maximus, psychologist's can't prescribe medication. They work with thinking patterns, and education not pills. Sometimes their work is supplimented with medication (precribed by a different profession) as a means to get a behaviour under control while other issues are worked through but long term solutions via medication are not their approach.

Parenting programs and similar services are a great idea for parents confused by the massively conflicting information coming at them from so many "experts", current affairs shows, book writers and the like.

I do have somewhat less confidence than the doctor in the value of trying to make a complaint about shoddy practices though. I tried it regarding a medical doctor some time ago and could not find anybody willing to listen.

R0bert

Good day RObert, how are you going?

If I was in error about psychiatrists (doctors, if I'm not mistaken) aren't in the business of prescribing drugs then I apologize to all and sundry. However - "Ultimately pediatricians and PSYCHIATRISTS are responsible for writing prescriptions for stimulant medication. That doctors play a large part in the problem is not in dispute," writes Linda Graham, right here in this article.

Well, it seems now that that it IS in dispute, and by none other than your good self, RObert.

Linda Graham thinks they can, and psychiatrists, as doctors, I would have thought they could, but if you know better, then I stand corrected.

But just quietly RObert, I think you might be wrong about this.

If you aren't, then it makes one think, why did the good Dr Bob Montgomery write what he did in the first post above and why did Linda Graham write what she wrote in the article about psychiatrists?

Have a think about it.

Are you sure you mightn't be confusing psychologists with psychiatrists?

Maximus, good evening to you too. Have I misunderstood your original post? Dr Bob commented on what was said about psychologists in the article "It is therefore curious that she takes a swipe at psychologists who offer parents an alternative to drug treatments for improving their ability to manage children's behaviour".

Your post seemed to suggest that you thought they were the ones dishing out the medicine (in conjunction with pediatricians).

"And don't worry about the good doctor's comments above. If they're the ones dishing out these drugs, they're the very ones, that need to be doing the research to find better remedies than drugging kids stupid and to identify exactly what is causing this peculiar condition, which seems to have sprung up out of nowhere."

Psychiatrists can prescribe medication, psychologists can not. Dr Bob's comments seem to be in support of the work done by psycholgists.

No confusion here about psychiatrists and psychologists (I hope).

R0bert

Thank you for your kind comments Maximus, however I must acknowledge that Dr Montgomery has a point. I neglected to say “some” psychologists and for this I do apologise. While my swipe may offend, I still think it important that practitioners in any field examine what effect the things said and done in the name of that field may have upon parents and teachers and, in the long run, children.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, the Sunday program ran a special called “Is your child normal?” Psychologists featured heavily in that special but, as professionals, should ask themselves hard questions about how their actions come to influence parent perception and where that might lead. Then we have the trashy reality style programs like “Honey, we’re killing the kids”. I understand that a public service argument could be made here but would respond that psychological practitioners must take responsibility for how these ways of seeing and speaking come together to constitute a pervasive deficit view of child behaviour, which then comes to be taken up in the home and the classroom.

Dr Montgomery is right to say that psychologists have long been querying whether the attribution of a medical diagnosis and prescription of medication for problematic behaviour is the right course of action. However, the caveat “some” would again be appropriate here. During my review of the literature surrounding ADHD, I found that there was an interesting relationship between medicine and psychology. On one hand, and as Dr Montgomery points out, there are psychologists who challenge the medical response to behaviours said to indicate Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by calling for practitioners to avoid the use of terms such as “diagnosis” which may privilege the medical model. Then, on the other hand, there are some who argue for the validity of the behavioural descriptors and the veracity of the medical construct – in order to advance a psychosocial perspective and multimodal treatment

With respect to the field of education, whether behaviour is thought to be influenced by neurological, biological or environmental factors, medicine and psychology offer means of making adjustments to the child - leaving the pedagogical and structural arrangements of schooling relatively unaltered. This is a huge oversight and one that needs to be addressed, considering that most of the behaviours listed as characteristic of ADHD are connected with (and one could even argue contingent upon) the demands of schooling. Not blurting out answers in class, remaining in one’s seat and being still and quiet are cultural expectations brought about by the advent of mass schooling.

For example, if children were still working in the mines at nine years of age their energy levels would be considered a bonus. However, the modern and increasingly competitive demands of schooling have resulted in the rearticulation of normal childhood exuberance, curiosity and energy as “unnatural”. Problematically the contribution of changes in schooling demands - such as lowering of school entry ages, increased emphasis on academic learning and seat work, pressure for children to learn to read earlier and better, crowding of the curriculum, and the shortening of children’s recess and lunch times – barely rate a mention in the myriad of contributing and causal factors being considered in the literature around ADHD.
But… picking on psychologists (or teachers, parents, doctors etc) is a diversion.

Ultimately, everyone is responsible for the problem. Public policy in Australia currently privileges the medical model – paediatric appointments attract a sizeable Medicare rebate, stimulant medication can now be obtained for as little as $4.70/month and, in Queensland, only a medical diagnosis counts in claims for educational support funding. And, as I have said earlier, public education has been subjected to market-based reform and governments are retreating from quality public service provision. Voters are letting them. This has to change if we are ever to seriously combat the growing problem we call “ADHD”.

PS: Psychologists cannot prescribe medication, only doctors with a medical degree can

Linda

What you say makes good sense and from discussions with teachers at the sharp end there would be a lot of agreement with what you say.

Just to make one point, the insistence on unnatural behaviours to make mass education in the classroom 'efficient'(examples being sitting for in one place for lengthy periods and keeping quiet) is unkind to girls but it is tragic for boys. It is in the nature of boys that they are fidgety and need to do things to learn.

No wonder then that boys are so often (wrongly) seen as 'problems' in the classroom and in need of discipline, punishment, re-education and medication.