This is a basic welcome letter that I have for people dealing
with ADD / ADHD
I am going to follow this up with a URL that talks about
CHADD. What I want to know (at the end of this is who funds CHADD?)
The CIA?
There are as many different
ideas on ADD / ADHD as there are people
giving them AND the possibility
that many, if not all are right, at least to
a degree. I know that
helps.
Many people would like to simply point their
fingers at the parents
or the school and say that is where the problem
is. They are usually
the ones that read IDEA to only mean that the
child has mental
difficulties because some one has not done their job.
IDEA is much more
than that. I received permission to post
this:
**** PUT ON THE SITE WITH PERMISSION *****(New 18 Nov
98)
>How many schools have accommodations
for students or teachers
that are sensitive to the air in schools.
like MCS or asthma?
It is
required under the IDEA.=20
>I would like to find
as many accommodation plans or Indoor Air
Quality Policies or statements
that are actually out there and working
or at least trying to work, or at
least written.
This is a Pa. site, but the
regulations are US wide. Also, please
be advised that there are recent
changes that are effective now that
could affect parents filing for Due
Process.... These changes are in the
new IDEA. There is now a
requirement on parents to notify the school
district within a specified
number of days of certain things, and also a
requirement that the parent
propose solution(s)..... you will need to
check these new issues out ... I
will look for some clearer info. on
this. I may need to try to send
you the specific section of the new
IDEA that reflects these
changes.
1.
http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/pde/specialed/serights.html2.
http://www.cisc.k12.pa.us/3.
http://www.cisc.k12.pa.us/CISC.pgs/Region/CISCStaff.HTM>
Another question that I have is this: "What mainstream illnesses are
caused by or aggravated by poor air quality?"
Goodness only knows. I
would mention ADD and brain fog as well
as the usual respiratory and cancer
stuff.
**** PUT ON THE SITE WITH PERMISSION *****
Now you will hear about discipline, just be consistent and believe
in
yourself. You will be advised to start or continue behavioral
modification (and I agree) but even though there may be some that have
gotten off that lightly, that - that is all they have to do, it has
become rare. But to not do it or to stop doing it, during this
time
expressly, can leave you at a very loose end if and when things
suddenly
come together.
CHADD
"seems" to be a good organization, NOW. They have had their
hassles in the past (this is from 1995) and may have some in the future.
http://www.pbs.org/merrow/scripts/text/add.txtThe
only thing that I "personally" have against them is that they (seem)
to base the issue of ADD / ADHD on mental (learning) ability and do not
take (enough account) of nutrition, food, chemical, and scent reactions.
That is what I have based my page on and what (most) of my children's
personal journeys into this "Alice In Neverland" "world"
of ADD / ADHD
has been.
I may end up
stepping on someone's toes with the next statement BUT
anyone that has been
on this list for a while and all that have been on
my web page know that I
take the other side on the belief that ADD /
ADHD could be genetic.
So, hopefully they have used the delete button
already since by saying ADD /
ADHD is genetic they have already flamed
my web page and me. Still, I
believe that almost all ideas need a
outlet, but until I see it recognized
by the Human Genome Project I will
continue to be skeptical. That
disclaimer said.
I am also dubious about terming ADD /
ADHD a genetic, since I
(personally) have yet to see a study that can back
that up. What I have
heard is that ADD / ADHD (can / seems to) run in
families. I
(personally) am working on the premise that the same
family is eating
the same food and around the same chemicals.
Example: (most) everyone
in the family
"""might""" have a low grade reaction to the same
cleaner,
perfume or scent and some notice it more than others. This is
can be
expressly true of children.
There is another
group that I am on, made up of principals, students
and parents that is
looking at the air quality of their schools.
So, where
does that leave you? Probably where I was four years ago,
frustrated! My (personal) web page is the result of the research that
I
have done. I sell nothing on the page and it is a bare bones, cut
and
paste research site.
All The
Best,
Laura
* Cable has tried to cut out PBS
* copyright laws say that they help out the
authors but some things do not get a wide audience because of those copyright
laws
* this says that CIBA-GEIGY
(Before they were bought by Novartis) gave CHADD a large chunk of money.
(Ciba-Geigy now Novartis owns the Ritalin patent)
* I know that Ritalin helps cover up the effects
of Aspartame and other chemical reactions that our children have. So in
effect Novartis's Ritalin covers up the effects of Monsanto's (and others
including Novartis's organophasphates). Yet, the company sent out a
100,000 brosers warning about the dangers of Ritalin (I have lost that url) to
pharmacists and doctors. It said that Ritalin was originally developed of
Narcissism (suddenly falling asleep) (from what I remember from a year ago ONLY)
at that time they were against it being used for children. The pamphlet
detailed the many problems that it can cause.
* Novartis has been buying
American Pharmaceutical companies - but it seems as if they are not doing their
research over here.
* Novartis lost a large law suit to the Chinese or Japanese
(heard about it earlier this year) involving Novartis's Organophosphates.
The Orientals have used Black Soil with this in their systems wonder what their
foods crops are starting to be like - they probably blame Acid Rain ONLY.
* UK having major problems with Organophosphates and other
chemicals
Back to the question - Who currently funds
CHADD??
************************************************************************************************
<![CDATA["A.D.D.--A DUBIOUS DIAGNOSIS?" (C) 1995 Learning Matters Inc.
VO: LAZY...BORED...DISTRACTED. THAT'S WHAT WE USED TO SAY
ABOUT CHILDREN WHO WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION. TODAY
THAT SAME BEHAVIOR IS LIKELY TO BE CALLED A.D.D.,
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER.
Nat. Sound: (Phil Donahue) Well, you may have the latest thing: It's called
Attention Deficit Disorder!
VO: TALK SHOWS TALK ABOUT IT. NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES
COVER IT. HUNDREDS OF BOOKS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT IT....
VO: (kids taking pills) ....AND TODAY AT LEAST TWO MILLION
CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH IT.
VO: (over pills): MOST OF THEM ARE GIVEN THIS PRESCRIPTION
DRUG, RITALIN, OR ITS GENERIC EQUIVALENT, METHYLPHENIDATE,
TO HELP THEM PAY ATTENTION.
HAISLIP: (ID SUPER) The profile of this drug, the pharmacology of this drug,
is essentially identical to the amphetamines, which is essentially the same as that
of cocaine.
PARKER: It works (pause). That's the reason it's being used. It works. Parents
find that it helps their children. Plain and simple, it works.
VO: BUT AS THE NUMBERS INCREASE, DOUBTS ARE GROWING.
PEGGY GRANT: Everyone is A.D.D. suddenly. They're using it as an excuse.
An unruly child is an unruly child. How do you tell really know who really has
A.D.D. and who's really just spoiled?
SU: THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN BEING GIVEN MEDICATION FOR
A.D.D. SEEMS TO BE DOUBLING EVERY TWO YEARS. IS IT POSSIBLE
THAT SOME OF THESE CHILDREN ARE BEING INCORRECTLY
DIAGNOSED.....AND IMPROPERLY MEDICATED? SOME SAY THIS NEW
EPIDEMIC IS SIMPLY THE RESULT OF HEIGHTENED AWARENESS AND
BETTER DIAGNOSIS. BUT THERE MAY BE ANOTHER EXPLANATION.
TITLE: "A.D.D.--A DUBIOUS DIAGNOSIS?"
Credits: Toyota, Casey, Pew, Ford
VO: THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES A.D.D.
AS A MENTAL DISORDER. THE EXACT CAUSE IS UNKNOWN. THERE'S
NO MEDICAL TEST FOR IT. THE DIAGNOSIS RESTS ON
OBSERVATIONS OF CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR.
VO: A.D.D. IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FOUND IN BOYS. MOST ARE
WHITE AND MIDDLE CLASS.
VO: IN MANY WAYS, DARREN FLEISCHER IS A TYPICAL A.D.D.
CHILD. HE HAS ALL THE USUAL SYMPTOMS OF ATTENTION DEFICIT
DISORDER---NON-STOP ACTIVITY, IMPULSIVENESS, AND A
WANDERING ATTENTION SPAN. AND TYPICAL OF A.D.D. , THOSE
BEHAVIORS WEREN'T REALLY A PROBLEM (pause) UNTIL HE
STARTED SCHOOL.
JOEL FLEISCHER: We looked at it more as a discipline problem at first. We
were not aware at the time of A.D.D. or even what A.D.D. meant. And uh, we
wound up several years down the road after getting these calls continually ... I
mean, the year ... school year would start, and invariably we'd get a call from
teachers, you know, that Darren's very bright, he's very alert. However, he
cannot stick to tasks. He's disruptive in the classroom, we're having these types
of problems.
ETTA FLEISCHER: You always think it's your fault, you know. As a parent ...
you see children walking quietly along and then you have a child who's constantly
moving. Darren really never stops talking. He's constantly talking. That's part
of the A.D.D. as well, it's the constant movement, he's a very hyperactive child.
And ... sometimes you really think, well maybe ... he's not listening to you
because you didn't do something right, you didn't discipline him well, you
weren't disciplining him enough. Uh ... it's ... it's a very ... hard ... thing to go
through. It's hard to explain. You have ... I guess you have to live through it.
PARKER: Parents have been blamed for years for the problem of inattention,
distractibility, impulsively, and difficulties with the behavior, in kids with
Attention Deficit Disorder. We know it's not their fault.
VO (office pix): PSYCHOLOGIST HARVEY PARKER IS THE CO-FOUNDER
OF CHADD, CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT
DISORDER, THE NATION'S LARGEST A.D.D. SUPPORT GROUP.
VO (Fleischer family): LIKE MANY PARENTS, THE FLEISCHERS USE
CHADD AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT A.D.D.
MERROW(over CHADD pix): CHADD? How important has CHADD been to
you?
JOEL FLEISCHER: We don't go as often as we probably should. They have
some very, very interesting sessions. Uh, they talk about uh, various aspects of
kids growing up.
VO: (sign from HQ) CHADD TELLS PARENTS THAT A.D.D. IS A
NEUROBIOLOGICAL DISORDER THAT STEMS FROM A CHEMICAL
IMBALANCE IN THE BRAIN. RITALIN, A PSYCHO-STIMULANT,
PRESUMABLY CORRECTS THAT IMBALANCE BY ACTIVATING
NEUROTRANSMITTERS-- THE CHEMICALS THAT CARRY MESSAGES IN
THE BRAIN.
VO: (over Ritalin) RITALIN, THE BRAND NAME FOR
METHYLPHENIDATE, IS MANUFACTURED BY CIBA-GEIGY, THE
WORLD'S FOURTH LARGEST PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY. RITALIN
AND GENERIC METHYLPHENIDATE ACCOUNT FOR 70% OF ALL A.D.D.
PRESCRIPTIONS.
VO (over pills in the drawer) OTHER MEDICATIONS FOR A.D.D. INCLUDE
DEXADRINE, CYLERT, AND SOME ANTI-DEPRESSANTS.
PARKER: Medicine for children with ADD works about 75% of the time.
MERROW: Works in what way?
PARKER: Well it reduces symptoms tremendously.
MERROW: What does that mean?
PARKER: Kids, well they behave better, number one. But also kids who can't
finish their work in school finish their work in school. Kids who forget to bring
their homework back to school do their homework at home and then return it to
school. Kids who could never organize well, and their desk would look a mess, if
properly medicated, they tend to be able to do better with their organizational
skills.
ETTA FLEISCHER: I finally talked to the psychologist and he ... talked ... and I
have to say talked me into Ritalin because it really did take a couple of months to
talk me into Ritalin and he showed me examples where children who had
A.D.D., they would start ... writing, before they took the Ritalin, they would
start writing ... the handwriting was so ... so terrible you couldn't even read it.
And about half an hour after Ritalin took ... took effect, the handwriting was a
nice as it could be. And I saw that with Darren. When I first gave him Ritalin,
he started taking it, he was all over the place. All of a sudden he started to calm
down and he would be able to sit and do many tasks without ever having a
problem. And I saw it work. And I think at that point I realized Ritalin did help
him.
DARREN FLEISCHER: Without the pill I like just, if I'm writing I could just
scribble all over and say nothing but like if I'm reading a book I could just read
over it and not remember one thing.
MERROW: But with the pill?
DARREN FLEISCHER: With the pill I could just read a book and understand.
JOEL FLEISCHER: I can tell you unequivocally that it has made a difference
academically. He was on the honor roll a year or so which never happened, uh,
before. We see a difference. It does make a difference.
VO (over school exterior): DARREN GOES TO NOVA MIDDLE SCHOOL IN
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA--WHERE STEVE FRIEDMAN HAS BEEN
PRINCIPAL SINCE 1990.
Nat. Sound: kids taking pills
FRIEDMAN: When I first came to the school we had two or three students that
we gave medication to during the day. And now we probably have over 60
students that we give medication to during the day.
Nat. Sound: kids taking pills
FRIEDMAN: And it's interesting to watch, you come up here at lunch time and
watch the line waiting to receive their pills, it's amazing to me.
STEVEN: Let's say I'm reading like some dumb book that I had to read for
language arts or whatever, I'll like I can't focus on it, that's why when I take my
pills, I take Ritalin, and that helps me focus, focus on that and that's more better
with me.
LORING: I can tell the difference when I take my Ritalin. Somedays I'll go to
school I won't take it, I won't be able to concentrate on my work, someone will
have a conversation behind me and I'll start paying attention to the conversation
and not to my work, sit there and start playing with my pen or thumping my
foot, but when I do take it it's like I can block everything out and I can
concentrate.
VO: BUT RITALIN HAS OTHER EFFECTS.
DERRICK: Sometimes when I sit still for a long time my head just goes like that
and I feel dizzy. So I feel dizzy, I feel weird in my stomach, it has lots of side
effects for me.
BILLY: Can't sleep. I barely get like 5 hours of sleep a night.
STEVEN: It always makes me like, anger, and stuff and I just want to be alone.
LORING: It makes me lose my appetite, I don't even want to think of eating.
DERRICK: And everything they say is true. I think they should research that pill
and make it better.
VO: (kids taking pills) IN 1988, HALF A MILLION CHILDREN WERE
TAKING STIMULANT DRUGS TO HELP THEM CONCENTRATE. BY A
CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE, AT LEAST FOUR TIMES AS MANY ARE
BEING MEDICATED TODAY.
VO: RITALIN AND METHYLPHENIDATE ARE CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES, WITH STRICT LIMITS ON HOW MUCH CAN BE
PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED IN ANY GIVEN YEAR. AT THE
FEDERAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, GENE HAISLIP
OVERSEES ANNUAL PRODUCTION QUOTAS FOR METHYLPHENIDATE
AND RITALIN.
HAISLIP: I think there's a window of legitimate use that's required here, but the
data suggests that there's a problem here with over prescribing, that this has
become a popular fad and that people are really going overboard, especially when
you look at the rest of the world and you realize that the United States is using
five times as much as the entire rest of the planet.
DR. JOYCE MOSCARITOLA: (ID super, Ciba-Geigy MD) I believe that like
anything else whenever you have a diagnosis and education...that you will see an
increase. I think we've seen that with diagnosis of breast cancer, diagnosis of
other diseases. Once the level of awareness increases you will see an increase in
diagnosis.
VO: BUT QUESTIONS ARE BEING RAISED ABOUT THE INCREASE IN
DIAGNOSIS. MANY BOYS WHO ARE DIAGNOSED A.D.D. SAY THEY
CAN CONCENTRATE WHEN THEY'RE INTERESTED IN WHAT THEY'RE
DOING.
LORING: Fixing cars.
MERROW: You can concentrate on that?
LORING: Yea, it's like I have to really enjoy it to like concentrate on it if it
doesn't really appeal to me it's like oh yeah, uh hum whatever, I don't really pay
attention.
ROBBIE: I like to take things apart and when I get older I want to get into
camera and special effects and that kind of stuff and that's what I like and I can
concentrate on that but if it's like math it's like yea, sure whatever.
DR. BREGGIN: It's such a sad situation, I mean the kids intuitively know that it's
not good to be taking drugs. And the idea that it's a drug that works in school
but not at home, it works during school days but you don't have to give it on
vacations, I mean it's so obvious that we're just drugging our kids to push 'em
into situations that they can't stand.
VO (over Breggin typing): PSYCHIATRIST PETER BREGGIN, THE AUTHOR
OF "TOXIC PSYCHIATRY" AND "THE WAR AGAINST CHILDREN," IS AN
M.D. WHO CAN PRESCRIBE RITALIN, BUT CHOOSES NOT TO.
DR. BREGGIN: There's no doubt that there are kids who are bored, who are
frustrated, who are anxious. There's no doubt that some kids don't fit into our
schools and some aren't doing well in their families, but there's no evidence
whatsoever that it's a disease or a medical disorder, it's a child in conflict, it has
to be dealt with in a conflict situation.
PARKER: I would say out of most of the mental disorders, or practically almost
all the mental disorders that we have listed and that we can identify, A.D.D. can
be identified in the most objective manner. We have a lot of different rating
scales that can be utilized to measure Attention Deficit Disorder symptoms. We
have a lot of different clinical interview techniques that we utilize to identify
individuals who show characteristics of A.D.D. as well as family characterisitics.
We have a lot of data about developmental histories of these children and what a
typical child with ADD is like in growing up and through-out the course of their
development. We have well established methods of direct observation to identify
these children in the classroom. Very objective data.
DR. BREGGIN: If you look at the diagnosis that's been promoted by the
American Psychiatric Association, becomes clear why any doctor might feel
reasonable about giving medication to a child, a child who one, often fidgets with
hands or feet or squirms in seat, I mean I personally get that a lot, I'm a very
high-energy person, very hard for me to sit still here, fact you didn't want me to
sit in a chair that would wiggle back and forth because you know that nervous
adults will wiggle back and forth in their chairs, and that's number one under
hyperactivity, number two is often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations
in which remaining seated is expected. And then the third one, often runs about
or climbs excessively. And if he's an adolescent he may just feel like doing it
without doing it. These are the three criteria that are considered the most
powerful, and what do they represent? They represent a kid who'd rather be
doing something else.
DR. RUTH NASS: It's a medical problem that affects a different part of life than
most medical problems, but it's a medical problem just the same.
VO (over Dr. Nass in office, dictating): DR. RUTH NASS IS A PEDIATRIC
NEUROLOGIST AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER. NASS
SAYS THAT 10% OF ALL CHILDREN MAY HAVE A.D.D.
MERROW: What percent of the patients that you diagnose ADD eventually do
you put on medication?
DR. NASS: I guess I'd say, 75-80%.
MERROW: Do you feel comfortable prescribing Ritalin or some other
medication?
DR. NASS: Yes, I'm comfortable prescribing it. I don't consider myself a pill
pusher because I give children who come into the office with Attention Deficit
Disorder a medication. And very often I say to parents, "If your child had an ear
infection, you would take an antibiotic for the ear infection, and if your child has
Attention Deficit Disorder, and we have a medication for that, you should have
the same attitude about it," in essence.
VO: DR. SIMON EPSTEIN IS A CHILD PSYCHIATRIST IN STAMFORD,
CONNECTICUT. EVERY YEAR HE DIAGNOSES ABOUT 150 CHILDREN
WITH A.D.D.
MERROW: What percentage of the kids that you diagnose ADD do you put on
medication?
DR. EPSTEIN: 85% of the kids that I see. The medications are in fact the most
effective treatment. They are what works, they are what removes the symptoms,
they are what takes a non-functioning or limited functioning child or adult and
turns their whole life around.
DR. NASS: I mean, I keep many children on medication 365 days a year because
they're learning on Saturday and Sunday as well as Monday thru Friday.
DR. EPSTEIN: The medication, by changing around the symptoms puts the child
in a whole different position of being able to perform. So that's why I think it's
important. Socially, academically, family--medication helps them be more of the
norm of the positive kind of kid rather than drifting and feeling stupid.
DR. NASS: If a medicine is going to equal the field, why shouldn't the field be
equal?
MERROW: How hard is it to get a diagnosis of A.D.D.?
DR. BREGGIN: Well, you can always find a doctor who will give your child a
pill. The environment has been so created that if you just come in and talk about
your child without the doctor seeing them you can find a doctor somewhere to
give the pill. . I was just working with a pediatrician in the midwest doesn't ever
give Ritalin to the kids who come to see her, and parents routinely will simply
leave and go somewhere else and find another doctor to give them the pill.
DR. NASS: I can't remember anyone who has ever come "shopping" with me
and said, "I really want the medication and no one will give it to me." Most of
the time people will come to me and say, "Well, five people have told me that my
child has A.D.D., and I don't want the medication, can you say he doesn't need
it."
DR. EPSTEIN: They can't force me to put a child on medication if I don't think
it's clinically indicated..pause ..then they'll just go elsewhere.
MERROW: What do you mean?
DR. EPSTEIN: Well, they'll go on to the next doctor. If that's what they want,
they will go until they find somebody who can prescribe it.
DR. HEIN: I think most doctors are simply trying to help people and they don't
directly benefit from giving a patient a medicine, that's not how it works, but
there is a lot of pressure in our society for quick fixes and simple solutions.
VO: DR. KAREN HEIN IS A PEDIATRICIAN AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER
OF THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF
SCIENCES.
DR. HEIN: When a kid is acting out and having problems in school that's a big
misery for the kid and for the family it means it affects their ability to have
friends, to be invited over to kids houses after school, to have something to do on
weekends, so the idea of a pill, a magic bullet, that will help not just in school but
might help friends and a social life and a future, is a very, very attractive
proposition. The sad thing is that the pill isn't going to cure all of these ills.
SU: WE ARE GIVING PILLS TO INCREASING NUMBERS OF CHILDREN.
THE QUESTION IS, "WHY?" THE ANSWERS VARY, DEPENDING ON
WHETHER YOU ASK PARENTS, TEACHERS, OR THE KIDS WHO ARE
GIVEN THE PILLS. SOME PARENTS SAY THAT SCHOOLS ACTUALLY
ENCOURAGE MEDICATION BECAUSE IT'S A CHEAP ALTERNATIVE TO
SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND SMALLER CLASSES.
MARCIA SCHERBEL: (ID super) All the mothers got together and we sort of
did a survey and we said, you know, it seems as if when we counted it all up, that
80% of us had had the teacher recommend considering Ritalin.
MERROW: 80%?
MARCIA SCHERBEL: Yea, yea, yea. Just virtually every little boy at some point
had that recommendation.
DAVID SCHERBEL: (ID super) They're trying to cut their budgets, and they're
trying to keep big populations in the classes, and they can't have kids who are not
under control, as the kids themselves put it, and the teachers are more than happy
to have kids on Ritalin, if it in fact will control their activities in the classrooms.
PEGGY GRANT: (ID super): You have to conform to society to a certain extent
and you have to be able to have an education, get educated. And if you're not
gonna conform to the system as we know it, then you're gonna be out of step and
out of sync. And I don't want him to be.
DR. BREGGIN: Parents are put under enormous pressure to drug their kids
now, even in the best private schools, in a place like Bethesda, Maryland, I'm
seeing parents all the time or hearing from parents, where the schools are saying,
"you've gotta drug your kid, we can't control your kid in school, doctors are
constantly pushing Ritalin".
VO: WHEN YOU ASK EDUCATORS, YOU HEAR A VERY DIFFERENT
EXPLANATION FOR THE INCREASE IN A.D.D.
HELEN BLACKBURN: (ID super, Educational Psychologist, Greenwich, CT)
Parents want a school-based reason why a child isn't doing well. And to say that
a child is not bright, that they maybe are-- it's an old-fashioned term, a "slow
learner," or that there are family issues that are causing the problems in school,
parents don't seem to want-- they don't want to accept that. They want a
diagnosis and a label that then makes the school responsible for solving the
problem.
WOMAN TEACHER: (ID super) I think there are probably some children that
have been either misdiagnosed or ... you know, labeled as being A.D.D. by
maybe a private psychologist that ... they really are not truly A.D.D. You know,
then the parents can use it as an excuse.
MERROW Excuse for what?
WOMAN Well, misbehavior. You know ... rather than ... than the child taking
responsibility and the parent taking responsibility for things that are happening,
you know, they can say well ... my child's A.D.D.
FRANK PIRANEO (ID super, Educational Psychologist, Greenwich, CT):
Because of all the media publicity there's so much more likelihood now that , at
least the seed is planted that perhaps it might be A.D.D. And I might get a call
saying, "You know my child is having a problem with this, that, or the other
thing, concentrating, sitting still, has a difficult time with, with reading, finishing
books, do you think it might be A.D.D.?" Well, that never would have happened
eight years ago, it would never have come up.
VO: WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN WHO TAKE RITALIN? HOW DO
THEY EXPLAIN THIS NEW EPIDEMIC? THESE EIGHTH GRADERS
KNOW RITALIN FIRST HAND. MATT SCHERBEL TOOK IT FOR A YEAR.
SCOTT DAVIES HAS BEEN ON RITALIN FOR SIX MONTHS, DAVID
BRANTLEY FOR TWO YEARS, AND ANDREW WILLIAMSON FOR SEVEN
YEARS. THEY SAY ALL THE ADULTS IN THEIR LIVES-- DOCTORS,
PARENTS, AND TEACHERS-- ENCOURAGE MEDICATION.
ANDREW: Like if they're going to give me my Ritalin, I'm going out for dinner
or something, I'll tell them not to give it to me or something, just let me eat, I
can be fine, and then my mom like brings it up when we're out at dinner, oh you
need your Ritalin you're so active and I'm like no I want to eat. It's just messed
up. I hate, I hate taking Ritalin.
DAVID: My dad he's a doctor and he, he tries to make it seem like there's no
side effects and I ask him and he's like there's nothing, nothing major, and then I
read the box and it's like may cause drowsiness, depression, loss of appetite.
ANDREW: My teachers always bring it up. Like if I'm acting like hyperactive
for a week or something.
MATT: They wouldn't let you in class unless you had a note from the doctor.
ANDREW: That's right, that's what they did, one of my teachers like I forgot to
take my Ritalin sometimes, but now every time I go to class I have to have a note
signed by the lady in the health room saying that I took my Ritalin cause she
won't let me in class, I was just too hyper.
VO (b-roll of Matt outside): UNLIKE MANY OF HIS FRIENDS, MATT
SCHERBEL NO LONGER TAKES RITALIN.
MATT: When you're not on Ritalin, you take in so much more information, such
a wide array and variety, that it, life's so much greater and more interesting than
when you're taking it. And when you're on it focuses everything down to such a
fine point that nothing's fun anymore, it you're not the same person that you
were.
MERROW: Do you like yourself when you're on Ritalin....
DAVID: No.
MERROW: Why do you say that so quickly?
DAVID: Because it's not the real, you're not you.
MATT: Bingo.
ANDREW: It's a fake person that the medicine's creating
DAVID: It should be illegal. It's like a drug.
SCOTT: I know it is a drug.
MERROW: The fake you?
ANDREW: Right. I mean I'm not really controlled and stuff and a lot of people
know that, but when I'm on Ritalin it's totally not me.
MERROW R/Q: Do you ever talk to kids about how they feel when they're on
Ritalin or some other medication?
PARKER: Kids feel good about themselves. There was a child I spoke to last
night at a meeting was at and we asked this child, he volunteered during the
course of this meeting that he takes Ritalin, he's about a nine year old little boy
named Shane, and I asked Shane how he felt about taking medication, and he says
he feels good about it, and I asked why and he said he said he feels good because
"now I can get all my work done, now I don't have to worry about being
mischievous in school". He feels good about himself.
ANDREW: When people bring it up, uh, you need more Ritalin, A.D.D., it just
makes you feel stupid. Because they, they've been putting this on you for years,
my parents have been putting it on me since first grade. It just makes me feel bad,
saying oh, you have A.D.D., you need more medicine. My mom makes it a big
deal of it and stuff and I don't think it's a big deal but she tells like all of her
friends of he's A.D.D. expect bad behavior and stuff and they just think you're
stupid.
MERROW: They think you're..
ANDREW: You're just like, they think you're stupid because the medicine, the
Ritalin, is making you smart and make you pay attention, and it's not you.
Because they don't, they don't let you try it yourself, they let the Ritalin do the
work for you.
PARKER: In my years as a clinical psychologist, in talking to lots and lots of
children in my practice, I haven't seen that many kids who resent taking the
medication, or who feel the medication disables them in some way.
MERROW: Do you ever worry though that you're sort of creating split
personalities here, you've got the real me and the me on the pill?
PARKER: Well I don't hear that many children say that.
DR. BREGGIN: CHADD likes to claim that the poor children are being
stigmatized by not doing well in school. Oh, I'd much rather have the stigma of
not doing well in school than having crossed wires in my head or a genetic
neurobiological disorder. There is nothing worse that you can do to a human
being in America today than give them a mental illness kind of label and tell them
they need drugs and these children are 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 years old being treated in
this manner. I then see them coming to me as adults saying I'd like to be a
doctor but how can I when I have crossed wires in my head.
MERROW: But you do get better grades?
ANDREW: No, I haven't been doing good in school since 5th grade.
I'm just, I'm just. It's not the Ritalin, it's just I'm not organized.
MATT: Ritalin can't help you with everything; if mean if you're not an organized
person Ritalin's not going to organize you. They think it's a miracle drug. It's
not.
SU: PARENTS BLAME TEACHERS, TEACHER BLAME PARENTS, KIDS
BLAME JUST ABOUT EVERYONE. BUT NONE OF THOSE
EXPLANATIONS FULLY ACCOUNTS FOR THE GROWTH OF A.D.D. AND
THE USE OF MEDICATION. THE REST OF THE STORY BEGINS WITH
CHADD, THE NATION'S LARGEST A.D.D. SUPPORT GROUP.
VO: THOUSANDS OF PARENTS TURN TO CHADD FOR INFORMATION
ABOUT A.D.D. CHADD'S 650 LOCAL CHAPTERS HOLD REGIONAL
CONFERENCES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS, OFTEN IN SCHOOLS,
WHERE FREE MEDICAL ADVICE IS GIVEN. CHADD RECOMMENDS A
TREATMENT PLAN THAT INCLUDES BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION,
COUNSELING, AND MEDICATION.
PEGGY GRANT: It's been very helpful. I've been going to meetings on and off
for about five or six years
JOEL FLEISCHER: If anything it's made me realize that there are some very
frustrated people out there with the system.
BONNIE O'BRIEN: I guess the nicest thing too, is to find you're not alone in
this. There are like I said, other people. And also to find out there are other
people who have a lot worse problems with an A.D.D. child than we do.
VO (over meeting): CHADD IS AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR, AND
PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH A.D.D. OFTEN ECHO CHADD'S
LANGUAGE.
DOCTOR AT CHADD MEETING: I tell--I coach--parents that having a child
with ADHD is like having a child with asthma, have a child with diabetes.
PARENT: It's the same as taking aspirin. If you have diabetes it's the same as
taking insulin.
KEVIN O'BRIEN: In our hearts and minds it was like the diabetic who needs
insulin and it just works for him.
PEGGY GRANT: It's like wearing glasses, having a hearing aid.
PARKER: It's like when I was a kid. And I learned I had to wear eyeglasses
because I couldn't read very well and I couldn't see very well. I felt awkward at
first, when I first got that prescription in fourth grade, but did I attribute, did I
think I was dumb because I had to wear glasses? No, I thought I was awkward at
first but I began to read better, and see better, and learn better and I attribute that
success to me it improved my self-esteem.
MERROW: Taking Ritalin is like wearing glasses?
PARKER: It helps you focus, I helps you focus better, focus attention better.
MERROW: So you trust CHADD, and you trust the information you get?
KEVIN O'BRIEN: It's a good source.
BONNIE O'BRIEN : I think both. Yeah, both.
MERROW: You've relied on CHADD?
PEGGY GRANT: Yes.
MERROW: And you tend to trust CHADD?
PEGGY GRANT: Yes.
MERROW: Would it surprise to learn that a significant portion of CHADD's
money comes from the the people who make Ritalin?
PEGGY GRANT: Yea, that would surprise me.
JOEL FLEISCHER: That's interesting. I wasn't aware of that. It does put a spin
on it if in fact pyschologists, it may be the easy solution, if that's the case, say hey
you kid needs ritalin and this is the situation. Then that would put a different spin
on it.
MERROW: What do you mean a different spin?
Well if in fact you have drug companies that are endorsing CHADD or giving
large amounts of money and in fact you have psychologists that are involved with
CHADD, if it's a reciprocal relationship no that would disturb me.
ETTA FLEISCHER: Conflict of interest ...
JOEL FLEISCHER Yea, I mean if it's a reciprocal relationship. Now that, that
would disturb me.
MERROW: You just said conflict of interest.
ETTA FLEISCHER: It would be a conflict of interest.
JOEL FLEISCHER: Yeah.
ETTA FLEISCHER: It really would be. Because at that point who is working
for whom is the question.
VO: THE FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHADD AND CIBA-
GEIGY, THE COMPANY THAT MAKES RITALIN, BEGAN IN 1988.
VO (GRAPHIC): SINCE THEN, CHADD HAS RECEIVED CLOSE TO ONE
MILLION DOLLARS IN GRANTS AND ITS MEMBERSHIP HAS GROWN
FROM 800 TO OVER 35,000. CHADD HAS USED CIBA-GEIGY'S MONEY
TO BUILD ITS MEMBERSHIP AND TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF A.D.D.
Nat. Sound: PSA
VO: CHADD CLAIMS THAT THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
HAS BEEN SEEN BY NEARLY 19 MILLION PEOPLE . CHADD'S NAME IS
ON IT, BUT CIBA-GEIGY PAID FOR IT.
DR. HEIN: I think if they don't use their name then I would question why not?
Why shouldn't their name appear, whether it's advertising for their product in a
medical journal or helping a parent group or helping young people, or helping a
continuing medical education course? If they are supporting it, the public ought
to know.
VO (over tax returns): PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES OFTEN
CONTRIBUTE TO PATIENT SUPPORT GROUPS. NOT-FOR-PROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CHADD ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO TELL THE
I.R.S. WHO'S GIVING THEM MONEY, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO TELL
THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THERE'S NO MENTION OF CIBA-GEIGY IN
CHADD'S INTRODUCTORY BROCHURE, EDUCATORS MANUAL, FACT
SHEETS, OR ANNUAL REPORTS. THESE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED
MATERIALS DESCRIBE CHADD AS A GRASS-ROOTS, PARENT BASED,
ORGANIZATION.
VO: (CHADD programs) THE FEW THOUSAND PEOPLE WHO ATTEND
CHADD'S ANNUAL CONFERENCES MIGHT SEE CIBA-GEIGY'S NAME, IN
SMALL PRINT, IN THE PROGRAMS. NONE OF THE PARENTS WE
TALKED TO KNEW ABOUT THE CONNECTION.
HAISLIP: Well, I think they should tell the public when they become advocates,
you know, suggesting that people see their doctor about the possibility of
prescribing this drug, when they've become advocates of this kind, I think they
should make a full disclosure to the public that they are in fact receiving
contributions from one of the manufacturers and explain that because I don't
think people have known this, I think they've kept it a secret, at least I never
knew it, I never heard it from them, nor did I hear it from the contributor.
MERROW: Do you have something that says, "Well, we've given this money" I
mean a public document. We have looked at a lot of your documents, and I
haven't seen anything that says, "Well, we've given $818,000 to CHADD over the
last several years"
FORTE: (ID super: Ciba-Geigy Spokesman): Well, we've given a fair amount of
public support to any number of patient support groups over the years. We don't
go and take out advertisements out of the newspapers for that, that's not the
reason why we do that. We're doing it because we feel that we have a
responsibility to support those areas where there may be patients taking our
products.
PARKER: CHADD is absolutely an independent organization. We have one
mission and one mission only and that is to provide information and support to
individuals affected by A.D.D. We don't have any responsibility to any
pharmaceutical company or anybody else.
MERROW (reverse question): You don't that as a conflict of interest, taking
money from the drug company?
PARKER: We see it as a responsibility of the drug company to give us that
money?
MERROW: You go them or they come to you?
PARKER: We go to them. They never come to us.
MERROW: And what do you say to them?
PARKER: We want money for a project. They've given us money for our
awards to chapter coordinators. They've given us money to run our conferences.
They've given us money to produce our fact sheets into Spanish so we can reach
out to multi-cultural audiences.
FORTE: We're getting a big information out there and that's the bottom line
here. Is that the campaigns that CHADD is entering for getting information out
there about the disorder are on a nationwide basis so when they do a public
service announcement, when they translate all their materials into a second
language, when they enter any kind of a campaign of information they do it on a
nationwide level as anyone can probably appreciate that takes some resources. So
CHADD is essentially a conduit for providing this information directly to the
patient population and they do a pretty good job of it.
MERROW: But they're funding a man who says Ritalin works. Aren't they
buying you?
PARKER: I don't feel bought.
DR. BREGGIN: Money influences people. When people are being supported by
some kind of institution, they tend to believe in it, they tend to be aligned with it
because if they don't they lose the support that they need for their programs.
MERROW: Harvey Parker says it works the other way. He believes in it and
therefore he accepts the money.
DR. BREGGIN Yes, I'm sure that's what he says, but in fact, it's not the way the
world works.
PARKER: I don't feel bought. I feel they owe us that as a matter of fact. I feel
they owe it to the parents who are spending their money on medication. They
owe it to these families to give them something back.
HAISLIP: That's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. You mean he
really thinks there's nothing wrong in taking this money and keeping it a secret
like they have? Well, I think it's an outlandish statement to make really, and I
must say it surprises me.
MERROW: Do you think parents know that the information is coming from the
pharmaceutical company not from CHADD? CHADD is the "conduit," as you
said.
FORTE: Well, I hope they do. We're very aware that Ritalin when properly used
and prescribed can play a very beneficial role in the total treatment for children
with A.D.D. And it's been long felt our ethical responsibility to help provide that
level of information that otherwise wouldn't be out there. I think from the
parents point of view, if they're getting the information they need that's what
they're most appreciative of.
DR. HEIN: If they are a parent group that are supported by a pharmaceutical
company and the parents aren't aware, then to me that's not an effective
partnership. I don't think there's anything wrong with partnerships as long as the
partners know who they are, in the same way as doctors and families ought to be
working together and know who you're dealing with. If there's pharmaceutical
support for an activity then that partnership ought to be just out in the open.
DR. BREGGIN: The drug companies wouldn't do it if they didn't think they were
buying increased profits. Drug companies wouldn't give away $800,000 unless it
was going to increase their profits, unless they knew it was going to increase
sales.
PARKER: I invite you to be skeptical. It's important to be skeptical, but please do
so without prejudging us. Read our literature see what it says. Come to our
meetings see what we say.
ANONYMOUS MAN: I asked a couple of questions at the first meeting that were
, ah, voiced my skepticism about the drug, and the thing that I found surprising
was that the questions were answered quickly and moved right off of.
MERROW: I don't think I know what you mean?
ANONYMOUS MAN: I mean, there wasn't a lot of interest in my questions
regarding the negative side of the drug.
VO (over couple in shadow): THIS HUSBAND AND WIFE HAVE ATTENDED
CHADD MEETINGS. THEY ASKED TO HAVE THEIR IDENTITY
CONCEALED TO PROTECT THEIR CHILD'S PRIVACY.
ANONYMOUS WOMAN: We would have round tables, and people would share
different bits of information and of course the biggest issue was medication.
Everyone wanted an answer to their problem and uhm, people were saying we've
tried everything, nothing seemed to work, we did finally take the step to go to
medication and we found results. In fact, I remember one parent, now this was
not a spokesperson for the organization, but this person said to me in her opinion
"cut to the chase, get to home base, every attention deficit child needs to be on
Ritalin," and that was scary.
ANONYMOUS MAN: You have people walking in to a meeting who feel they've
done something wrong in raising their children, you have people running a
meeting telling them they didn't do something wrong and we have a solution for
you. You're at the end of your rope; if you're really not on your toes you're
going to grab for the magic elixir.
PARKER: Don't pre-judge us and say just because you're doing a) that means b).
Take a look at what we're really doing. What really we are doing and why our
membership increases, is we provide the best information available in the world
on Attention Deficit Disorder.
VO: BUT DOES CHADD ALWAYS PROVIDE "THE BEST INFORMATION
AVAILABLE"? THIS CHADD FACT SHEET STATES THAT "EMOTIONAL
DIFFICULTIES, INCLUDING SUBSTANCE ABUSE ARE MORE LIKELY TO
OCCUR WHEN A CHILD WITH A.D.D. IS NOT TREATED."
HAISLIP: I don't know how they would have reached such a conclusion, but I'm
not aware that they submitted any studies for us to examine on that point, and I'm
not even aware of the existence of such studies.
MERROW: "Emotional difficulties including substance abuse are more likely to
occur in a child when with A.D.D. is not treated."
DR. JOYCE MOSCARITOLA (ID super, Ciba-Geigy doctor): I don't...I don't
know that I could support that statement. I don't...I...again I don't understand
where these statements are coming from.
VO: CHADD'S LITERATURE ALSO SAYS THAT A "CHEMICAL
IMBALANCE" IN THE BRAIN IS THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF A.D.D.
WHAT CHADD'S LITERATURE DOES NOT SAY IS THAT SCIENTISTS
HAVE YET TO FIND CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF THIS IN THE BRAINS
OF CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH A.D.D.
PARKER: There have been a number of theories throughout the last two dozen
or so years, trying to find specific sites where there are neurotransmitter
chemical deficiencies, but we haven't really been able to locate those.
VO: (over document, highlighted): CHADD'S LITERATURE ALSO SAYS
THAT PSYCHO-STIMULANT MEDICATIONS ARE NOT ADDICTIVE.
HAISLIP: Well, I think that's very misleading. It's certainly a drug that can cause
a high degree of dependence, like all the very potent stimulants.
VO: THE D.E.A. PUTS RITALIN IN THE SAME CLASS OF POTENT
DRUGS AS MORPHINE AND LIMITS ITS PRODUCTION AND
DISTRIBUTION.
MERROW: Are you seeking to increase production of Ritalin? To decontrol
production.
PARKER: Yes.
MERROW: Why is that?
PARKER: A couple of years ago-- I think it was about a year and a half ago-- the
Ritalin supply ran out in this country. Methylphenidate quotas were used up.
And parents were desperate. Those parents whose kids were on medication were
desperate to get a larger supply. But with the quotas that were in existence they
couldn't do that.
VO: (Petition) CHADD HAS HIRED A WASHINGTON D.C. LAW FIRM TO
HANDLE ITS REQUEST TO THE D.E.A..
VO: THE PETITION IS CO-SIGNED BY THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF
NEUROLOGY, BUT CHADD IS PAYING THE LAWYERS.
VO (D.E.A. exterior): CHADD DID NOT TELL THE D.E.A. ABOUT ITS
FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CIBA-GEIGY.
HAISLIP: Now there's nothing requiring them to report to the D.E.A., so they
have not violated any reporting requirement. But as to the question of whether
they've misled people, well I think a lack of disclosure of something of this
significance, given their position on these issues, I think that is misleading to
people very definitely.
VO: GENE HAISLIP BELIEVES THAT CIBA-GEIGY STANDS TO PROFIT
IF PRODUCTION CONTROLS ON RITALIN ARE RELAXED.
HAISLIP: Well, we have to look at this market the way it's trending. I mean it's
increased 500 percent since 1990, and we're talking about potentially millions of
children. A prescription I suppose would cost something in the neighborhood of
perhaps $30 a month. So $30 times hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, I'd
say that would be a very substantial revenue.
MERROW: What are the profits associated with Ritalin? Ritalin sales have gone
way up.
FORTE: With any of our pharmaceutical products we generally don't provide
the actual sales figures, we consider that proprietory information, most
pharmaceutical companies do. To acknowledge one of your comments though,
we have seen Ritalin sales increase.
SU: CHADD MAY OR MAY NOT BE SUCCESSFUL IN LOBBYING THE
D.E.A. TO RELAX PRODUCTION CONTROLS ON METHYLPHENIDATE
AND RITALIN, BUT CHADD DID SUCCESSFULLY LOBBY THE US
CONGRESS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SEVERAL YEARS
AGO TO HAVE A.D.D. FORMALLY RECOGNIZED AS A DISABILITY.
CHADD HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION EVER SINCE.
VO: THIS RECENTLY RELEASED VIDEO ON A.D.D. WAS PRODUCED
AND DISTRIBUTED AS PART OF A $750,000 GRANT FROM THE US
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROMOTE AWARENESS OF A.D.D.
CHADD PLAYED A CENTRAL ROLE IN ITS DEVELOPMENT AND
PRODUCTION.
Nat. Sound: (BONNIE FELL from video. super 'education department video): I
didn't quite understand that this was just like any other medical disability, I had a
hard time understanding that, and it took me a long time to realize it wasn't
something I could fix and that it was something that we needed to get medical
treatment for.
VO: THE VIDEO IDENTIFIES BONNIE FELL AS A PARENT. VIEWERS
ARE NOT TOLD THAT SHE WAS CHADD'S NATIONAL PRESIDENT AND
STILL SERVES ON CHADD'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS. IN THE
DEPARTMENT'S VIDEO, FELL ENDORSES RITALIN.
Nat. Sound: (FELL from video. super 'education department video') : I showed
him the work that he does normally versus the work that he does without his
Ritalin and there's a lot more doodling and crossing out and you can't read it
back and you know it's really amazing when you see something that tangible, that
makes things better for them, it just relieves all my fears.
MERROW: What is your reaction to what you saw in that film?
DR. BREGGIN: Well it's shameless that the US government is pushing drugs for
Ciba. It's even interesting that they mention the drug by its trade name, which is
like selling the drug for the manufacturer, Ciba-Geigy, the official name is
methylphenidate.
VO: VIEWERS ARE NOT TOLD THAT FOUR OF THE FIVE MOTHERS
WHO PLAY PROMINENT ROLES IN THE VIDEO ARE BOARD MEMBERS
OF CHADD'S CHICAGO CHAPTER.
Nat. Sound: (MCLARRON from video. super 'education department video'):
"The minute the medication kicks in it's like night and day and until you see it
you cannot understand it, but it's so remarkable how all of a sudden they're much
more calm, they're not snapping back with their personality, they can sit down
and do their work. They can achieve."
Nat Sound: JOANNE EVANS, CHADD'S PRESIDENT, AT THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PRESS CONFERENCE.
VO: (individuals at press conference) AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE
ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF THE VIDEO, CHADD'S CURRENT
NATIONAL PRESIDENT, JOANNE EVANS, PRESENTED AN AWARD TO
DR. THOMAS HEHIR, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS,
AT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
Nat Sound: (CHADD President) The mission of CHADD is to help children with
A.D.D. achieve success. When an institution like the Department of Education
joins us in this mission, as it has so clearly with these two videos, we know we
will achieve our goal.
MERROW: Are you aware that most of the people in the film are not just
members of CHADD, but in the CHADD leadership including the former
national president? They're all board members of CHADD in Chicago, are you
aware of that? They're not identified in the film.
HEHIR: (ID super: Director of Special Education Programs, USDE) I, I'm not
aware of that.
MERROW: Do you know of the financial connection between CHADD and Ciba-
Geigy, the company that makes Ritalin?
HEHIR: I do not.
MERROW: In the last six years, CHADD has received $818,000 in grants from
CIBA-GEIGY.
HEHIR: I did not know that.
MERROW: Does that strike you as a potential conflict of interest?
HEHIR: That strikes me as a potential conflict of interest, yes it does.
MERROW: Now, that's not disclosed either, even though the film talks about
Ritalin as a, one way and it's the first way presented--
HEHIR: Right.
MERROW: --of taking care of, treating Attention Deficit Disorder, that's not
disclosed either, does that trouble you?
HEHIR: It concerns me.
MERROW: Are you going to look into this when you go back to your office?
HEHIR: I will certainly look into some of the things you brought up.
MERROW: Should they have told you that all those people in that film are
CHADD leadership? Should they have told you that CHADD gets twenty percent
of its money from the people who make Ritalin?
HEHIR: I should have known that.
MERROW: They should have told you?
HEHIR: Yes.
VO: ONLY 20 SECONDS OF THE 30-MINUTE VIDEO ARE DEVOTED TO
RITALIN'S SIDE EFFECTS.
Nat. Sound: (Doctor from film--super "education department video"): Most
children adapt to it pretty readily and really don't have a problem with it. We
warn them about the side effects. The growth problems with Ritalin haven't
been to great. The loss of appetite is not a major problem. The one concern is
that a few kids will develop facial tics and they won't go away once you've
stopped the medication.
DARREN FLEISCHER: First there's sleeping. It doesn't make me tired it makes
me stay up all night, uhm, also my friend, like I know a whole bunch of kids who
take Ritalin too, and I think it makes you stunt your growth.
ETTA FLEISCHER: I have to say this honestly, I feel ... very guilty sometimes
in giving him Ritalin because he doesn't eat and it's very hard for him to sleep
sometimes.
MERROW: Have you ever ask your mom and dad "please don't let me take it".
DARREN FLEISCHER: yea, everyday.
MERROW: And what happens.
DARREN FLEISCHER: I just find out I have to take it. I have to take it to do
good in school.
MERROW: He asks you.
ETTA FLEISCHER: He says to me I do not want to take it. He does not want ...
he understands during the school period. Okay. He understands to give it to him
during the school week because it affects him differently at school. But at home,
during the weekend, he absolutely does not want to take it and he will say to me,
Mommy, please don't ... make me take it. And ... I don't.
MERROW: What do we know about the efficacy and safety long term results of
using Ritalin?
DR. MOSCARITOLA: There's forty years of experience. I mean we have
certainly seen studies. There are studies looking at the long term going forward.
There are certainly information looking at children who have received the
drug...medication...as you know younger school age so that there is information
long term.
VO: (print material) BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT CIBA-GEIGY, TOLD THE
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. CIBA-GIEGY WROTE FOR THE
FDA. (quote) "SUFFICIENT DATA ON THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF
LONG-TERM USE OF RITALIN IN CHILDREN ARE NOT YET
AVAILABLE." (endquote).
MERROW: There are some people who say there may be long term side effects,
like stunting your growth.
DAVID: Is that true?
ANDREW: Yeah, I've heard that if you go on it ansd you skip for a summer or
something, it might mess up your growth if you're on it too long.
MERROW: You jumped when I said that. Do you worry now?
DAVID: Yea, I'm going to try to get my parents, I don't think I'm going to take
it any more.
MERROW: (reverse question): May I read to you what some kids have told us
about being on Ritalin? (begins reading) "You're tired but you can't......"
cross fade to kids
MATT: You're tired but you can't sleep. I don't know why but I've noticed it.
Tired with hyperness.
DAVID: Yea, it's like your mind is hyper when your off.
MATT: Yea and you can't sleep either because you're mind is till awake.
ANDREW: And it makes your body all..
MATT: It's like running at the speed of light, but you're just like your body's just
like let's lie down here and your mind's like no way, wait up, look at this, wake
up.
DR. MOSCARITOLA: If a child is having...symptoms like that I think that
certainly...the parent should speak to the pediatrician. Perhaps it requires a...a
dose adjustment or perhaps changing the time the medication is given.
MERROW: I don't mean to be unkind , but a kid comes and says "Don't make me
take it, I hate it I hate taking Ritalin, and your reaction as a doctor is, "well, we'll
change the dose or give it to you at a different time."
DR. MOSCARITOLA: But the reason he doesn't like it is because he can't sleep.
If he's deriving a benefit,
MERROW: He can't eat either.
DR. MOSCARITOLA: or the same thing as far as the appetite because it is a
common side effect. So, I would first try decreasing the dose and then if he still
is miserable and he's unhappy, then that's a different case. I think every child
needs to be treated individually, and I don't think one should have an across the
board treatment and say it works or it doesn't work. It's not all black and white.
VO: (over headline) BUT TODAY THE STORY GOES BEYOND MEDICAL
SIDE EFFECTS. NEW REPORTS ARE COMING OUT ABOUT THE MISUSE
AND ABUSE OF RITALIN BY CHILDREN IN THEIR TEENS.
RECOVERING ADDICT: You just come up to someone and you're like, that
you're friends with and you're like, can I have a couple of pills, and they give
you a couple of pills, and then you crush em up, and snort 'em, and then you're
like, high.
VO: THESE RECOVERING ADDICTS ALL ABUSED RITALIN. ONE IS
EIGHTEEN. TWO ARE FIFTEEN.
RECOVERING ADDICT: It's like a speed, it's the same thing, except if someone
has it and they're parents are paying for it it's a free high for everyone else.
MERROW: Do lots of kids do it?
RECOVERING ADDICT: Yea. It's one of the big things to do now, cause it's
free a lot of the time, because I mean if a friend has a couple of extra pills, he'll
just give em to you, or they can sell em to you.
RECOVERING ADDICT: I also used to sell it. Uhm sometimes you could sell it
for ten dollars a pill to people who weren't aware how easy it is to get Ritalin.
Merrow: Were there a lot of kids who would like to buy it?
RECOVERING ADDICT: Yea. They used to like uhm, mixing it with marijuana;
they said that added a nice buzz to it.
VO: TWO OF THESE TEENAGERS SAY THEY WERE ALREADY ABUSING
RITALIN WHEN THEY WERE DIAGNOSED A.D.D. THEY SAY THEIR
DOCTORS PRESCRIBED MORE RITALIN.
RECOVERING ADDICT: The doctors, they just basically prescribe like Ritalin
just like that. I mean they don't look, they don't check if they've had a drug
history or drug abuse, they don't check emotional problems. They just pop them
some Ritalin and say this will help make you concentrate.
HAISLIP: We've now begun to see deaths from this drug. We had a recent death
in Roanoke in Virginia, where this child died from snorting the drug just like
cocaine. He wasn't on a prescription. But there's so much of it available now, that
we're beginning to see this kind of increasing abuse and illicit traffic in the drug.
VO: (over studies) PARENTS GIVE THEIR CHILDREN RITALIN IN HOPES
THEY WILL CONCENTRATE IN SCHOOL AND DO BETTER, BUT MOST
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES CONCLUDE THAT, WHILE IT MAY IMPROVE
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR, RITALIN DOES NOT HAVE LONG TERM,
POSITIVE EFFECTS ON EITHER LEARNING OR ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT.
ANONYMOUS MAN: I haven't been able to find any long term studies. I've
done some research myself, to show the great successes they've had with children.
The drug company, I think if they had a product that was producing astronauts
and doctors and things like that they'd be citing them. I haven't seen anything
like that.
FORTE: I can't name for you an astronaut or anyone else for that matter whose
of particular renown at the present, but I got to admit there are probably a lot of
people out there who are a lot more successful in life today than they might
otherwise have been if they hadn't gotten it properly diagnosed and treated
properly.
MERROW: You as a doctor, any kind of warning flag? I mean it's always
boys...it's always in the United States with the Methylphenidate...none of those
things make your antennae quiver and make you wonder?
DR. MOSCARITOLA: No, it doesn't.
HAISLIP: If there are children who are getting this drug who don't really need
it, and all of the figures suggest that this is being overly prescribed, they are the
losers, them and they're parents.
MERROW: So no sleepless nights for you?
FORTE: Certainly not in that regard. For me a lot of satisfaction in working for
a company that was able to develop and provide as product that makes a big
difference in people's lives.
JOEL FLEISCHER: Do we have nagging doubts? Yeah. Every day I have
doubts. I think there are people who go on television and say "yeah, they solved
this problem with diet and the kid's off the Ritalin, never needed it." I don't
know, I don't know. So there are always these nagging doubts.
VO: OTHERS SHARE THOSE DOUBTS. JUST BEFORE OUR BROADCAST,
THE DEA SAID IT PLANS TO REJECT CHADD'S PETITION. THE DEA
WROTE, IT IS (QUOTE) "UNCLEAR" (ENDQUOTE) WHY CHADD WOULD
WANT TO LESSEN CONTROLS ON METHYLPHENIDATE WHEN
(QUOTE) "EVERY INDICATOR AVAILABLE...URGES GREATER
CAUTION AND MORE RESTRICTIVE USE". (ENDQUOTE)
VO (over Tom Hehir, Ciba-Geigy, and Harvey Parker) TWO DAYS AFTER
OUR BROADCAST, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELEASED THIS
MEMO SAYING IT WILL "NO LONGER DISTRIBUTE" THAT ADD VIDEO.
VO: CIBA-GIEGY HAS NO DOUBTS. IT SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE
FUNDING CHADD.
VO: AFTER WE BEGAN ASKING QUESTIONS, CHADD DECIDED TO
TELL ITS MEMBERS ABOUT ITS LONGSTANDING FINANCIAL LINKS
WITH CIBA-GEIGY. CHADD SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE TO ACCEPT
CIBA-GEIGY'S MONEY.
CLOSING SU: MAYBE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THE
COURSE WE'RE ON, BUT PERHAPS WE SHOULD. AT THE RATE WE'RE
GOING, BY THE YEAR 2000 WE'LL BE DIAGNOSING AND
MEDICATING FIFTEEN PER CENT OF OUR CHILDREN, EIGHT
MILLION KIDS.
CREDIT ROLL..............
20
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