The Dark side of a Wonder Drug-A Selected Collection of Testimony on the
Safety of Ritalin
'We give our children every day, yet we punish adults for taking speed,'
stated a concerned parent(Ritalin Zone). A trip to the principal's office used
to mean big trouble. These days, more kids are showing up in the school
office just to get their midday dose of Ritalin. Ritalin, the drug used to treat
hyperactivity in children, is being seized on by a generation worried about
controlling inappropriate behavior. But some doctors think Ritalin is being
prescribed to children who are simply having trouble in school. The numbers
suggest they have good reason to worry. The number of prescriptions for
Ritalin increased four-fold from 1990 to 1995, making the stimulant one of
the most prescribed drugs in the country. No one knows exactly what's
behind the surge in Ritalin use, but experts speculate it's due to everything
from increased awareness of attention disorders in schools to teachers and
parents becoming less tolerant of unruly behavior.
English: Percent of Youth 4-17 ever diagnosed with...
Splashes approximating big
English: Percent of Youth 4-17 ever diagnosed with...Some local school offices have become virtual noon-time pharmacies. At
one Ottawa-area board of education, the number of medications dispensed to
students by office administrators has increased 20 per cent over the past 18
months. A good chunk of those pills are Ritalin. 'We always worry that we're
a half-step away from giving someone the wrong dosage,' says John Beatty,
the board's superintendent of school operations(Ritalin Boy). 'In certain
school systems there's been a teacher who has seen it work and they'll start
suggesting it as an option for all children who are acting out,' said Linda
Budd, a St. Paul, Minn., psychologist who has written the book Living With
the Active/Alert Child. 'We've got some teachers we call 'Ritalin bullies' -
he's not paying attention to me so...