Families: When Pills Make Sense

Some parents turn too quickly to mood-altering drugs. But often medication is the right choice

When Michael Horowitz was found to have attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at the age of 5, his mother was scared to give him pills. "I was against the medication at first, like everybody else," says Lisa Horowitz of Brooklyn, N.Y. Her first experience with Ritalin didn't change her mind. "I saw him climb the walls and run across the ceiling, and for four hours he couldn't stop stuttering." Then at her wit's end, Horowitz agreed to try another stimulant, DextroStat. "There was a complete difference," she marvels. "He was able to sit through a TV program; he was actually able to...

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