ADHD Medication in Belgium

€7.6 m was paid out for ADHD medication Ritalin (known in Belgium as Rilatine) in 2008, up from €4.2 million in 2005.

Are there really more children suffering from ADHD or more parents and teachers suffering from impatience? We live in a society of immediate gratification where we have to have IT now. But we also live in a society of stress bearing more and more on all of us, resulting in less time to spend with children. Children spend far more hours sitting in front of TV, playing computer games or using games consoles. They watch the same episode over and over on DVD rather than seeking new stories which stimulate the imagination. These children who are classified as ADHD because they cannot sit still and focus on school subjects, can often sit still for hours and concentrate on their computer games. So are they really suffering from attention deficity and hyperactivity, or are just the product of the crazy lifestyle we now live? I remember sitting quietly for 20 minutes at the start of the day for school assembly, a time to come together and reflect before beginning lessons. At primary school we lay down for half an hour after lunch to relax. Today kids are running around in the playground, often playing competitive games.

Gone are the days when children could sit quietly and build something from junk using their own imagination.

Some children with ADHD gain help from Hendrickx Technique found in Hasselt. Educational Kinesiology can also give enormous benefit for learning difficulties, dyslexia, spelling, reading and writing. There is a Flemish woman in Berchem who also sees children in English for 40 € per session. By co-ordinating the two brain hemispheres through fun exercises, it brings fast and measurable results.

I will make myself unpopular saying this but some people prefer to hold on to the identity of a label eg ADHD, dyslexia joining the victims "poor me" support groups rather than exploring therapies and techniques which have already helped thousands of people. It is your choice.

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