Ritalin, Are We over Medicating Our Children?

Ritalin, Are We Overmedicating Our Children?

Today, many children are diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children that are not able to concentrate, act impulsively, or have an abundance of energy are likely candidates of having ADHD. Many children have these characteristics and are being prescribed Ritalin, a drug that stimulates the brain to help children gain focus. Having said that, more and more children are taking Ritalin, but are too many taking it for the wrong reasons? Today we see children act out in class, call it a behavioral problem, and immediately put them on medication. Medicating children with Ritalin should be a last resort; doctors, parents, and teachers seemed to be using it as a first response.

ADHD is a common behavioral disorder found more in boys and is characterized by poor concentration, distractibility, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Children with ADHD are easily distracted by their environment and find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time. They also find it hard to control their behaviors and commonly

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disrupt their peers, their family members and teachers in the classroom setting. The child's school performance is usually affected negatively due to this. This condition is normally noticed in the child's early school years and the child's teachers often bring it to the attention of parents. For ADHD there is no cure, in some children the symptoms seem to lessen once the child enters adolescents. It is estimated that almost ten million children have been diagnosed with having ADHD. Glasser in his book claims "ADHD is nothing but a collection of behaviors that have been lumped together and called a disorder by the psychiatric community" (Glasser 76). The most common drug prescribed to children with ADHD is Ritalin. The 1990's 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, and ninety percent of all Ritalin is produced and used in the United States (Gray).

Ritalin is a drug that began being used for children's behavioral problem in the 1950's. The first addition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manuel (DSM) was printed in 1952; in that book were three diagnosable psychological disorders for children. By 1980 the DSM contained ten times that number for pediatric diagnoses (Glasser 2). The Food and Drug Administration approved Ritalin on December 5, 1975. When the FDA approved it there were almost two hundred thousand children taking the drug. The short-term physical side effects of Ritalin are easily found in any book or web page. Those side effects such as insomnia, loss of appetite, nausea, are found all over the place. Ritalin can

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also affect the normal growth in children and can kill or permanently damage their brains. Considering Ritalin is a pretty new drug the long-term side effects are completely known. The younger children that began taking this in the 1980's are now in adulthood. These adults are now dealing with a whole new set of problems, due to the extended use of Ritalin. The new problems are, permanent insomnia, chronic depression, lowered sperm count in males (Glasser 50).

Stimulant medications are far more dangerous than most practitioners and published experts seem to realize (Breggin). Doctors seem to forget to list the more serious side effects when prescribing the drug to children. A few of the "forgotten" side effects are irregular heartbeat, liver damage, and high blood pressure to name a few. In the absolute worst-case scenario death happens. Because of the lack of doctor's involvement in follow up care, death can and has occurred. Shaina Dunkle a ten year old from Pennsylvania died from Ritalin use in February 2001 (Grigg). She was diagnosed with ADHD and also had a history of asthma and kidney problems. Shaina began taking Ritalin in 1999 and less than two years later she was dead because of it. Shaina's kidney problem made her unable to metabolize the drug and the doctor continued increasing her dosage thinking it was not working. The doctor did not examine her to see if there was a medical reason why the medicine did not seem to be working, instead he continued increasing the dose. Finally her body could not take the large amount of toxins in her bloodstream and she went into cardiac arrest. There is also the case of fourteen-year-old

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Matthew Smith of Auburn Hills, Michigan. After seven years of state imposed Ritalin use. Matthew's heart showed clear signs of small vessel damage, the type caused by stimulant drugs such as Ritalin (Smith).

Along with physical side effects there are also long term psychological side effects. The emotional and psychological side effects are more complicated than any parent is ever told. The longer the child is on Ritalin the worse the emotional outcome seems to be. Children can become addicted to the medication for one instance. Long term Ritalin use will also increase the risk of substance abuse later on the child's life because by taking medication the child is taught that a pill and drugs can fix anything. There have also been connections made between violence and Ritalin. One of the Columbine shooters was on Ritalin, the thirteen year old that shot and killed classmates in Jonesboro, Arkansas was on medication for ADHD. Glasser states in his book, "Ritalin sends this message to the child: Your intensity is a problem. This huge part of you personality has no value. In fact it is the enemy. You can not handle your own intensity, nor can your parents or teachers, so we need to make it disappear with a pill" (Glasser 10).

Critics claim that parents and/or educators use Ritalin as a quick fix to calm active children and render their behavior more manageable (Reed). Ritalin can play an important part in helping parents and teachers manage over active children. But is it the right way to treat children? Teachers today are faced with many more obstacles than they faced twenty years ago. Over crowding of classrooms does not allow for one on one

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interaction some children need. There are some children that have so much energy that one can understand the educator's position to recommend the use of Ritalin. Parents and teachers are aiming for their children to do well in school, so accepting ADHD, as the reason for not being successful is much easier than if it