Loni Neilson
11 March, 2012
Mackenzie Cole
Writ 101 Section 28
Op-Ed
Personality Masked by
Medication
Every human being has their own personality. They have a right to their
own personality. Now it is practically required to fit in to certain social
groups and by doing so you must have a certain personality. Diversity is not
accepted amongst social groups. Now many people in school go through the usual
bullying because they act and or look different. My question is why? Why can’t
people be different? Why is it not seen as beauty to be different from others?
I have never really experienced bullying from others I learned from an early
age how to become and iguana and blend in with the social groups around me.
Some children never learned this trait and always seemed to pay the price, one
of those children being my younger brother Nolan.
LN: Do you feel like people need to be more
accepting of different personalities in the educational setting?
NN: If you have ADHD you already do think
that something is wrong you because you don’t work like other people and then
when other people find out that you aren’t like other people they exploit that.”
My brother has to be one of the funniest kids that you will ever meet.
He has a brilliant mind that is able to create art pieces that my mind couldn’t
even begin to understand. He has so much courage to speak out about his opinion
and against others. I was never that brave. My younger brother is becoming more
and more beautiful to me as I get older. I have become envious of him over the
years that I have moved from my family’s home.
I look back on how I treated my brother and how others treated him
because he acted differently. He always had trouble staying still and paying
attention and to must people those traits are immediately dubbed as annoying
and an inconvenience to handle. Nolan was taken to the doctor and diagnosed with
“Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder”. My Brother was officially labeled.
This label would soon become his invisible handicap. The label alone tore my
beautiful brother down. Soon people were telling him he couldn’t do anything because
he had ADHD. He was told this so much that he too started to believe that he was
incapable of doing anything.
The drugs that they put my brother on made him
a different human being. The first drug that he trialed was Strattera, Of course
dramatic things started happening to my brother. He couldn’t eat and he was
losing weight drastically. Even though these side effects were taking over his
life he wanted to keep taking the medication so that people would start to like
him. When asked about the medications his immediate response was “It sucks all
the happiness out of you.”
An Article in the Drug
enquirer lists many of the cons for Strattera. The
Article states side effects such as
“In some children and teens, Strattera
increases the risk of suicidal thoughts or actions. The most common side
effects in children and teenagers include upset stomach, decreased appetite,
nausea or vomiting, dizziness, tiredness, and mood swings.”
Due to these side effects my parents decided to try a new
medication. This medication was called Concerta. This medication had received
the black box warning label from the FDA. This drug includes many of the same
side effects as the drug Strattera plus an additional few. The article about Concerta in the drug
enquirer states
“Common
Side Effects: Addiction, Nervousness
including agitation, anxiety and irritability ,Trouble sleeping
(insomnia), Decreased appetite, Headache, Stomach ache, Nausea, Dizziness,
Heart palpitations, Slowing of growth (height and weight) in children,
Seizures, mainly in patients with a history of seizures, Eyesight changes or
blurred vision”
When
I asked Nolan in his interview about the medications that he had taken and
their effects on him personally he responded:
NN: “I
think it’s changed me… like irreversibly.”
LN:
Even though you’re not on it anymore? You still feel like you are?
NN: “Yes,
like people will always ask, why don’t you like laugh anymore? It’s like sorry.
People wanted me to be less annoying.”
LN:
Did you ever have suicidal thoughts?
NN: “Yes,
every day”
LN: Do
you still have suicidal thoughts?
NN: “Yes.
I think I was like thirteen when I had my first real suicidal thought and I was
fourteen when I actually tried to go out and take care of it.”
LN:
What do you think now?
NN: “I’m
glad that I didn’t.”
ADHD is rather a new developmental disorder. When asked when
was ADHD discovered? Doctor Donna Howes stated her answer
“The first reports of
what we now call attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appeared in
1902. At that time, doctors observed and wrote about children's impulsivity,
inattention, and hyperactivity. During the 1970s, doctors narrowed ADHD down to
three types: primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive-impulsive, and
combined type. ADHD was known as ADD (attention deficit disorder) for quite
some time. In 1994, the "H" was added to the name. Experts changed
the name because hyperactivity was such a significant and common symptom of the
condition.”
As you can see
ADHD has been noticed for quite some time but this wasn’t even designated as a
disorder until the seventies. This developmental disorder has only been around for
a century however we’ve just started to issue medications for it in the last
few decades. I believe that my brother would have never been put on medication
if teachers hadn’t asked my parents to do it. I don’t believe that is a teacher’s
place. Schools should have more options for students. They should be willing to
put the effort forward to work with that student.
LN: If you could make a statement for
schools for ADHD students what would you think would be most beneficial for
those that don’t have a successful turnout with the drugs?
NN: “Well like an ADHD student like you
cannot help them, the thing is you have to teach them to help themselves. that’s
the thing about ADHD is they won’t pay attention and they will not ask for help
because they feel embarrassed. ADHD students do well with online classes
because they feel like they’re helping themselves. That is a very maturing
feeling.”
I am very
proud of my brother and everything that he has overcome. However I feel that
there is a necessary change that must happen in our educational systems for
students like my brother. The first step to this change is to help them not
make them more convenient for society.
Works Cited
"Concerta side effects." Drug Enquirer. N.p., July 26,
2011. Web. 7 Mar 2012. <http://www.concertasideeffects.com/>.
Donna,
Howes. "ADHD Discovery." Share
Care. N.p., n.d. Web. 78 Mar 2012.
<http://www.sharecare.com/question/when-was-adhd-first-discovered>.
Neilson, Nolan. Personal Interview. 03/10/2012.
"Strattera
side effects." Drug
Enquirer. N.p., 05/08. Web. 03/07/2012.
<http://www.stratterasideeffects.com/>.
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