The article talks about the issue of prescription drug abuse and its impact on adolescents. What I find fascinatingly confusing is the comparison of similar situations in China when I grew up is somewhat completely different and yet thought-provoking.

I understand that students with certain mental challenges such as ADHD may need the help of medication which is by majority of people an agreed fact and only reasonable solution if I read the situation right and whether or not this statement is true is not the main point I’m going to discuss here. What I find interesting is that, in China, people don’t necessarily pay enough attention to students’ mental health thus there are less diagnosis of problems in teenagers thus not a prevalent issue of prescription drug abuse. The question is, does this mean that the mental state of Chinese students are relatively stable and healthy or that they are just as problematic and need help but the Chinese education system just ignore it? If it’s the first one, then what makes them different? If it is the second, then wouldn’t that be a even greater problem in the future? What really happens to students with these problems but never get help? Does this mean they are bound to fail? If not, what is the point of taking medication to control the symptoms?
What I still remember vividly about this issue is when I was observing a special education classroom, the classroom teacher talked to me about two kids with ADHD and referred to the one without medication to be “helpless”. The whole using of medication is a debate enough to start with, let alone the side effects it brings. As a international student educated by a completely different system, I find the topic to be very intriguing and worth some further discussion and research.