Research Free Write

Shannon Cox

Research Free Write

10-8-12

Something about giving a child a medication just so that they have the ability to learn like everyone else in their classroom strikes me as odd. Due to this recent discovery I have decided to research a little more into the fairly new epidemic of attention deficit disorder and the treatment of Ritalin that seems to be the easy way out for parents and teachers alike. I am curious to find out if Ritalin is necessary for school age children to learn probably when they are diagnosed with ADD. I currently do not have a stance on the topic, however from what I have found out I think that the other options that are offered for children that have ADD should be utilized far before they just take the easy way out and have kids popping pills twice a day due to their inability to focus.

I know that there is a lot of information regarding this topic on the internet, which is why I plan to try and only use educational sites when researching. I am also in the process of getting permission from an elementary school to talk to their school nurse and counselors about what their opinion on Ritalin is, and if they really feel like it is necessary for a child to learn. I have a little sister who is 9 and has friends that take Ritalin, so I have also asked her to see if any of those children have been off of Ritalin for a certain amount of time and have noticed any difference in their ability to learn. Should she find someone that has I plan on interview them as well as their parents just to get a better understanding of its affects in the classroom?

I know that this is going to be a hard topic to research just due to the controversy as well as all the opposing opinions. I also am aware that by researching this I am going to have to be very selective as to what I use and what sites pull just due to the wide range of things that ADD is associated with. I also know that due to the sensitivity of the topic I have to be very careful with any interviews that I conduct and my word choice when talking to the kids. It’s not an easy topic in my opinion however due to my indented major as well as my super hyper two year old son I have it’s something that I am very interested in learning more about.