The advertisement went on to point out that in 1983 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) called for children to receive 10 vaccinations before the age of six. Today the CDC mandates 36 vaccinations for our children.
The reasons for the change in numbers is rather obvious. Foremost among those reasons is the idea that medical advancements have made it possible for new vaccinations to be created to ward off deadly diseases that have wreaked havoc in the past. But, there have to be other reasons that might include the easy spread of diseases today that has evolved because our transportation systems have made the earth so much smaller.
The old motto, "an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure" has always made sense. Why wouldn't you prevent something before it starts instead of allowing it to root and grow and create even more problems in the elimination process? But, have we gone too far? The advertisement goes on to point out that during that same time period, roughly 24 years, that we have upped the vaccination requirements we have had an enormous growth in such neurological disorders as autism and ADHD. Of course, that leads me to ask, "Are we overmedicating our kids?"
Autism is a creature unto itself and one that I truly do not understand. The complexity of that disorder makes me shutter. Might it be Aspergers, Rett's Syndrome or Kanner's Syndrome, the visual I get when I think of autism is not a pretty picture. Granted, I know that some autism victims are rather high-functioning and can deal with society as we have created it. Others, however, are in their own little world and, while I have no desire to visit that world, it is curiosity that makes me wonder, "What is going on inside their head?"
ADHD is another animal that bewilders me. Yes, I know it exists. But, does it exist in the huge numbers that seem to be reported? I don't think so. I have long dreaded the student generated phrase "I am ADHD," when that student simply didn't want to comply with a command or do an assignment. Knowing full well that prior to the expectation of that student, things were fine, I have long suspected that the ADHD label has frequently been used as an excuse.
But I also feel that using that label as an excuse is hereditary. It has long been my belief that many parents have sought out a label for their child because they couldn't/wouldn't deal with the behavior issues of their child. Fine and dandy. But, by securing an ADHD label for their child they put them in direct access to medication that can have some troubling outcomes and it conceivably creates an unrealistic excuse system that might follow that child through life.
Mood swings, confusion, high blood pressure are just some of the side effects of these ADHD medications, especially if they are abused. Perhaps the most commonly known is methylphenidate, better known by the brand name Ritalin. Also on the list is amphetamines such as Adderall and dexamphetamines such as Dextrostat or Dexedrine.
The use of drugs has long scared me. Case in point. I am a product of a pregnancy when thalidomide was widely prescribed for pregnant mothers. Fortunately I wasn't one of the some 10,000 children that wound up with severe body deformities. Then, while in college, a research paper opened my eyes to that tragedy and set the stage for my reluctance to use medicine and my concern that the long-reaching side effects might be worse than the disease/ailment being treated.
Those two events have created in me an abhorrence to drugs. I seldom take them even when I am in pain. I would rather naturally work my way through it and not feel like I could be "overmedicating" myself.
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