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Homeschool Information Library
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From the DEA
Methylphenidate (available as the brand-name product Ritalin) is a Schedule
II stimulant which is structurally and pharmacologically similar to the
amphetamines. Approximately 85 to 90% of all prescriptions for methylphenidate
are written for young children and adolescents for the treatment of ADHD.
According to the United Nations 1993 statistics on psychotropic substances,
the U.S. produces and consumes more than 80% of the total world supply
of methylphenidate. The United Nations International Narcotics Control
Board has, on two recent occasions, written letters to U.S. officials expressing
concern about the sharp increase in the use of methylphenidate in the United
States.
Support and advisory groups play an important role in the distribution
of information regarding ADHD and its treatment. In recent years there
have been large increases in membership in these organizations. Children
and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD) is the nation's largest
ADHD support organization. CHADD sponsors parent support groups, convenes
meetings featuring speakers, works with local school systems and provides
information regarding ADHD and related issues.
It has recently come to the attention of the Drug Enforcement Administration
that Ciba-Geigy (the manufacturer of the methylphenidate product marketed
under the brand name Ritalin) contributed $748,000 to CHADD from 1991 to
1994 [Editor's note: according to Fred A. Baughman, Jr. M.D., the
figure is now well over $1,000,000]. A spokesman for Ciba-Geigy stated
that "CHADD is essentially a conduit for providing information to the patient
population." The relationship between Ciba-Geigy and CHADD raises serious
concerns about CHADD's motive in proselytizing the use of Ritalin.
- Information from "Methylphenidate, A Background Paper," October, 1995;
Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, Office of Diversion Control, U.S.
Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (copies of this
booklet are available free)
In 1990, 900,000 American children were taking Ritalin,
a powerful psychostimulant. By 1996 the number had risen to 2.6 million,
and an estimated 80% of those were boys. The number of children taking
stimulants for ADD has doubled every two years since 1988 and is expected
to reach 8 million by the year 2000. Diagnoses are sometimes made in children
as young as three years old.
Attention Deficit Disorder - commonly known as ADD - was first defined
in the 1960's, and the definition is still a rather loose one. Today, a
child who cannot focus, who is more active than his peers, or who daydreams
is often suspected of having an attention deficit disorder. In the 1960's,
before drugging became commonplace, students who had a difficult time were
given extra time and attention by the teacher. To be fair, classes today
are usually larger, and much of the behavior that is "all in a day's work"
today would not have been tolerated 20 or 30 years ago. These factors make
the teacher's job more difficult, and often make specialized attention
almost impossible.
Of course, discipline - or the lack thereof - is not the only factor
that can cause inappropriate behavior. There is significant evidence that
diet can play a major role in the behavior of children. In 1975, Dr. Benjamin
Feingold was able to reduce hyperactivity in many of his patients by eliminating
artificial food ingredients (e.g., coloring, preservatives, flavoring,
etc.) from their diets. Dr. William G. Crook, a pediatrician and allergist,
further verified the link between diet and behavior with his study of more
than 100 overactive children. When allergens were eliminated (milk, eggs,
wheat, corn and sugar are common), about 75% of the children became "normal."
Dr. Mendelsohn, a renowned pediatrician and medical school professor,
states that both allergies and nutrition receive little attention in medical
school, which results in most doctors being vastly ignorant of these branches
of health care. This may explain why many doctors do not spend more
time exploring these possibilities before writing out a prescription for
behavior-modifying drugs, but it does not excuse them from dismissing the
possibility of a link when questioned. In his book, Confessions of a Medical
Heretic, Dr. Mendelsohn criticizes the tendency of many doctors to look
upon anything outside of conventional medicine as "quackery", such as nutritional
healing and alternative medicines.
At the present time, the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of ADD
involves the parents, but the question has been raised whether the establishment
of school-based clinics via Goals 2000 and related legislation will permit
the school system to diagnose and treat children without parental knowledge
or consent. The text for Goals 2000 refers to school-based clinics as "one-stop
shopping" for the community, and they include "social services, health
care, nutrition, related services, and child care." (Title 3).
The piggy bank for all these services is Medicaid, which was created
to provide health insurance for the poor and disabled. However, a loophole
in the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1989 permits schools to claim Medicaid
reimbursement for special education services for students eligible for
Medicaid. The Act greatly expanded Medicaid coverage and in 1991
the U.S. Department of Education formally included ADHD (attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder) in the handicaps covered under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation
Act. Therefore, children with ADHD are now recognized as "disabled" and
covered by Medicaid. (ADD and ADHD are used interchangeably in most literature.)
The U. S. Department of Education directed all state education offices
to see that local school districts establish procedures to screen and identify
ADHD children and give them special education and psychological services.
Goals 2000 is used to authorize programs in health care and to create a
system that enables teachers to select children and have them regularly
tested for emotional, social, mental and physical disorders (including
ADD/ADHD) in the school clinics. School officials then have the authority
to treat them by prescribing and administering mood and behavior altering
drugs like Ritalin, Valium, Lorazepam and Prozac.
Putting the authority to diagnose and treat ADD in the school system
and funding such services via Medicaid is not going to stem the problem.
Parents need to seriously question any diagnosis of disability in their
children, explore non-medical options, and fight to keep their rights to
oversee the health care of their children.
The Vaccination Connection
Of all the controversy surrounding ADD and other learning disabilities,
perhaps the most disturbing yet least researched is the link between vaccinations
and various disabilities.
Medical historian Harris L. Coulter, Ph. D. contends that post-vaccinal
encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which is known to be a side-effect
for both the pertussis (the "p" in DPT) and measles (MMR) vaccines, can
cause neurological and nervous system problems ranging from autism and
ADD to mental retardation to dyslexia and learning disabilities.
In fact, Mr. Coulter points out that the pertussis toxoid is used to induce
encephalitis in lab animals. He further states that lack of a "severe reaction"
at the time of the inoculation does not guarantee the absence of a low-grade
encephalitis reaction; even very "mild" reactions, such as fever, fussiness
or drowsiness can be indicators.
Presenters at the National Vaccination Information Center's First Annual
Conference last September agreed that vaccines which cause brain inflammation
are biologically capable of causing mild brain damage, which can appear
as learning disabilities and ADD.
The past 30 years have seen a dramatic jump in children diagnosed with
developmental and learning disabilities of all kinds, as have the number
and universality of vaccinations given to children. The long-term effects
of vaccines have simply not been researched enough for doctors to say with
any degree of certainty what can or cannot happen as a result of vaccination.
Safety studies are limited to 7 days after the inoculation, and since ADD
and other learning disabilities can take years to surface, these links
are not taken into account.
As consumers, parents are entitled to a lot more information than they
are routinely given before vaccinating their children; information that
is not available needs to be researched. To do otherwise is to make a mockery
of the concept of informed consent.
© 1998, Jodi Guistolise
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