Action Post

       The very first step to awareness would be to educate people on mental illness and the effects that it has on children early on, and how it can be maintained once you're educated about it. "Black " people in particular feel that our children are stereotyped by having ADHD and Bipolar disorder. For some reason our people think that healthcare professionals just want to medicate the "Black" child with these medications that are going to cause them harm in the long term when actually it's the other way around. People need to understand that these medications are a lot more effective now being that they're dealing with more and more children/people with these disorders.
     Ritalin was the number 1 go to medication for a long time or probably the most affordable one. A lot of people felt that Ritalin had some long term effects on their children's brain and fears that they would become dependent on the medication as time went on. There were studies that showed minor issues with children that began the medication early on vs. adults that later found out about their ADHD disorder, but it wasn't life threatening changes. Sometime you just have to trust the process and do what you feel is right for you and your family not what everyone else thinks.
     For me if I had a child that was not excelling in school or able to work up to their fullest potential or abilities I would be concerned. I wouldn't just put them on medication I would do my own research about the medication and then try it. If the meds are working and helping great no problem. I would monitor my own childs behaviors to see if theres a change or if theres an issue. Thats the problem today parents want to send their children to school and expect the teachers to deal with them, but if your child is incapable of learning because you refuse to medicate them and they're now disrupting the class and stopping others from learning that's a problem not only for your child but everybody else in the classroom as well.
     I would extra hard and diligently on these parents that are nonbelievers about this medication. I would show them how far they've come with the different types of meds for their children and how they find one that's right for them. I would also educate them on how not medicating their children can have a negative impact in their adult lives. I think it's very important for children to get all of the education and skills that they possibly can in their Elementary school years instead of waiting until their in high school and they still can't read because they weren't able to focus without meds. Something has to be done these children are our future 

Passionate Post

I chose this population because it’s something that so close to my family. I actually have a brother that’s currently suffering from it. He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression and he uses heroin. You would never think that this could happen to someone that so close to you. Growing up you would never think that one of your siblings would have to go through it. Everyone would think well we seemed pretty normal growing up; we didn’t have a rough life so I couldn’t understand why. He started with prescription drugs recreational until he lost his best friend this is when he really spiraled out of control.

            My mom has gone through hell and back again beating her self down trying to figure out where she went wrong. Looking for treatment centers where you can find some but they’re extremely expensive or they treat 1 illness and not the other. Working with individuals in this population can be draining but you have to know where these treatment centers are that accepts both mental health and addiction. My mom’s number 1 got to was always the hospital first, although she never gets past that part because he just doesn’t want the help. Then there are times when he’ll take his meds for his mental health issues and decide that he wants to work on recovery but once those meds ware off it’s another story.

The crazy part about this is that my brother was diagnosed with ADHD where my mom was instructed to put him on medication when he was in Elementary school. Like most parents that just listen to the negative about the meds she refused to give them to him. He also had a learning disability which placed him in special education. Eventually he became a problem child always in trouble in school and at home in the neighborhood, and like the studies state he began to smoke marijuana at an early age of maybe 13 or 14.  For him weed was a gateway drug because he later used PCP, to prescription meds then heroin all the while drinking alcohol. 
My mom has tried a number of things from therapy to substance abuse programs. The flip side to the substance abuse programs is that he doesn't have to stay, they can not hold him against his will unless he's mandated by the curt system. Her number 1 go to would be her calling the ambulance telling them that he was in danger of harming himself this would give him at least a 3 day stay on the mental health ward in the hospital. they provided him with medication and therapy which helped for a period of time until he went back out on a binge.

Informative Post

The topic that I chose to discuss is co-occurring disorders. Co-occurring disorders is also known as dual diagnosis and comorbidity, it’s when an individual with mental health issues also suffer with drug addiction and/or alcoholism. There are so many people that suffer from mental health issues and don’t know it or haven’t been medically diagnosed so in the place of the proper medication they choose to self-medicate. It may start out as a party drug but when they start to realize that it actually helps them to cope with feelings and emotions that they’ve been having (mental illness) they then began to use a lot more until they become dependent on this particular street drug, prescription meds and/or alcohol.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), Although drug use and addiction can happen at any time during a person’s life, drug use typically starts in adolescence, a period when the first signs of mental illness commonly appear. Comorbid disorders can also be seen among youth. During the transition to young adulthood (age 18 to 25 years), people with comorbid disorders need coordinated support to help them navigate potentially stressful changes in education, work, and relationships. The brain continues to develop through adolescence. Circuits that control executive functions such as decision making and impulse control are among the last to mature, which enhances vulnerability to drug use and the development of a substance use disorder.

I’ve read studies that states a child that is diagnosed with ADHD and is medicated is less likely to abuse drugs and a child that isn’t medicated is likely to smoke marijuana as a teen. We all know that marijuana is so called a gateway drug which I believe is true for some people. Then there are also studies that show certain meds that are prescribed for ADHD are addictive and cause children to later abuse medical and street drugs.  

I would have to say that with black people we are less likely to have our children evaluated due to embarrassment or just a lack of care. There are some parents that are in denial about the abnormalities that everyone else can clearly see but they feel that their child is completely normal. Meanwhile s/he acting out in school, being disruptive, or not meeting their developmental goals. These are all signs of your child is possibly struggling with some type of disorder. Not saying that you should just listen to a doctor that says that you should put you child on medication because they’re acting out, do your own research to find out what works best for your child.