I agree, MM, and I was appalled to find so many parents who just automatically put their kids on stims the first time someone even mentioned ADHD- and these were kids that were 5, 6, 7 yo. I'm not saying that some kids don't need them, but it would take more than one opinion for me to do it- or, some real time spent with someone qualified to make that diagnosis. What was worse, scripts were given before there was effort to cut out caffeine drinks at bedtime on a school night, decrease sugar intake, increase sleep hours, decrease stress and stimulation at home (people who were constantly having friends over), increase routine and structure at home. And this isn't meant to blame the parents- I was seeing a counselor at the time who counseled families where adhd was involved. He was telling me all this stuff the counselors cover with these families and the kids. None of it had to do with educating the family about effects of overstimulation. And many parents we knew were very young (unlike me!) with their first kid. They probably did this innocently and unknowingly.
Obviously, this situation doesn't fit all parents or households, but I did see it in many people we knew in our neighborhood and at difficult child's scout troop.
Anyway, I'm trying to get a counselor set up at the place that did difficult child's MDE in October. The psychiatrist there believed in dealing with as much as possible through adequate therapy (not rewards and punishment- but cognitive- where difficult child actually learns to identify triggers and how to cope with daily life better, etc) with the goal of minimizing the amount of medications he will need in the short term and long term. And, he needs to develop these skills anyway- medications or no medications. Also, there is supposed to be work with me to learn more about helping him de-esscalate and things like that. It sounded a little more along the line of CPS, which I would love to find through counseling.
difficult child said today that when he'd lost all the good friends he had (really, one good friend and a few mutual friends from that friend), the only kids that wanted anything to do with him were the ones doing drugs. He said he never did any (he was on drug testing) but now he doesn't want to hang out with those kids anyway. I'm sure there will be plenty more situations like this coming up, but I just keep trying to support and encourage him when he seems to be making good decisions. Hopefully, if he's home by the end of the summer, he'll be able to make friends with kids who aren't doing drugs once school starts back.