Double Whammy on ADHD

[Guest guest]

1st article: Utah Governor signs new law that that bars schools from

forcing parents to put their kids on psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin.

The law is the first of its kind in the nation, said Madeline Kriescher,

a health policy associate at the National Conference for State

Legislatures.

2nd article: Spitzer, the fruitcake psychiatrist who invented

ADHD, now admits: " many may not really be ill. "

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5405273

Ritalin bill

Law bars schools from strong-arming parents to put kids on

psychotropics, Teachers may suggest a professional evaluation, but not

medication You can send letters here: letters@...

By Stricker

and Glen Warchol

03/10/2007

The fourth time was the charm for the so-called " Ritalin bill, " signed

into law Friday by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

The new law bars schools from forcing parents to put their kids on

psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin. The law is the first of its kind in

the nation, said Madeline Kriescher, a health policy associate at the

National Conference for State Legislatures.

" Utah is pretty much on the forefront of doing that sort of thing, "

she said. " But New York has a bill right now that's similar in

language. "

Huntsman had vetoed similar legislation in 2005 and the 2002 and 2006

versions never made it to the governor's desk. This year's measure was

virtually identical to the 2006 version, which had added language to

clarify topics teachers may discuss with parents, and eliminated phrases

banning school personnel from recommending psychological evaluations.

The Utah Board of Education opposed the legislation and urged

Huntsman to veto the bill. Members said the board already has a rule

prohibiting teachers from pushing medications and worry that replicating

it with a law singling out psychiatric drugs would chill communication

between teachers and parents.

It was those concerns that drove Huntsman's 2005 veto.

" This is a great bill. There are way too many kids on psychotropic

drugs, " said the Senate sponsor, Sen. Buttars, R-West Jordan.

The reason for the bill's success this year is simple, Buttars said.

" The governor told us the problems he had with the bill and we corrected

them and he signed it. "

More than 100 lines of text in the new law outline what teachers may

and may not say to parents regarding children's behavior and possible

psychiatric solutions. It says school personnel can't keep kids out of

school or report parents for child abuse simply because parents refuse

psychotropic medications.

No teacher who reads the law, Buttars maintains, would fear

repercussions from discussing a student's needs with parents. Buttars

said the law allows teachers to recommend a professional evaluation for

a child, but not medication. " They can't say, 'We think he should be on

Ritalin.' ”

Though supporters of the law cite anecdotes of school personnel

strong-arming parents to drug their kids, numerous state and national

officials say they've not heard a single such case.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23388389-details/The+great+AD

HD+myth/article.do

The great ADHD myth

10.03.07

Have hyperactive kids been misdiagnosed with ADD?

The psychiatrist who identified attention deficit disorder - the

condition blamed for the bad behaviour of hundreds of thousands of

children - has admitted that many may not really be ill.

Dr Spitzer said that up to 30 per cent of youngsters classified

as suffering from disruptive and hyperactive conditions could have been

misdiagnosed.

They may simply be showing perfectly normal signs of being happy or sad,

he said.

'Many of these conditions might be normal reactions which are not really

disorders,' he continued.

Dr Spitzer developed the bible of mental disorder classification in the

1970s and 1980s, which identified dozens of new conditions including ADD

and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Since then hundreds of thousands of children have been diagnosed with

ADD, a behavioural disorder linked to poor attention span, and ADHD,

which adds an element of hyperactivity.

The disorders describe disruptive and restless behaviour that results in

children having difficulty focusing their attention on specific tasks.

ADHD is most commonly noticed at the age of five, and as many as one in

30 British children is said to have it.

It is often treated with drugs, with Ritalin being the most commonly

prescribed.

Some scientists say ADHD is a genetic disorder that does not disappear

with adulthood.

But sceptics believe the diagnosis is a 'biobabble' label, which has

evolved from a soundbite culture that is too prepared to medicalise

anti-social human traits.

Dr Spitzer, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York,

now says the classification led to many people being diagnosed as

medically disordered when their mood swings and behaviour were simply

normal feelings of happiness and sadness.

In a BBC2 documentary series The Trap, which begins on Sunday, he says

that between 20 and 30 per cent of mental disorder diagnoses may be

incorrect.

His admission comes as figures show that the amount spent by the Health

Service on drugs to treat ADHD and similar disorders in children trebled

to £12 million in just five years, from 1999-2003.

Almost 400,000 British children aged between five and 19 are believed to

be on the drugs - despite doctors' fears about side-effects.

That is the equivalent of every child in Britain each taking more than

four doses of the drugs every year.

NHS guidelines recommend drug treatment for the most severely affected,

although there have been reports of cardiovascular disorders,

hallucinations and even suicidal thoughts.

There have been at least nine deaths reported to the UK's Medicinesand

Healthcare products Regulatory Agency since Ritalin became available in

the early 1990s.

But Dr Spitzer, who chaired the taskforce that compiled the

international Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,

said he is less concerned by wrong diagnoses and possible side-effects

from drugs, than failing to prescribe them where needed.

'By and large the treatments for these disorders don't have serious side

effects,' he told the Times Educational Supplement.

'I mean, some do, but they're not that serious, whereas the failure to

treat can often be very hard on the child and on the family.'

He acknowledged that some parents put pressure on doctors to diagnose

ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and prescribe drugs.

'We don't know to what extent that's been happening inappropriately,' he

added.

Ian Graham, headmaster of Slindon College, an independent boys' boarding

school near Arundel, West Sussex, has 20 out of 100 pupils

diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and a few more with related

diagnoses such as oppositional-defiant disorder.

About 17 of the boys are prescribed drugs including Ritalin, while the

remainder have their condition controlled through diets that exclude

chocolate, sweets or gluten.

The school also employs therapy techniques, and the old-fashioned tactic

of getting pupils to run off their energy in outdoor activities.

Mr Graham said: 'I've never met a parent who is happy with the

medication. They would all prefer not to use them, but to a man and

woman, they all say they can't believe the change in their sons' ability

to concentrate in lessons.'

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