90-fold increase in UK prescriptions for methylphenidate in 10 years

[Guest guest]

In 1994 there were just 4,000 prescriptions for methylphenidate, 10

years later that figure had gone up to 359,000 - a 90-fold increase.

The ADHD dilemma for parents

By Cordelia Rayner

All Out Productions

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6071216.stm

American scientists have concerns over medicines

With a recent survey suggesting almost 50% of children with Attention

Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have been excluded at some point,

parents face difficult choices.

Up to one in 20 children have ADHD, which affects concentration and

can cause them to be disruptive.

Many are being put on medication but unions warn that some schools

cannot meet their medical needs.

And American scientists have raised concerns about the widespread use

of ADHD medications.

A recent survey by the National Attention Deficit Disorder

information and support service found the exclusion rate for children

with ADHD was 10 times higher than that of those without.

Some parents have told the BBC they were told to give their children

medication or keep them at home, and that they often felt they were

being denied a proper education.

The only way parents can get their children an education is through

the courtroom

Sheppard

The National Association of Head Teachers spokesperson, Jan Myles,

said: " It's the system that fails the child but all too often the

blame is laid at the door of the school.

" A lot of heads I'm talking to on a daily basis are exhausted with

trying to implement different strategies that are not working. "

One mother, Sheppard, is taking her local authority to the

European Court of Human Rights to gain her son the educational

support she claims he needs.

Ms Sheppard removed her son from his school because she says they

were unable to offer him adequate support in the classroom.

Continual exclusions from school trips and other activities caused

his well-being to plummet and by the time he was seven he threatened

suicide, she says.

For 18 months Ms Sheppard struggled to find a school she felt could

cope with her son's education needs.

" It's ridiculous - the only way parents can get their children an

education is through the courtroom, " says Ms Sheppard, who claims

that many exclusions are not recorded in official statistics and are

classified as authorised absences by schools.

Other parents say they are coming under pressure to have their

children on prescription drugs.

The BBC's Five Live Report spoke to one parent who said they were

asked by their school to either put their child on medication or they

would be excluded.

In the past 10 years the prescription rates for ADHD medications,

which are based on the chemical methylphenidate, have risen sharply.

These are powerful medications that have serious risks

Dr Nissen

In 1994 there were just 4,000 prescriptions for methylphenidate, 10

years later that figure had gone up to 359,000 - a 90-fold increase.

However, the news comes at a time when leading American doctors have

called for greater warnings on the labels of the ADHD medications.

The risks outlined by Dr Nissen include tics, strokes, and in

severe cases, sudden death.

" These drugs are not candy, " says Dr Nissen, President of the

American College of Cardiologists who was one of the key experts that

moved to increase the warnings. " These are powerful medications that

have serious risks. "

In Britain though the drug advisory board, the MRHA, is not yet

planning to release any new guidelines.

Manufacturers said the risks identified were small and only applied

to people with pre-existing heart conditions.

One drugs company, Novartis, said it had " conducted a review of our

global safety database in early 2005 which did not show any increased

events of sudden deaths or strokes among methylphenidate users

compared to the general population " .

Five Live Report can be heard on Sunday 22 October at 1100 BST and

1930BST and will also be available at the Five Live Report website.