怪咖系列《還孩子做自己》

李佳燕醫師的診所下午都不看診，她會把時間留給憂心忡忡帶著孩子來求助的家庭，花上一下午的時間與孩子對話、聆聽和陪伴他們。在她眼中，這些孩子都是珍貴而獨特的生命，她不理解為什麼這些孩子會是學校老師或精神科醫師口中有「病」，需要用藥物來治療的「過動兒」？

李佳燕醫師反對草率診斷，反對輕易用藥，主張從家長、教育系統到兒童精神科都需要花更多的時間來理解孩子真正的需要，尋找出根本的問題。卻也因此被認為是反精神科、質疑教育體系的怪咖醫師，在眾多的誤解和責怪之下，李佳燕依然不改其志，為拯救被誤解和污名化的孩子們大聲疾呼。她之所以能如此堅持，是因為她曾有一位支持她、理解她，能與她背靠背一起戰鬥的夥伴—兒童文學家幸佳慧。但是，在幸佳慧因病早逝之後，這條保護兒童人權之路，李佳燕又得一個人繼續走下去...

「據說」？！注意力不足過動症(Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD)在台灣地區的盛行率是7.5%，於是許多家長都擔心著自己的孩子會不會是這7.5%，但常見的現象就是孩子一有行為或學習上的困難，老師往往就會要求家長帶孩子去看精神科醫師。在缺乏足夠的觀察時間，僅憑短暫的診療和測驗結果，就判斷孩子有注意力不足過動症並開始用藥。於是在老師、家長們的期待下，孩子開始展開與藥物為伍的生活，藥物也許能改善孩子一時的行為，成績可能會變好，但在成長過程中那些被責罵、被質疑、被排斥、被壓抑的經驗，卻奪走了孩子的自信，認為一切都是自己的過錯，成為了永遠無法治癒的傷。

 

《Let kids be kids》

Dr. Lee Chia-yen’s clinic is closed in the afternoons since these slots are reserved for the worried parents who bring their children to see her. Dr. Lee spends the whole afternoon talking and listening to them. In her eyes, these children are precious and unique lives. She cannot understand why their teachers and the psychiatrists regard them as “patients” who suffer from ADHD and have to take medicine.  

Dr. Lee opposes making a diagnosis and prescribing medicine without proper consideration. She advocates that the parents, the educators and the child psychiatrists should spend more time trying to understand what children really need in order to find the roots of the problems. However, as a result, Dr. Lee is often seen as an eccentric doctor, who is against psychiatry and questions the education system. Despite the misunderstanding and the criticism, Dr. Lee never changes her views and keeps speaking up for those children who are misunderstood and stigmatized. The reason why she could be so persistent is that she once had a comrade who not only understood and supported her but fought with her – she was Arlene Hsing, a children’s literature writer. Nevertheless, since Hsing died of cancer before her time, Dr. Lee has been left on her own to continue fighting for children’s rights. 

“They say” that 7.5% of the children in Taiwan have ADHD, and that makes many parents worry that their children might be in that group. What happens so often is that as soon as a child shows any learning difficulties or behavioral problems, the teacher would ask the parents to take them to see a psychiatrist. Due to the lack of time for proper observation, the psychiatrists prescribe these children medicine after a quick diagnosis and a test. As expected by the parents and the teachers, these children are put on medication. Medicine may change the children’s behavior and improve their academic performance for the time being, but the experience of being scolded, doubted, excluded and suppressed robs these children of their self-confidence. They believe that they should be blamed for what happened, and it is a wound that will never heal. 

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【工作人員】

監製 楊力州｜導演 林皓申｜總製片 朱詩倩｜製片 王羿中、林皓申｜攝影 林皓申｜剪輯 林皓申｜配樂 吳沛綾｜動畫 謝孟成、王建盛｜混音 胡序嵩

感謝陳藹玲女士授權本片使用「幸福相談所」節目畫面

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE3X_n2VFNw