-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw1116rit.html
>>>Keeps 'em from distracting Revvin' Jerry?<<<
}}}>Begin
High rate of Ritalin use brings call for action
By ELIZABETH SIMPSON, The Virginian-Pilot
� November 16, 2001
NORFOLK -- Legislators and school officials responded
with calls for action Thursday after hearing that Hampton Roads
cities have some of the highest rates in the nation for use of
Ritalin, a drug for attention deficit disorders.
``It's scary, in my opinion, because I don't know why,'' Del.-elect
Winsome Sears said at a legislative forum at Children's Hospital of
The King's Daughters. ``The fact that we're not the only one in the
country is not comforting. I want to know why so many children
here are on Ritalin.''
At the forum, sponsored by the School Health Initiative for
Education, participants urged:
More in-depth study of the prevalence of attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorders and how that compares with the
region's use of Ritalin and other ADHD medications.
Examination of insurance coverage. Dr. Albert Finch, executive
medical director at Children's Hospital, said many pediatricians
who would like to refer patients for more thorough mental-health
evaluations when diagnosing ADHD find that insurance does not
cover the evaluation.
Background coverage: Ritalin use in Virginia is ''astronomical''
Health article: The ADHD controversy
Video: What parents should know
Consideration of hiring more school psychologists. Chesapeake
school psychologist LaVerne Alebiosu said she has her hands so
full evaluating children for possible ADHD that little time is left for
prevention efforts and for helping children who have already been
diagnosed.
Study of genetic, environmental and demographic factors that
might contribute to high Ritalin use.
Local researcher Gretchen LeFever, a psychologist and assistant
professor of pediatrics at the Center for Pediatric Research,
presented statistics at the forum showing that Hampton Roads
cities ranked in the top 10 percent for Ritalin use in a comparison
of 2,994 communities across the country. The center is a joint
project of Children's Hospital and the Eastern Virginia Medical
School.
Virginia ranked fourth in the country. Portsmouth was in the top 1
percent of the nation's communities, Virginia Beach in the top 3
percent, Chesapeake in the top 5 percent, and Hampton, Norfolk
and Newport News in the top 10 percent.
There are other ``hot spots'' of Ritalin use across the state,
including Richmond, Charlottesville and Northern Virginia. Other
states with high rates include Montana, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa.
LeFever said her studies of local school districts have shown that
the children on medication and diagnosed with ADHD have higher
rates of absenteeism, expulsions and repeating grades. So while
the medication may be helping with symptoms, it's not always
helping with schoolwork.
To address that issue, LeFever recommended more emphasis on
behavior management in schools. Birdneck Elementary in Virginia
Beach is in the first year of a four-year pilot program in which
teachers and other school personnel are learning how best to
shape student behavior. LeFever hopes that Project PRAISE --
Promoting Responsible Actions through Intervention and School-
Wide Education -- can be duplicated across the state and nation.
Virginia Beach parent Vikki Flescher did not attend the forum, but
she worries that studies such as LeFever's may unfairly stigmatize
children on ADHD medication. ``I don't understand the concern over
the usage of it, if it's working,'' she said.
Flescher's 9-year-old son has taken the drug Adderall for the past
two years to treat ADHD. She said her son went from failing
classes to becoming an honor roll student. ``These studies make
people think ADHD is imaginary, that it's not real.''
At the forum, LeFever said she supports the use of medication
when it's appropriate and when a child truly has the disorder, which
the National Institutes of Health says affects 3 percent to 5 percent
of the school-aged population. But attention deficits, because they
lack any biological marker, are prone to misdiagnosis.
State Sen. Yvonne Miller, D-Norfolk, urged people who have
concerns or suggestions for more research or legislative changes
to contact members of a legislative joint subcommittee studying
the issue. The subcommittee, which Miller proposed and serves
on, plans to make recommendations in December.
For more information about the School Health Initiative for
Education, a coalition of educational and health professionals, call
668-6497 . For more information about the joint subcommittee
(HJR 660) studying use of Ritalin among Virginia students, call
Dawn Smith at (804) 698-1540
Reach Elizabeth Simpson at 446-2635 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
End<{{{
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