Title: Please Don’t Label My Child: Break the Doctor-Diagnosis-Drug Cycle and Discover Safe, Effective Choices for Your Child’s Emotional Health
Author: Scott M. Shannon
Publication Year: 2007
Website: www.wholenessdoc.com
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Review: This book was withdrawn from my library even though it’s not very old, so I got it for 50 cents. I think it’s kind of a shame that it was discarded so soon, because if a parent were being encouraged to medicate their child for some condition, such as ADD, ADHD, depression, etc., and was not totally comfortable with the idea, this book would encourage them to trust their judgment and look for solutions that do not involve prescription medication.
While I do believe there are people and situations that would benefit from prescription drugs, in general, I agree with the author that the best policy is to treat this solution as a last resort, rather than a cure-all. However, at the same time, I don’t actually know any children who are being medicated for this reason, so maybe this advice is not really relevant in my local community.
The author advocates looking at factors such as a child’s diet, amount of sleep, family circumstances, school situation, possible trauma, and overall general health before diagnosing a child with a condition such as ADHD and recommends making alterations in areas such as these before treating the child with drugs.
Since I don’t personally know that I have a child with this condition, I can’t evaluate how helpful it is. However, if I did have a child that seemed to exhibit some of these behaviors, I would definitely want to reexamine this book. (Personal Rating: 7/10)
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 
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