ran from one side of the room to the other, stopping occasionally to let out a yell or to hit his mother.

“It’s very hard,” she replied, “but I don’t believe in medicating, so I’m looking for other solutions.”

I called Ronny over. He stopped running for a moment and asked me, “What do you want?”
I asked him, “Do you know why your mother brought you here?” He answered that it was because he’s out of control and hits other children, because he’s unable to control his behavior. Despite the fact that he giggled as he answered, and plucked threads out of the pillows on the couch, it was clear to me that he’d answered honestly.
“Would you like me to help you control your behavior?” I asked him.
“How?” he asked defiantly, pulling the button out of the pillow.
Ignoring this, I asked him, “Would you like your teacher and the other kids to like you?”

“Yeeesss,” he answered, kicking his mother and not looking at me.

“Come here,” I bade him quietly. “Let me show you something.” I took out a pretty wooden box that contained bottles of Bach flower essences.

“What’s in there?!” Ronny shouted.

“They’re magic potions,” I whispered. “Would you like to see inside?” I opened the box to show him.

“Wow,” he said in awe, examining the 38 bottles, and the two of us began a fascinating conversation about potions and magic.

At the end of the session, Ronny clutched a colored paper bag that contained the bottle I’d given him, which contained his “magic potion”. The potion’s “job” was to cause the teacher and principal and children to like Ronny and to stop getting angry at him. I asked Ronny to call me if he had any questions, and if he wanted, to come back and tell me how it was going with the potion.

Ronny fell in love with his essence. His mother sewed a pretty bag for the bottle, which Ronny proudly wore around his neck as he told the other children about his magic potion. His big sister, a fifth grader, met him at recess and helped him to take the drops of essence under his tongue.

Ronny saw me once a week for three months. He told me that the children would ask him where the potion comes from, but he didn’t want to reveal its source. He would show me the gold stars that he’d earned from his teacher, and told me that once the teacher had even told the children that they should try to sit as nicely as he does. “What a funny teacher,” he laughed.
It sounds like a miracle: Ronny’s behavior at school rapidly improved. While he still went wild at home, walking on the furniture and driving his family members crazy, gradually, there too, there was less and less need to punish him. It’s important to point out here that Sarah also took an essence, as well as guidance on how to respond to her son’s provocations.
In most cases, children with ADHD really do want to behave themselves, but do not have the tools with which to control their own behavior. By re-balancing their energies, Bach Flower Essences give them the help they so desperately want, without subjecting them to the dangers of drugs.

If your child is "out of control," why not give Feel Bach's Attention Deficit formula a try before resorting to drugs?

And… if your child has a story like Ronnie's, we'd love to hear it. Just send us an email and we'll share your success and your advice with others.