Disclaimer: I've rewritten this a couple times now, and I'm finding it difficult to express myself without posting potential flamebait. I am not saying with this post, for example, that taking a small dose of Wellbutrin as a child will result in you stealing a car and driving around the Northeast really strung out on controlled substances.

When I met a friend of mine, adderall came up in discussion. He was on it for three or four years as a child and is now completely deadset against the use of medication in ADHD. We went down this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall#Side_effects - "Had that, had that, had that...swelling of the hands and feet, didn't have that." Another friend of mine grabbed his hand and slapped it four or five times, and he said "Swelling goes down. It might account for why you have no feeling in your hands."

He had some really terrible reactions to that drug. He didn't get off it until he slipped a few into his mother's drink, which resulted in her having hallucinations.

A person I've met a couple times has been medicated from the age of eight. He recently stole a couple grand from his parents in a violent confrontation, then their car, and drove around with some friends around the Northeastern US for a couple weeks, really strung out on, I believe, opiates. My father recently met a man whose nine year-old son was medicated with an anti-psychotic.

That said, I really don't agree with medicating children for mental disorders. I think, eventually, society will view the use of amphetamines and amphetamine salts in children the same way they do the use of involuntary electroshock therapy or bleeding with a lancet. I'm an aspie, that is, I'm on the autistic spectrum, and I would probably be a different person entirely if my parents decided to feed me pills as a child. Not different in a good way, either.

Diet is probably a major factor in some of the negative aspects of these disorders and so-called disorders. I feel more focused and less bitter since I've gone off of processed foods (probably gluten). I don't see why anyone would medicate their children when there are so many other options out there.

The body changes constantly and allergy testing needs to be rechecked every so often. I just had mine redone last spring.

ADHD is not a mental disorder it's a neurological disorder. The portion of the brain affected is the same area that affects those with Tourette's syndrome-the frontal lobe. Medication has been a godsend for my child.

Well, mentally as in "Of, or relating to, the mind." Or is this a classification issue?

Those of us with neurological conditions dislike the stigma of "mental illness." I'm not crazy, but I am neurologically atypical.

...or neurologically diverse works. My HFA girlfriend prefers the term "Mentally Interesting". Of course, in her case she is both neurologically diverse and (her term, not mine) "bat shit crazy".

My son is neurologically diverse, but NOT crazy. My husband has bipolar disorder...so yeah...crazy...at times...by his own admission.

That all being said, medication is often necessary. A friend's son was diagnosed as schizoaffective at age 13. without meds, he would be in jail and his family would most likely be dead. He is now 19, has a job, and is building his life after going off meds at 18 and spiraling out of control. Again, getting back on meds kept him out of jail because he was starting to listen to that "kill your family" voice again. He is stable now, but this poor kid can't afford to skip a single pill.

I think that some "syndromes" come in what I call "gene packages". I am not a doctor, but I have Type 2 ADD (th non-hyper kind of AD/HD). I am also carb sensitive, have rheumatoid factor in my blood, and during periods of extreme stress, my body goes into fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue mode. My sisters have the same issues as do some of my 6 nieces!! The only difference being---my older sister doesnot have any AD/HD, and my younger sister has the hyperactive ADHD. My grandmother was carb sensitive, obese, and had rheumatoid factor in her blood. As I understand it, rheumatoid factor is seen in people who can potentially develop auto-immune diseases...and there is a prevailing attitude in some medical circles that fibromyalgia is an auto-immune disorder related to grain or gluten sensitivity. There are genetic tie-ins but not everyone with gluten or grain issues will develop fibromyalgia symptoms...many doctors recommend a no sugar/no refined carb/ample protien diet for those with both kinds of AD/HD. I guess you could say that in some families these health issues do over lap or are interrelated.

Sorry. I, myself, suspect myself an aspie (and my brother too, who has many more supposed autistic traits than I do). I occasionally refer to neurological conditions as such, although accidentally. I've been trying to avoid it since I read the Neanderthal paper in your signature some months ago.

Are there any "drop-in replacement" terms for "autistic spectrum disorders?"