Tresy, come on: 2 million school children have been forced onto
speed in the US .  (As many as the US harvest of prisoners --ok)
And the soda gang is hooking millions of kids on caffien
(sp).  The big slush (sic) gives kids the equivalent of 3 STRONG
cups of coffee, yes and Starbucks is working into this juicy market,
by marketing sweeter and sweeter concoctions.  No wonder schools
report so many kids are jumpy.
wcm

>
> OK, let's give Tresy a break from Einstein and Milosevic, and let her
> attack me for my "crackpot" views on medicine.     I've got a teacher
> friend who is really in love with Ritalin.     He considers it a miracle
> drug.
>
> Actually, one could say that it shows how fundamentally messed up is
> American "medicine".        Speed, to treat a condition caused by too
> much speed.
>
> If you give it to someone that's not a kid, they can give you a long
> time in jail.        Also,  if you give shocks to someone's head, you
> can get a long time in jail for assault.      Unless you are a "Doctor"
> in a "therapeutic" setting.
>
> America's NUMBER ONE in shock, also!      Hooray.  We're an inspiration
> to the world in so many different ways.
> Tony
> -------------------------------------------------
> WSWS : News & Analysis : Medicine & Health
>
> What is behind the alarming increase in Ritalin use among US children?
> By Phyllis Gray
>
> In 1997, 5 million people, most of them school-aged children, were
> prescribed psychotropic drugs in the US. The vast majority were given
> the drug Ritalin for treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
> Disorder, or ADHD. The 1990s has witnessed a startling increase in the
> number of children diagnosed with ADHD and a corresponding increase in
> the use of Ritalin and similar drugs for its treatment. Ritalin use
> alone has gone up 700 percent since 1990.
>
> ADHD is one of the most common childhood disorders. It is diagnosed in 3
> to 5 percent of children, eight times more often in boys than girls.
> ADHD has been medically described since 1902. Before the 1940s children
> who had difficulty learning or concentrating were considered mentally
> retarded, emotionally disturbed or culturally disadvantaged.
>
> Following initial research in the 1940s children who were hyperactive,
> distractible and impulsive were said to have Hyperkinetic Disorder of
> Childhood. In 1980 it was renamed Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) to
> emphasize the attention problem. In 1987 the name was changed again,
> this time to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to reflect the
> addition of hyperactivity/impulsively (HI) to the list of symptoms.
>
> The change in terminology for this disorder, and our understanding of
> it, is one indicator of the very complex nature of the disorder. The
> cause of ADHD is unknown, and there is no single test for the condition.
> A child with ADHD displays a range of symptoms, such as distractibility
> and a short attention span, that are not developmentally appropriate for
> his mental age. Ideally diagnosis of a child would involve a visit with
> the child, reports on his schoolwork, examination of his home life, and
> discussions with parents and teachers to develop a profile of the child
> and his situation.
>
> Since diagnosing ADHD is based on behavior that is to one degree or
> another present in all children, deciding when a child is affected by
> ADHD is a matter of judging degrees. Making the diagnosis even more
> difficult is the fact that ADHD frequently appears with other disorders,
> including Tourette Syndrome, lead poisoning, fetal alcohol syndrome and
> retardation. In addition, many other conditions--depression, manic
> depressive illness, substance abuse, anxiety and personality
> disorders--share similar symptoms.
>
> Ritalin is the most often prescribed medication for ADHD. It is a
> stimulant that is closely related to amphetamine. Over 70 percent of all
> children diagnosed with ADHD are prescribed Ritalin. Another 20 percent
> are prescribed its generic equivalent, Methylphenidate (MPH), and
> another stimulant similar to Ritalin, Dexedrine.
>
> It is not known exactly how Ritalin works on a child with ADHD or why a
> stimulant would help a hyperactive child have better concentration. What
> is known is that Ritalin is not a cure in the sense that an antibiotic
> might cure an ear infection. While Ritalin is in the blood stream it
> helps the child, but once blood levels of the drug are reduced the
> child's behavior returns to its previous state. Also, the use of Ritalin
> in children diagnosed with ADHD is not diagnostic. While other
> medications treat specific symptoms of the distinct disorder for which
> they are prescribed, Ritalin has the same effect on all people with or
> without ADHD. In other words, everyone who takes Ritalin is able to
> concentrate better, is less fidgety, is better able to focus, etc.
>
> Many unknowns
>
> ADHD has been perhaps the most studied of all childhood psychiatric
> conditions, and Ritalin is the most studied childhood psychotropic
> medication. However there is still much that is not known about ADHD and
> Ritalin.
>
> There are no firm figures on how many children are taking the drug. In
> the 1980s
> it was estimated that between 200,000 and 500,000 children were
> receiving stimulants. In 1987 750,000 children were believed to be on
> the medication. Both of these figures were the result of extrapolation
> from regional studies. A study done by the University of California,
> Irvine, Child Development Center estimated that in 1993 3 million
> children were diagnosed with ADHD. Ninety percent of these children were
> on medication; 1.3 million receiving Ritalin.
>
> Researchers believe that the number of children on Ritalin has grown to
> 3.5 million with another 1.4 million taking other medications, most
> likely Dexedrine.
> Production and use of Ritalin is expected to double by the year 2000,
> which would bring the number of children taking the medication to 7
> million. Some estimate that ADHD affects 10 percent of all children. If
> this is so, it would mean that within a few years fully 10 million
> children could be on the drug.
>
> No other nation comes close to the US in the production and use of
> Ritalin. Ninety percent of all Ritalin is produced and used in the
> United States. Only Australia is close to the US in per capita use.
> Canada has seen a comparable rise, although it is still at about
> one-fourth of per capita use as compared to the United States. Britain
> has had a policy of intervening with social support for children with
> ADHD and using Ritalin only as a last resort, although these measures
> are being attacked because of budget cuts. Sweden prohibits use of the
> drug.
>
> There is a wide disparity in the prescription and use of Ritalin in the
> US. Virginia has the highest per capita use of the drug. It is six times
> higher than the state with the lowest usage, Hawaii. Within some states
> there is a 20-fold difference among communities. In Michigan 5 percent
> of pediatricians were prescribing 50 percent of the Ritalin. In
> Delaware, 9 of 135 providers (7 percent) wrote 26 percent of Ritalin
> prescriptions.
>
> These disparities imply that there are developing Ritalin mills, medical
> practices that become known for quickly diagnosing ADHD and prescribing
> Ritalin. Doctors and parents have reported that some school districts
> regularly inform parents that their child is possibly afflicted with
> ADHD and tell them which doctor to see.
> Ritalin produces quick and noticeable changes in the child in reducing
> many of the symptoms associated with ADHD. In the short term it does,
> while in the blood stream, improve concentration. It will improve a
> child's test scores and make a child less combative and decrease
> aggression. However it cannot resolve more complex problems such as low
> reading comprehension, nor can it help children with learning
> disabilities, such as dyslexia.
>
> Little is known about whether the temporary improvements continue once
> the child is removed from treatment. According to Dr. Diller Lawrence in
> his book Running on Ritalin, studies conducted in the 1960s show that
> drug treatment, isolated from behavioral modification and talk therapy,
> produces no long-term benefits for the child. In these studies
> researchers found that children treated only with Ritalin were just as
> likely as the ADHD population as a whole to suffer problems of
> unfinished education, drug addiction and problems with the law.
>
> Despite the lack of scientific support, many experts in the field, such
> as Russell Barkley of the University of Massachusetts Medical School,
> now recommend prescribing Ritalin without any other form of treatment.
> The majority of research into ADHD has centered on finding a biological
> cause for it. This emphasis has helped legitimize the use of medication.
> Likewise the general conception of describing the disorder as behavioral
> tends to place the blame upon the child's parents, caregivers or
> teachers.
>
> In reality the relationship is much more complex. Biological and genetic
> factors, as well as behavioral training, undoubtedly have an impact.
> However, if the social conditions under which a child grows, including
> the stress on children caused by changes within society, are ignored
> then no real insight into the problem, nor its correct treatment, can be
> discovered.
>
> Social issues behind the use of Ritalin
> Since 1960 the number of children in families where both parents are
> working has gone up from 30 percent to 70 percent. Sixty percent of
> preschool children are now in some form of daycare. The number of
> children growing up in single parent households, mostly headed by women,
> has also gone up dramatically. The vast majority of these parents have
> to work. Parents from varied economic backgrounds--from poor single
> parents forced to enter the work force because of changes in welfare
> laws, to white collar and professional workers putting in a 50- or
> 60-hour workweek--have less and less time to spend with their children.
>
> Moreover, because of the added pressure for academic achievement
> children are being forced to compete in school at younger and younger
> ages. There is very little time for evaluation and patient work to
> overcome learning problems. It is not uncommon now to find three and
> four year olds being brought in for ADHD evaluation and being prescribed
> Ritalin.
>
> The educational crisis has exacerbated the problem. Schools are under
> greater pressure to have students diagnosed with ADHD and placed on
> Ritalin. Budget cuts have led to a dramatic increase class sizes.
> Classes of 30, 35 children and more preclude one-on-one treatment of
> behavioral problems and lead administrators and teachers to seek quick
> solutions. Furthermore, cuts in special education programs have reduced
> the amount of resources available for classroom aides, specialists,
> counselors and teachers to help troubled students.
>
> The full inclusion of special education students in regular classes has
> placed even greater responsibility on already over-taxed teachers.
> There are many alternative treatments for ADHD that prove effective.
> Many educators, psychologists and psychiatrists point to how behavior
> management and changing the child's structure and environment can
> alleviate symptoms of ADHD. But such approaches and changes cost far
> more than the cost of a Ritalin prescription, and schools already
> dealing with massive budget cuts do not have the resources to develop
> additional programs.
>
> Obvious measures to alleviate some of the factors that may lead to
> ADHD--such as better daycare provision, smaller classrooms, individual
> consistent attention and discussions with counselors and social
> workers--are precluded in an atmosphere of constant budget-cutting and
> belt-tightening.
> Under these conditions many children who have symptoms similar to ADHD
> have been misdiagnosed and given Ritalin. One study found that when
> children diagnosed with ADHD were reevaluated with a standard test more
> than 25 percent were learning disabled and not ADHD.
>
> In addition, the market-driven restructuring of the health care industry
> has also contributed to the increase in Ritalin usage. It is much
> cheaper for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) to treat ADHD with
> drugs rather than psychiatric analysis and other behavioral therapies. A
> typical month-long prescription of Ritalin is $30 to $60. A typical
> psychiatric analysis is $1,500, or at least twice as much as the cost of
> Ritalin for a year. Most managed care plans limit psychiatric treatment
> or behavioral therapies to a time much too short to have any effect on
> ADHD.
>
> In addition, HMO's, managed care and health insurance companies all
> pressure doctors to spend less time with patients. Few doctors have the
> time for the type of evaluation required to diagnose a child with ADHD:
> observing the child, discussing with the parents, teachers and other
> caregivers. Routine appointments in a clinic are placed 15 minutes apart
> and most doctors do not even spend that much time with the patient.
> Furthermore, the changes in diagnostic standards have meant that
> physicians are no longer required to witness symptoms, but can rely on
> reports from untrained school authorities and parents.
>