This is where it begins to get tricky.
"We don't know," Dr. Duncan would say. "It's what they call a "paradoxical effect.'"
This made me nervous. You see, I'm a bit of a skeptic. Skeptics make good scientists and terrible blind proponents. My ears perk up when I wait to here someone answer a why question, about anything.
"But that doesn't make any sense," I deplored of Dr. Duncan. "How can a stimulant calm a kid down?"
Seems like a reasonable question, doesn't it? Why would something that's given to narcoleptics to "perk them up" be given to kids who need to "perk the hell down." How does a chemical act as a stimulant for adults, and as a sedative for children? How does a chemical know how old someone is?
The reply to this? Well, it was the same from all MD's and other experts that I knew at the time, because I would persistently and annoyingly ask. At some point the conversation usually ended with, more or less:
". . . shut up and give him the pills."
I had a degree in sociology for chrissake. So, I gave them the pills.
But I didn't shut up.
A Very Private Practice
One day a boy had to be hurried to the psychiatrist. The doctor's office called and said there was a last minute cancellation, and my supervisor picked me to take him to the doctor's office.
I was a little nervous. I had pestered this doctor with my questions, apparently to the breaking point. I was nearly 30 by then, I had two kids of my own, and I wanted clear answers. I don't do well with platitudes. I guess it showed. At some point he decided he didn't want to answer any more of my questions, especially when he found out I had a bachelor's degree in sociology. So, this time, I walked in with one of the boys and I quietly found a seat. The boy was soon escorted to a room in the back where he would wait to see the doctor.
It was late in the day and the office was empty. I took a seat just below and to the right of the sliding glass window where the receptionist was. I was extra quiet. After a few minutes, I was out of sight and, as I soon found out, out of mind.
About 10 minutes later, I heard the doctor approach the receptionist area. The receptionist, I would learn, also did the doctor's billing. Her name was Evelyn. I remember her name because, unbeknownst to the doctor, this is what I heard the doctor say to her, in no uncertain terms:
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