-Caveat Lector-
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Forwarded from the New Paradigms Project [Not Necessarily Endorsed]:
From: Ian Goddard [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RITALIN: Breggin Responds
Date: Sunday, November 14, 1999 7:02 PM
Last year the American Medical Association conducted
a review "to deal with public and professional concern"
about the use of psychotropic drugs to control the minds
of children. [*] Not surprisingly, their conclusion was
that there is no problem -- children who display excessive
energy and who don't pay enough attention to adults should
be dosed with potentially harmful drugs that are intended
to overcome their free wills, bringing them under control.
Below is the response of Peter Breggin, M.D., to the AMA,
presented in a letter that was published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association. Here are some highlights:
"While admitting there are no proven long-term benefits, the
AMA report supports the long-term use of the drug [Ritalin]."
"The council report specifically denies that methylphenidate
[Ritalin] is used for behavioral control but the diagnostic
items are entirely limited to behaviors. The drug is almost
always given to suppress behaviors that signal unmet needs
in the child or conflicts between the child and adults."
"Cookie-cutter diagnoses and assembly-line pharmacological
treatments do not do justice to the needs of our children.
On an individual level, America's children need much more
attention to their personal, family, and educational needs.
On a social level, they need improved schools and family
life and a value system that emphasizes their individuality
rather than drug-induced compliance and conformity."
=
Journal of the American Medical Association,
April 28, 1999 -- Volume 281, Number 16, pages 1490-1
=
To the Editor: By promoting the diagnosis of ADHD and the
use of methylphenidate [Ritalin] as a treatment, the AMA
Council on Scientific Affairs' report [1] does a disservice.
The council report fails to cite any of the dozens of
critical publications spanning decades. [2-6] It exaggerates
the benefits of methylphenidate, claiming short-term use
improves academic performance. Reviews instead conclude
that methylphenidate has no positive effects on learning
but can impair it. [3] While admitting there are no proven
long-term benefits, the AMA report supports the long-term
use of the drug. The report ignores methylphenidate's many
adverse effects. [3]
The council report calls ADHD a "neuropsychiatric disorder,"
but it is a diagnosis of exclusion made only in the absence
of any known medical or neurological cause. All the "symptoms"
are drawn from normal childhood behaviors, such as squirming
in a chair, acting bored, talking out of turn, and being
forgetful and inattentive. When these behaviors increase
in number or intensity, it really signals that the child
requires more individualized attention to unmet basic needs,
such as a more engaging and individualized educational
environment, more rational or consistent discipline in the
home or school, unconditional love, or security and safety.
An increase in ADHD-like behaviors almost always indicates
that we, as adults, are not giving the child much-needed
attention.
The council report specifically denies that methylphenidate
is used for behavioral control but the diagnostic items are
entirely limited to behaviors. The drug is almost always
given to suppress behaviors that signal unmet needs in the
child or conflicts between the child and adults.
The council report minimizes how widely methylphenidate
is being used and abused. By contrast, the International
Narcotics Control Board [5] and the Drug Enforcement
Administration [4] warn that 90% of the worlds
methylphenidate is consumed in the United States, that
10% to 12% of boys aged 6 to 14 years are being diagnosed
and given methylphenidate, that more high school seniors
are abusing the drug than receiving it through physicians,
and that methylphenidate is one of the nation's most
commonly stolen and diverted substances.
Cookie-cutter diagnoses and assembly-line pharmacological
treatments do not do justice to the needs of our children.
On an individual level, America's children need much more
attention to their personal, family, and educational needs.
On a social level, they need improved schools and family
life and a value system that emphasizes their individuality
rather than drug-induced compliance and conformity.
Peter R. Breggin, MD
Bethesda, Md
1. Goldman LS, Genel M, Bezman RJ, Slanetz PJ, for the
Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association,
Diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder in children and adolescents. JAMA. 1998;279:1100-1107.
2. Armstrong T. The Myth of the ADHD Child. New York, NY:
Dutton; 1995.
