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
