The man to your right is a universal symbol of intellect . For those of you who don't know , he is Sir Isaac Newton . A man of diverse intelligence , a boy who was something of a malcontent . Yes , Newton had opinions as a child and freely expressed them with little more than a whack on the ass as punishment . However , wee pain-in-the-ass Isaac was born in 1643 , long before shrinks and drugs and sissy parents were put in place to mutilate the crania of the bright. while I will never claim to possess the world-changing wherewithal of this amazing specimen , his estimated IQ is the same as Albert Einstein's . And mine .Today , a man posted a blog about the overmedication of children and was naturally very disturbed by the whole idea . So I decided to respond with a personal story and a few points . I think this needs to be retold so I will post the comment and a blog link .
HERE'S THE BLOG ... and this is my response. ...
Another thing to Grow On
As I have previously alluded to , I was used as a pharmaceutical testing ground as a kid and exposed to numerous drugs for NO valid reason other than a bigoted doctor and a paranoid over-medicated mother . My mother had been taking me to psychiatrists for years who all assured her that I was perfectly sane but very intelligent and to leave me alone . That is until she found a FAMILY DOCTOR (not a psychiatrist) who started giving me a lot of drugs . These drugs were primarily experimental at the time , although NONE of them are FDA-approved for people under 18 . Not only was I underage , I was still growing and at a very rapid rate . The side effects were no picnic at the time , but the worst thing of all is the fact that , since I was never mentally ill in the first place , I now have IRREVERSIBLE damage to the neurotransmitters in my brain and now I have to take a small amount of an antiquated drug (incidentally the same drug Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were taking when they massacred over a dozen people), lest I become psychotic .
I have a medically manufactured mental illness caused by greed and paranoia that I will have to live with for the rest of my life .
If anyone tells you to put your kid on mind-altering drugs , run as fast as you can in the opposite direction - even if it means pulling your kid out of a school with a shrink on the staff.
Most of the kids given medical lobotomies are of a very high intellect - look at the stats yourself - the vast majority are in the top 5% intellectually . I'm sure Americans don't get as much information about such things , but the median IQ of Canadian children diagnosed with serious mental illnesses is almost 40 points higher than average.
Genius needs to be nurtured , not stifled by parents afraid that their kids will be seen as socially awkward .
When did intelligence become a mental disorder??
This is so sad. I am truly sorry what's been done to you :(
ReplyDeleteShoshanna , these drugs were fairly new and nobody knew better at the time . I certainly don't blame my mother for it but I do blame the person who insisted to her that I needed the drugs in the first place . All I was was a socially awkward smart kid and my mum misunderstood it . My mother was overmedicated for her misunderstood genius and shitty coping skills and became convinced that I needed the same thing. She is a victim of the drug pushers as much as I am .
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you posted this. When my son was young numerous doctors and therapists wanted to put him on medications but I refused. They took away his joy and fasination with the world and I hated that. No child should have their joy taken away by a medication. Yes, it hasn't been easy and yes, there are times he is a challenge, but I would rather face challenges then find out later he was harmed by some doctor who "said" it was good for him.
ReplyDeleteThose who stand up for this belief face a great deal of negative talk so I appreciate you standing up for what you believe in. Thank you.