What's wrong with the children?

October 25, 2006

> " What's wrong with the children?... the system that is raising them is

> nuts. "

>

> http://www.newswithviews.com/DeWeese/tom64.htm

>

> RITALIN IS POISON

> By Tom DeWeese

> October 24, 2006

> NewsWithViews.com

>

> Why is America suddenly experiencing an explosion of new mental diseases

> and disorders never heard of thirty years ago? Why are children seemingly

> out of control, refusing to listen to parents and teachers, even driven to

> violence?

>

> Here are two possible reasons to consider. First, it is apparent the

> psychology industry isn't opposed to simply making up diseases and

> disorders if there is money to be made. Second, some research is

> suggesting that many of the growing diseases and disorders could actually

> be side effects of the drugs psychologists are pouring into children to

> " cure " their made-up diseases.

>

> Does that sound harsh or far-fetched? Consider these facts.

>

> Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

> Disorder (ADHD) are complete frauds. There is no scientific evidence

> whatsoever to prove either exists. Yet, today, almost seven million

> children have been diagnosed as being ADD or ADHD. And most have been

> placed on a behavior-altering drug called Ritalin, which is supposed to be

> the miracle answer to a non-existent problem.

>

> THE ROOTS OF ADD/ADHD

>

> For the past several years schools have had a problem. Some children can't

> seem to concentrate on their studies, can't sit still, can't stay quiet or

> can't keep their attention on any specific activity. At home, parents find

> the same children to be a disruption in the household. Sometimes the

> children become violent, certainly uncontrollable.

>

> Clearly something is wrong. Children have been taken to doctors for

> medical exams. Nothing chemical or physical has been found wrong with

> them. No brain tumors, no epilepsy, no multiple sclerosis nor any of the

> known neurological disorders have been found in the children. Schools need

> answers. Parents need answers. Psychologists need to prove their

> credentials. So, in the dark, blind as bats, action has been taken.

>

> Dr. Fred A. Baughman, a leading expert and critic of the ADD theory,

> explains the steps the psychiatry establishment took to create an answer,

> and establish a name, for what they believe inflicts the children. Says

> Dr. Baughman, " They (a committee of the American Psychiatric Association,

> APA) made a list of the most common symptoms of emotional discomfiture of

> children; those which bother teachers and parents most, and in a stroke

> that could not be more devoid of science or Hippocratic motive - termed

> them a 'disease.' Twenty five years of research, not deserving of the term

> 'research,' has failed to validate ADD/ADHD as a disease. "

>

> To date, there has never been issued a single peer-reviewed scientific

> paper officially claiming to prove ADD/ADHD exists. Nor has there ever

> been a single bit of physical evidence to confirm the disease exists.

> So-called experts on the subject have refused to answer the simple

> question, " is ADD/ADHD a real disease? " Medical researchers charge that

> ADHD does not meet the medical definition of a disease or syndrome or

> anything organic or biologic.

>

> One piece of speculation ADD " experts " cling to is MRI brain-scan research

> conducted by Dr. F. Xavier Castellanos of the National Institute of

> Health. According to his research, suspected ADD/ADHD victims show a

> consistent but moderate shrinkage in three key parts of the brain, thus

> causing the erratic behavior and consequently proving the existence of

> ADD/ADHD. Castellanos' research has been grabbed up by ADD experts in

> conferences and in written studies for several years. Others have used

> similar tests with matching results. Desperate to grab hold of any shred

> of evidence which could back up the official ADD position, psychologists

> and policy makers used Castellanos' findings to establish medication and

> therapy treatment for suspected ADD/ADHD patients. Consequently, the

> " epidemic " of ADD/ADHD has grown from 500,000 cases in 1985 to almost

> 7,000,000 in 1999. In most cases Ritalin is prescribed to control the

> disorder.

>

> There is only one problem with the conclusions found in Dr. Castellanos'

> findings. At least 93% of the children used in his research had been on

> long-term stimulant therapy, usually Ritalin. Likewise, the other tests

> also used long-term Ritalin-treated patients. According to Dr. Baughman,

> what the tests proved again and again was that Ritalin was causing the

> brains to shrink - not ADD.

>

> In truth, no one in the medical profession or in government regulatory

> agencies will stick their necks out and pronounce ADD/ADHD as a real

> disease. To the contrary, in a series of letters to Dr. Baughman they have

> said the exact opposite. In 1994, Leber of the Food and Drug

> Administration said, " As yet no distinctive pathophysiology for the

> disorder has been delineated. " In 1995, Gene R. Haislip of the Drug

> Enforcement Administration said, " We are also unaware that ADHD has been

> validated as a biologic/organic syndrome or disease. " In 1998, M.

> Swanson of the University of California, and leading ADD advocate, said in

> conference, " I would like to have an objective diagnosis for the disorder

> (ADHD). Right now psychiatric diagnosis is completely subjective. " And

> even Dr. Castellanos, in spite of his extensive research, said in 1998, " I

> agree that we have not yet met the burden of demonstrating the specific

> pathophysiology that we believe underlies this condition. "

>

> In spite of the lack of evidence for the existence of ADD/ADHD, its

> advocates continue to march forward, helter-skelter, issuing prescriptions

> for drugs like Ritalin with little concern for the long-term consequences

> it may bring to the patients. Barkley sees Ritalin as the medical

> triumph of the century. Barkely boldly states, " ...once convinced of an

> ADHD diagnosis, there's no compelling reason to avoid Ritalin. " As Dr.

> Baughman explains, " Their 'diseases' are theories in perpetuity. As long

> they believe and as long as the drugs are prescribed, that's all that

> matters. "

>

> FOLLOW THE MONEY

>

> When things don't seem to make sense, it's been advised many times to

> " follow the money. " That would be sage advise in the search for the truth

> about ADD. There is lots of money worth following.

>

> Since ADD was invented by the APA, psychiatric hospitalizations to private

> hospitals have tripled. Admissions of children and adolescents to private

> psychiatric hospitals jumped from 16,735 in 1980 to 42,502 in 1986. Irving

> , MD and professor of psychiatry at the University of California,

> San Francisco says, " Patients are hospitalized for periods consistent with

> their insurance coverage and discharged with diagnoses that question

> whether hospitalization is appropriate. "

>

> Insurance healthcare fraud is a $60 to $80 billion a year business. And

> the psychology industry has been very creative in finding ways to cash in.

> But it's only the tip of the iceberg when seeking to calculate the massive

> ADD/ADHD-related profits flowing into the coffers of the industry.

>

> The greatest source of new growth for the psychiatric industry is the

> schools. As education restructuring grew into a full-blown

> behavior-modification assault designed to change the attitudes, values and

> beliefs of the children, a key element to the process was to turn healthy

> children into " patients. " By diagnosing a child to have a mental disorder

> like ADD/ADHD the school could gain federal funds. It's a growth industry.

>

> In 1965, the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act(ESEA),

> education changed education forever as the seeds for today's massive

> restructuring -away from academics to behavior modification -began. It was

> psychology's crowning moment. The ESEA allocated massive federal funds and

> opened school doors to a flood of psychiatrists, psychologists, social

> workers and the psychiatric programs and testing needed to validate them.

> The number of educational psychologists in the U.S. increased from 455 in

> 1969 to 16,146 in 1992. As of 1994, child psychologists, psychiatrists,

> counselors and special educators in and around U.S. public schools nearly

> out-number teachers.

>

> In 1991, eligibility rules for federal education grants were changed to

> provide schools with $400 in annual grant money for each child diagnosed

> with ADHD. That same year the Department of Education formally recognized

> ADHD as a handicap and directed all state education officers to establish

> procedures to screen and identify ADHD children and provide them with

> special education and psychological services. As a result, the number of

> ADD/ADHD cases soared again.

>

> Today more than 7,000,000 children have been labeled, stamped and

> registered as permanent patients of the school system. 10 to 12 percent of

> all boys between the ages of 6 and 14 in the United States have been

> diagnosed as having ADD. One in every 30 Americans between the ages of 5

> and 19 years old has a prescription to Ritalin. Psychologists have never

> had it so good. The federal trough has been very good for their industry.

>

> With more than half of those 7,000,000 children also prescribed Ritalin,

> the stock-market value of its manufacturer, the Swiss pharmaceutical

> company Novartis, has also soared. Now that company and others are working

> to introduce a host of new drugs into the classroom, including Prozac and

> Luvox, which has just been approved by the Food and Drug Administration

> for pediatric use. Now the industry is looking to even greater growth as

> pre-school toddlers are being targeted by the pill brigade. The use of

> psychotropic drugs, like anti-depressants and stimulants, in 2-to-4-year

> olds doubled or even tripled between 1991 and 1995. The federal trough has

> been very good to the pharmaceutical industry, as well.

>

> IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO DESTROY A CHILD

>

> The federal trough has been good for the education industry, too. Schools

> are awash with federal funds to build in-school clinics where children

> will be analyzed, diagnosed and treated for whatever disease they care to

> make the flavor of the day. It's in the schools where the system will make

> sure the children are properly cared for, out of sight and questions of

> the parents.

>

> Beyond the available funding, there is also a side-bonus for the schools.

> If a child has a learning disorder, the schools can't be held responsible

> for the fact that the student can't learn. Bad teachers, failed curriculum

> and federal programs can't be blamed for the failure of the student to

> learn. They've created an efficient system to protect themselves. It works

> like this: If a child has trouble with math, he is deemed to have a mental

> disorder under code number 315.1 - " Mathematics Disorder; " If the child

> can't write literature composition she must be suffering from code 315.2

> - " Disorder of Written Expression; " If the student can't read then he is

> obviously suffering from code 315 - " Reading Disorder. " As stated, the

> whole industry is well protected - and well paid.

>

> So the schools join in full cooperation with the psychologists to label

> millions of children with learning disorders. Teachers, with no medical

> credentials, serve as the unofficial recruiter and perform

> " pop-psychology " in the classroom to decide what children might have ADD.

>

> ny is in the fifth grade, but only reads at a first grade level. Not

> the school's fault. ny must be " dyslexic " or could have ADD. The

> teacher now becomes a brain diagnostician who decides who will be tested

> and who will be referred for special education or who is uneducable

> without Ritalin. The teacher reports these " findings " to the school

> administration and the wheels of control begin to turn against the child

> and the parents.

>

> Woe be the child or parents who dare resist. The " team " now convenes - all

> for the good of the child, of course. The weight of consensus is brought

> to bear. Woe be the doctor who doesn't agree with the findings. One who

> does will be found. Once treatment has been decided, the drugs are issued

> and the team is increased to include in-home social workers and the

> in-school clinics. The child is now community property. Now you know the

> true meaning of the term " it takes a village, " and the process to make it

> so.

>

> It's interesting to note that in December, 2004, in Australia, the head of

> the government's inquiry into reading, Ken Rowe, said hospital psychology

> clinics were straining to cope with children seeking medical attention for

> problems caused by their failure to learn in school. " Hospitals are

> complaining that their clinics are being filled with kids who are being

> referred for things like(ADHD), " said Rowe. " But once the pediatricians

> sort out the children's literacy problems the behavior problems

> disappear. "

>

> POISON IN A CHILD'S SYSTEM

>

> Psychologists will lie to you. They will tell you that Ritalin is not

> addictive. It is. It affects the mind. It affects the body. It can cause

> depression. The reaction to Ritalin by the brain is exactly the same as

> that of cocaine, except cocaine is shorter acting. It changes the child.

> Research is showing that Ritalin use is a common factor among many of the

> students who have walked into their schools and opened fire, indicating

> that Ritalin brings children to violence.

>

> Children are dying from Ritalin use. According to Ritalin critic, Dr.

> Baughman, of 2,993 adverse reaction reports (AR) concerning Ritalin listed

> by the FDA from 1990 to 1997, there were 160 deaths and 569

> hospitalizations, 36 of them life-threatening. Ritalin is known to cause

> cardiac arrhythmia, tachycardia and hypertension. Research has proven that

> Ritalin and other amphetamines can interfere with body phospholipid

> chemistry (complex fat), causing the accumulation of abnormal membranes

> visible with an electronic microscope.

>

> Ritalin is early training to introduce children to drug abuse. Today,

> Ritalin is fast becoming the drug of choice by college students who were

> brought up on it. Reports from college campuses across the nation indicate

> that Ritalin use has become as popular as Coca Cola and coffee as a study

> aid.

>

> A black market for obtaining Ritalin without a prescription has developed

> on some campuses. " People will pay $5 or $6 for one pill, " says a

> sophomore at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. To increase its

> potency, some students have started to crush Ritalin and sniff it like

> cocaine. After the " buzz " wears off, students report side effects of

> melancholy, lethargy, dry mouth, loss of appetite and inability to sleep.

>

> Some parents report that, in the beginning Ritalin, seems to help children

> focus and begin to learn. But there is evidence that, over time, the drug

> builds up in the system causing depression and violent mood swings. In

> many cases, after being on the drug for several years children actually

> forget how to live without it. If taken off the drug they have reported

> feeling lost, frightened, even paranoid. This can lead the child to

> eventually experimenting with illegal drugs in an attempt to " feel normal "

> again. Research has shown that children on Ritalin are three times more

> likely to develop a taste for cocaine. So as the psychologists continue to