To Bruce: re: ritalin

[Jeanie]

Hi Dr. Bruce,

Why isn't ritalin or other CNS stimulants used for ADHD allowed by the FAA?

Thanks
Jean

 

[LearDriver]

The better at some point allow it. With the amount of kids that have been put on that for the last 10-15 years they are going to run off a lot of future students and airmen.

 

[Brad Erichsen]

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/new...ant_pilot_medical_certification_202271-1.html

 

[AuntPeggy]

Welcome to PoA, Brad. Tell us a little about yourself.

 

[bbchien]

Ritalin isn't an SSRI. It's actually related to some drugs that produce euphoria. It's a stimulant. Remember Quaalude?

The problem with ADHD is that the FAA does not control if you have the stuff in your system, and are fine, or if you just forgot the pill that AM and are not fine. So I am not expecting any change on ritalin until there is a five year depository prep (like Norplant-which is five year birth control). Then and only then, will an SI for treated ADD, be given for five years.

No, Lear driver you have it backwards. The kids who got wrongly put on Ritalin got put on it because Mom and Dad were not interested enough to pay ~$1,800 to get real, qualified professional assessments of what was really going on with johnny, when johnny was ten. They caved and sent off to canada for pills. See, in this generation, both Mom and Dad have3 had to work to make it. They can't take time off work for Johnny.

I am preparing yet another print run of my relatively merciless phamphlet "Aviation Options for your child, whom you permitted to be placed on ADD medications". It's just about time for parents to put their housing deposits at the SIU School of Aviation and in five weeks they will discover the kid needs a class 2.

The parents are usually incensed. The gist of the phamphlet is "well, you didn't care enough eight years ago, but you need to care now. Here's a couple of professionals who can debunk the diagnosis. Figure out how to do it, or lose the aviation program. And do it quick 'cause you waited eight years and you have eight weeks left.

Have you seen the Oscar winner, "UP"? The public does not want to have a PIC who is suddenly distracted by "SQUIRRELL!!!". That's a cartoon portrayal, but if you REALLY REALLY have ADD or ADHD you have no business at the control station.

Sign me.....One of 4 authors of the AOPA petition on depression/remission SSRIs, which, afver FIVE years of lobbying, succeeded on 04/2/10.


BRAD: the Avweb article is miselading. The 6 month one-time only Amnesty period has not yet been named. It does NOT begin April 5, just the new policy. Here's the FAS' statement of policy, see pages 10 and 13. The MSWord document contains the core of what we proposed to Dr. Tilton in 2006. You can see we got most of it.

 

[Jeanie]

Thanks Bruce that helps. And, I do understand the difference between SSRIs and CNS stimulants. Just couldn't figure out why a young person w/ supposed ADHD who takes ritalin and seems capable and stable couldn't fly. Now I do.
I actually know a young man who wants to fly so much that he and his mother and doctor weaned him off the meds and have worked at reconditioning his behaviors if you will. I'm not sure yet but it seems that he will be a good candidate for a student pilot - time will tell. The kid is extremely bright and I think he'll be able to develop discipline, focus yada yada yada. I know another one who went off his meds and Oh Brother - he needs to stay on them... "SQUIRREL" He's no longer aiming to fly.
Cheers

 

[Skip Miller]

Sign me.....One of 4 authors of the AOPA petition on depression/remission SSRIs, which, afver FIVE years of lobbying, succeeded on 04/2/10.

And a big Bravo Zulu to you, Bruce, for the time and effort you sunk into this effort. SUCCESSFULLY!

-Skip

 

[Brad Erichsen]

Hi. I'm 34. I grew up around airplanes and have loved airplanes, airports and flying my whole life. Until about 10 years old I was lucky enough to actually live on an airport that my dad flew out of (34AZ - Chandler, AZ). My front yard was a large 'bone-yard'. What an awesome playground for a kid! The company my dad worked for (t&g aviation) had so many great airplanes there including: a rare PB-4Y; a C-119; a constellation that had previously been an 'air force one'; and; a bunch of DC-7's.

About 13 years ago or so I decided to finally get my license but ran out of money right when I was ready to take the check-ride, TWICE! I have about 50 hours and right now I'm getting ready to get back at it and if all goes right should be a private pilot in a couple months. Third times a charm hopefully as they say...

Thanks for asking, and now back to the thread.

 

[Brad Erichsen]

BRAD: the Avweb article is miselading. The 6 month one-time only Amnesty period has not yet been named. It does NOT begin April 5, just the new policy. Here's the FAS' statement of policy, see pages 10 and 13. The MSWord document contains the core of what we proposed to Dr. Tilton in 2006. You can see we got most of it.

Thanks. I've never taken any anti-depressants or anything I just happened to have read that article just a minute before I saw this thread.

 

[jesse]

It astounds me the number of young people I know that are on some sort of drug. Depression meds seem to be handed out to teenagers like candy.

A friend and I had a *really* hard time thinking of female women under 25 that we knew that were NOT on some sort of depression medication. It was really easy to spit out names that were - very hard to come up with a list of those that were not.

 

[RJM62]

It astounds me the number of young people I know that are on some sort of drug. Depression meds seem to be handed out to teenagers like candy.

A friend and I had a *really* hard time thinking of female women under 25 that we knew that were NOT on some sort of depression medication. It was really easy to spit out names that were - very hard to come up with a list of those that were not.

It not only astounds me, but disgusts me. I have friends, younger than myself, whose perfectly normal kids are being drugged because of a B.S. diagnosis of ADHD by a school guidance counselor who has even less training in psychology than I do. The counselor writes a letter, and some contract shrink signs off on it after barely looking at the kid. It makes my blood boil.

I can't help but think that they do it for the extra money the school districts receive for every "special needs" kid. If I had my way, half of these so-called professionals should have their licenses pulled - or worse. It's a crime, plain and simple.

/rant

 

[Ted]

I'm glad I had a good mother who let me deal with life's ups and downs, made me do my work, and didn't feed me pills.

 

[SCCutler]

It not only astounds me, but disgusts me. I have friends, younger than myself, whose perfectly normal kids are being drugged because of a B.S. diagnosis of ADHD by a school guidance counselor who has even less training in psychology than I do. The counselor writes a letter, and some contract shrink signs off on it after barely looking at the kid. It makes my blood boil.

I can't help but think that they do it for the extra money the school districts receive for every "special needs" kid. If I had my way, half of these so-called professionals should have their licenses pulled - or worse. It's a crime, plain and simple.

/rant

Rich:

It was an attempt by the school to do this to Tommy that made us quit the public skoolz. They (1) get added funds, and (2) are able to exem,pt that kid from the standard testing.

Bad deal.

Tommy is a pain in the backside, be he is not ADD. We checked.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Tommy is a pain in the backside, be he is not ADD. We checked.

Don't tell him I said this, but he is not a pain in any way that I have noted! A fine young gent who is growing up properly! A pox on the teach/nurse who tried to drug him! Sheesh!

 

[RJM62]

Rich:

It was an attempt by the school to do this to Tommy that made us quit the public skoolz. They (1) get added funds, and (2) are able to exem,pt that kid from the standard testing.

Bad deal.

Tommy is a pain in the backside, be he is not ADD. We checked.

http://www.flysportusa.com/Media/kim_lesson1.htmlDELETED. Should have been a PM.

 

[wabower]

They are spreading the BS in ways you can't imagine.

One of my daughters isn't the best-organized person you'll ever meet, and one of the grandkids is dyslexic. So she spends a fair amount of time dealing with his situation and talking to professional people about it. (He isn't on any meds.) So a while back she read something on the internet about "adult ADHD" so she talked to some clinician in Austin about it.

One thing led to another and she called me to ask if I would take the test because whoever she talked to said there was a good chance that I might be afflicted too, based on some of the things she has seen me do (or not do.) So I took the doofus test, which showed that I was less than 4% likely to have it (whatever it is) and I finally told my daughter that some of the things she's seen (like the workbench in my garage that won't ever win any Popular Mechanics' award) aren't because I can't figure out how to do something about it, it's because I don't give a ratsass.

I don't think their diagnostics account for such a possibility.

As they said in the army, it's my soap and the water's free, I'll wash it as fast as I want to.

Rich:

It was an attempt by the school to do this to Tommy that made us quit the public skoolz. They (1) get added funds, and (2) are able to exem,pt that kid from the standard testing.

Bad deal.

Tommy is a pain in the backside, be he is not ADD. We checked.

 

[wby0nder]

My wife once said that Attention Deficit Disorder meant that parents didn't pay enough attention to their kids! Probably true in some instances.

I too get on rants about ADHD drugs and Depression drugs that everyone seems so fond of these days but then I remember that alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco are even MORE popular and probably not much better for you. Not too many pilots are totally drug free.

And what about Rogain?

 

[Everskyward]

And what about Rogain?

And what about the little blue pill?

 

[wabower]

Who cares about them? They only work for four hours.

And what about the little blue pill?

 

[Ted]

My wife once said that Attention Deficit Disorder meant that parents didn't pay enough attention to their kids! Probably true in some instances.

I always viewed the typical misdiagnosis that is prevalent among my generation as parents not smacking their kids upside the head enough. If I didn't pay attention to my mom, I could expect to get swatted upside the head. There may be a relation.

I too get on rants about ADHD drugs and Depression drugs that everyone seems so fond of these days but then I remember that alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco are even MORE popular and probably not much better for you. Not too many pilots are totally drug free.

I think it's less the issue of being on some sort of prescription medication than the condition that warrants it. As Bruce said, someone who truly lacks an ability to focus (or is likely to have a seizure, etc.) has no business being at the controls of an aircraft. The Rogaine/Viagra thing seems to be about as significant to me as having coffee or cigarettes. They don't seem to indicate much other than you feel you need help wooing the fairer sex (Rogaine) and then need help once you've been successful (Viagra) which then leaves you tired (coffee) and, well, some people like cigarettes after certain recreational activities.

Ritalin and anti-depressants, while they themselves may not represent cause to be ruled out, indicate conditions that likely should rule you out.

 

[Unregistered]

From the other side of the fence.

First of all, there is no problem at all getting a medical, PP, etc. as long as the ADHD is undiagnosed an untreated (guess how I know). No different than about a million other things. The key is denial. And a check list. How many pilots do you know that rely on check lists? Think about it.

But, if you realize later in life that this is a problem then you have to make the choice between treatment and your medical. I made the choice to get treatment a long time ago. And, I don't regret it one bit - my life really turned around. If I had it to do over, I would make the same choice again.

Now - a crutch is a crutch - do you go around kicking crutches out from under people with broken legs? Why do you give people that crap about medication just being a crutch?

 

[SCCutler]

From the other side of the fence.

First of all, there is no problem at all getting a medical, PP, etc. as long as the ADHD is undiagnosed an untreated (guess how I know). No different than about a million other things. The key is denial. And a check list. How many pilots do you know that rely on check lists? Think about it.

But, if you realize later in life that this is a problem then you have to make the choice between treatment and your medical. I made the choice to get treatment a long time ago. And, I don't regret it one bit - my life really turned around. If I had it to do over, I would make the same choice again.

Now - a crutch is a crutch - do you go around kicking crutches out from under people with broken legs? Why do you give people that crap about medication just being a crutch?

No contention here that all medication is a crutch; rather, that we have become way too eager to secure a diagnosis where there is nothing to diagnose, and medicate therefor.

The medication for someone properly dx'd is a wonderful thing. The DX has to be legit, though.

 

[SkyHog]

From the other side of the fence.

First of all, there is no problem at all getting a medical, PP, etc. as long as the ADHD is undiagnosed an untreated (guess how I know). No different than about a million other things. The key is denial. And a check list. How many pilots do you know that rely on check lists? Think about it.

But, if you realize later in life that this is a problem then you have to make the choice between treatment and your medical. I made the choice to get treatment a long time ago. And, I don't regret it one bit - my life really turned around. If I had it to do over, I would make the same choice again.

Now - a crutch is a crutch - do you go around kicking crutches out from under people with broken legs? Why do you give people that crap about medication just being a crutch?

There is a difference between treating someone's REAL ailment with a drug that will help them, and being the most disgustingly irresponsible parent that exists and throwing medication at your child because you are not enough of an adult to be able to discipline your child correctly.

I see a very real correlation between the following new age parenting techniques:

1. Never physically punish your child.
2. Your child deserves a trophy for last place
3. Your child should never lose at anything
4. Your child has a disease, not just a lack of ability to behave

The fact that guidance counsellors push the drug (news to me) makes me even more livid.

But the point is that if you've really got ADHD (and believe me, you can tell, I've seen only one real case, and it was quite different than what most people call ADHD), then you're not going to be a pilot, and you should take drugs, because they help.

If your child can't focus because you never taught him how to, you need to man up and teach your child properly, and not rely on drugs while you go off and play video games and smoke pot with your buddies and drive to your wine tasting. Man up.

 

[Other side of the fence]

then you're not going to be a pilot

I have a card in my wallet with a picture of Wilbur and Orville on the back that says otherwise.

In fact, it says:

" IX HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE PROPERLY QALIFIED TO EXCERCISE THE PRIVLEGES OF
II PRIVATE PILOT"

Man up.

The POA rules of conduct prohibit me from commenting on this.

 

[ScottM]

It astounds me the number of young people I know that are on some sort of drug. Depression meds seem to be handed out to teenagers like candy.

A friend and I had a *really* hard time thinking of female women under 25 that we knew that were NOT on some sort of depression medication. It was really easy to spit out names that were - very hard to come up with a list of those that were not.

It is not just teenagers that get handed those. After my mother died a doc wanted to give me some to 'help me through the loss'. Thankfully I knew to take Nancy Reagan's advise and 'just say no'.

 

[ScottM]

...to ask if I would take the test because whoever she talked to said there was a good chance that I might be afflicted too,

It sounds like the Scientology Personality test, no one can pass and everyone needs help.

 

[TMetzinger]

I have a card in my wallet with a picture of Wilbur and Orville on the back that says otherwise.

In fact, it says:

" IX HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE PROPERLY QALIFIED TO EXCERCISE THE PRIVLEGES OF
II PRIVATE PILOT"



The POA rules of conduct prohibit me from commenting on this.

Hmm... focus on spelling a little more please.

 

[Ted]

It sounds like the Scientology Personality test, no one can pass and everyone needs help.

That was my thought. I would have refused the test.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Let me speak for the parents, please. While my children were growing up, there was an incredible pressure from the schools to "do something" about any child who was different. The school diagnosed two of them with ADD. One was my natural son and I was able to oppose the school, moving him from one school to another until he finally was accepted by a magnet school in the 'wrong' part of the city. It turns out that his problem is an IQ in the genius range. The other son is my step-son and I could not protect him in the same way. Even though it is quite apparent to me that he has the same problem, he was put onto drugs that have affected his entire life. At the age of nearly 30, he is finally breaking free of those negative influences.

Normally, parents believe what the schools say. When they don't the children get punished.

 

[TMetzinger]

Let me speak for the parents, please. While my children were growing up, there was an incredible pressure from the schools to "do something" about any child who was different. The school diagnosed two of them with ADD. One was my natural son and I was able to oppose the school, moving him from one school to another until he finally was accepted by a magnet school in the 'wrong' part of the city. It turns out that his problem is an IQ in the genius range. The other son is my step-son and I could not protect him in the same way. Even though it is quite apparent to me that he has the same problem, he was put onto drugs that have affected his entire life. At the age of nearly 30, he is finally breaking free of those negative influences.

Normally, parents believe what the schools say. When they don't the children get punished.

I agree - there's a big difference between "I can't focus" and "I'm bored". And the teachers had that whole "just fit in and don't make my job hard" mentality.

 

[Everskyward]

It is not just teenagers that get handed those.

Exactly. I think it started with the adults. Better living through chemicals.

 

[Amelia]

How lovely for all of you who have never had to understand the difference between a kid who's lazy and spoiled, and one who has ADHD.

How nice that you can so easily condemn parents you don't know, and sneer at kids you've not broken your hearts over.

How perfectly splendid that you can make such sweeping and difficult diagnoses from afar. There should be a fine and lucrative market for those skills.

I speak as a parent of two children. One, after 7 years of public school difficulties, was (finally) diagnosed by a highly-qualified and double-boarded pediatric psychiatrist (MD) as having significant - and treatable- ADHD, despite our school psychologist's skepticism. Once properly treated, our newly-diagnosed ADD child's grades went from persistently-near-failing to nearly perfect in one six- week grading period-- and stayed there as long as I was there to give him his pill. For all those years we tried one therapy, organizational technique, diet, and/or punishment after another, to no avail, all that angst, all those nightly hours at the kitchen table, hauling him back to finish the next assignment, , when waking him up with his long-acting Ritalin made such a remarkable difference in every aspect of his life... I feel badly even now for putting it off so long because 'experts' like some of you, insisted it was tantamount to child abuse.

The other child, just a year and a half younger, has organization honed to a fine art, had fine grades without any additional nagging or medication. If we were such incompetent parents to Kid One, how do we explain the stellar grades and all-around success of Kid Two? Both are highly intelligent, near-identical IQs, both taught themselves to read before they were four, and neither was a paragon of virtue in all ways, but one managed school work, and one did not.

Actually, as it turned out, the younger one couldn't focus, either. Fortunately, glasses for myopia addressed that problem nicely, and best of all, nobody feels entitled to second-guess that diagnosis and treatment.

So- to all you Experts, thanks a whole lot.

 

[SkyHog]

How lovely for all of you who have never had to understand the difference between a kid who's lazy and spoiled, and one who has ADHD.

How nice that you can so easily condemn parents you don't know, and sneer at kids you've not broken your hearts over.

How perfectly splendid that you can make such sweeping and difficult diagnoses from afar. There should be a fine and lucrative market for those skills.

I speak as a parent of two children. One, after 7 years of public school difficulties, was (finally) diagnosed by a highly-qualified and double-boarded pediatric psychiatrist (MD) as having significant - and treatable- ADHD, despite our school psychologist's skepticism. Once properly treated, our newly-diagnosed ADD child's grades went from persistently-near-failing to nearly perfect in one six- week grading period-- and stayed there as long as I was there to give him his pill. For all those years we tried one therapy, organizational technique, diet, and/or punishment after another, to no avail, all that angst, all those nightly hours at the kitchen table, hauling him back to finish the next assignment, , when waking him up with his long-acting Ritalin made such a remarkable difference in every aspect of his life... I feel badly even now for putting it off so long because 'experts' like some of you, insisted it was tantamount to child abuse.

The other child, just a year and a half younger, has organization honed to a fine art, had fine grades without any additional nagging or medication. If we were such incompetent parents to Kid One, how do we explain the stellar grades and all-around success of Kid Two? Both are highly intelligent, near-identical IQs, both taught themselves to read before they were four, and neither was a paragon of virtue in all ways, but one managed school work, and one did not.

Actually, as it turned out, the younger one couldn't focus, either. Fortunately, glasses for myopia addressed that problem nicely, and best of all, nobody feels entitled to second-guess that diagnosis and treatment.

So- to all you Experts, thanks a whole lot.

To be clear - you support false diagnosis of ADHD? I wasn't aware that there were many parents that like the idea of someone who doesn't know anything about medicine (for example - someone that works for the school) diagnosing their children.

Because all of us "experts" are condemning false diagnosis, not accurate ones.

Note - you mentioned the same thing we all did - except your kids' school disagreed with the ADHD diagnosis. And no one in this thread at least has said that parents that give their children Ritalin after a real doctor prescribes it (after serious testing, and not just guessing) is a bad parent. You sound like you did it right.

But it also sounds like you support the false diagnosis. Which is bizarre.

 

[LearDriver]

How lovely for all of you who have never had to understand the difference between a kid who's lazy and spoiled, and one who has ADHD.

How nice that you can so easily condemn parents you don't know, and sneer at kids you've not broken your hearts over.

How perfectly splendid that you can make such sweeping and difficult diagnoses from afar. There should be a fine and lucrative market for those skills.

I speak as a parent of two children. One, after 7 years of public school difficulties, was (finally) diagnosed by a highly-qualified and double-boarded pediatric psychiatrist (MD) as having significant - and treatable- ADHD, despite our school psychologist's skepticism. Once properly treated, our newly-diagnosed ADD child's grades went from persistently-near-failing to nearly perfect in one six- week grading period-- and stayed there as long as I was there to give him his pill. For all those years we tried one therapy, organizational technique, diet, and/or punishment after another, to no avail, all that angst, all those nightly hours at the kitchen table, hauling him back to finish the next assignment, , when waking him up with his long-acting Ritalin made such a remarkable difference in every aspect of his life... I feel badly even now for putting it off so long because 'experts' like some of you, insisted it was tantamount to child abuse.

The other child, just a year and a half younger, has organization honed to a fine art, had fine grades without any additional nagging or medication. If we were such incompetent parents to Kid One, how do we explain the stellar grades and all-around success of Kid Two? Both are highly intelligent, near-identical IQs, both taught themselves to read before they were four, and neither was a paragon of virtue in all ways, but one managed school work, and one did not.

Actually, as it turned out, the younger one couldn't focus, either. Fortunately, glasses for myopia addressed that problem nicely, and best of all, nobody feels entitled to second-guess that diagnosis and treatment.

So- to all you Experts, thanks a whole lot.

Don't assume that many of us haven't had to deal with issues with our children.

You're kids are fortunate that there is a parent that cares enough to make an effort on their behalf.

One of the problems is that many teachers out there want to jump directly to medication as a means of calming their classrooms. Thats whether medication is necessary or not.

 

[TMetzinger]

How lovely for all of you who have never had to understand the difference between a kid who's lazy and spoiled, and one who has ADHD.

As others have noted - nobody has said here that a child with problems shouldn't get the care they need. What us "know it alls" have said is that if someone wants to medicate your child, the doctor who is prescribing better be working for YOU, not the school, not the city, county, state, etc.

I actually think that TODAY the situation is better (at least where I live). My daughter's teacher mentioned that in the mid 90's our county went to a different process for students with issues that requires more parental involvement in the diagnosis and treatment, and the number of cases of children being medicated as a result of this process decreased by over 75%. That's a good indication of how bad things were in the 80s and early 90s, where any disciplinary problem was dealt with in essentially four steps:

• Send kid to guidance counselor
• Guidance counselor suspects ADD/ADHD, refers parents to affiliated doctor
• Parents nod heads and go along with process
• Doctor writes prescription after a very short visit

So nobody is attacking you or your child. If anything, you prove how important it is to be involved, particulary now that kids really do have a "permanent record" and the government and employers look hard at it because it's easily retrieved.

Best wishes,

 

[Amelia]

My point is that while we're enlightened enough to be understanding about Type I (juvenile) diabetes, and the need to control its insidious effects with regularly-administered medication, and we're fine with allowing, even encouraging, a child whose eyes aren't shaped like 'normal' people's to correct the deficit with glasses, we still condemn those whose neurons aren't wired together like everybody else's, and glibly toss around accusations of 'false diagnosis,' 'uncaring parent' and 'lazy teacher.'

How many otherwise 'normal' and 'healthy' pilots can hardly function without an early-morning dose of stimulant medication? (True confession: I drink several large cups of strong black coffee every morning, and have even been known to partake of this drug throughout the day, when I'm on deadline. SHAME on me. Addict. . I am relieved to note there isn't a box for this shameful admission on my medical application.)

Are you SURE teachers are needlessly recommending drugs? Are you sure parents numbly go along with an expensive nuisance medication because they can't be bothered to be adequate parents?

I'm not. Obtaining Ritalin, at least where we lived, involved getting a new office visit and paper Rx from a physician NOT related to the kid- which eliminated our top three choices of doc right there, and a personal visit to the pharmacy every month. No calling it in, no sending to Canada, and pharmacies in our state didn't dispense scheduled drugs on a school-teacher's recommendation. So where, exactly, do elementary schoolteachers have prescribing privileges and a BNDD dope license?

In fact, my kid's teachers were sure he was just obstreperous and 'out-to-lunch' out of pure orneriness and laziness, and if we'd only applied more effective discipline he'd have been fine. Hello? Some solutions sound a LOT easier when you don't understand the problem or previous attempts to solve it.

I'm convinced a lot of this anti-ADHD-treatment grandstanding is nothing more than unverified old wives' tales and popular hysteria. But tha's jus' me, and I'm the bad mom who was overwhelmed with relief to find, if not a solution, at least an effective treatment for my brilliant, funny, and delightful kid's school agony.

 

[jesse]

How many otherwise 'normal' and 'healthy' pilots can hardly function without an early-morning dose of stimulant medication?

I can function just fine without any "stimulant medications".

 

[Amelia]

That's wonderful, Jesse. I'm delighted to hear that you don't waste your money on cola, iced tea or coffee. Bad for you. Stunt your growth- just look at me- I'd'a been six feet tall, if only I hadn't fallen victim to the devil drugs. Oh. Wait. I quit growing when I was 14, and didn't discover the delights of coffee until I was in college. Didn't discover the dubious health benefits of an occasional glass of dry red wine until much older than that.
So you just watch your step-- it's a slippery slope out here, and ol' Scratch is just waiting to trip you up.

 

[alaskaflyer]

My point is that while we're enlightened enough to be understanding about Type I (juvenile) diabetes, and the need to control its insidious effects with regularly-administered medication, and we're fine with allowing, even encouraging, a child whose eyes aren't shaped like 'normal' people's to correct the deficit with glasses, we still condemn those whose neurons aren't wired together like everybody else's, and glibly toss around accusations of 'false diagnosis,' 'uncaring parent' and 'lazy teacher.'

I'm seeing a lot of attitude about this from our fellow pilots about the change in SSRI policy. Pilots who are on SIs for all manner of physical ailments think the sky is falling and that stable depressives on maintenance doses will begin crashing 777s into mountains. This if they can even navigate the playing field and get an SI.

 

[Everskyward]

I'm seeing a lot of attitude about this from our fellow pilots about the change in SSRI policy.

I'm curious where you have seen this attitude...