[SSRI-Research] SOME PARENTS JUST SAY 'WHOA' TO SCHOOL-REQUIRED MEDICATIONS

[Guest guest]

JustSayNo

Sat, 19 Jun 2004 21:33:16 -0400

[sSRI-Research] SOME PARENTS JUST SAY 'WHOA' TO SCHOOL-REQUIRED

MEDICATIONS

 

SOME PARENTS JUST SAY 'WHOA' TO SCHOOL-REQUIRED MEDICATIONS

 

As parents seek more legal protection, controversy over drugs' impact deepens.

 

By Kelly Hearn | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor, June 14, 2004

{http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0614/p12s01-legn.html}

 

When Patricia Weathers' son Michael had problems in his first-grade

class, a school psychologist told the New York mother he had

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and needed to be

medicated with stimulants. If not, he would be sent to a special

education facility near his Millbrook, N.Y., school.

 

Confused and intimidated, Ms. Weathers says she consented to put

Michael on Ritalin, a commonly used stimulant that doctors prescribe

to decrease the symptoms of ADHD - restlessness, disorganization,

hyperactivity.

 

But Michael exhibited negative effects from the drug, such as social

withdrawal. Instead of spotting the side effects, Weathers says,

school officials again pressured her back to the psychiatrist's

office, where Michael's diagnosis was changed to social anxiety

disorder and an antidepressant prescribed.

 

Finally, says Weathers, " I saw that the medicines were making Michael

psychotic, so I stopped giving them to him. " When she stopped the

medicine, the school reported her to state child protective services

for child abuse.

 

Though charges were dropped, the Weathers case has become a symbol of

the simmering controversy surrounding attention deficit

disorder/ADHD, treatment for it, and the subjective diagnostic tests

some critics say has led to an overuse of stimulants in schools.

 

Though there is no official count of people claiming coercion,

(Weathers says some 800 parents have logged complaints of similar

coercion on her website www.ablechild.org), child abuse allegations

appear to be infrequent, perhaps because states are moving to pass

laws that to some degree limit what schools can say or do regarding

ADHD and other behavioral disorders.

 

To date, according to activists who track the issue, seven states

have laws prohibiting school personnel from recommending psychotropic

drugs for children. Over the past few years, 46 bills in 28 states

have either passed or are awaiting action.

 

Currently, one federal bill, the Child Safety Medication Act,

prohibits schools from making medication a requirement of attendance

and calls on the Government Accounting Office to track how often

schools pressure parents to seek ADHD diagnoses. It passed the House

in 2003 but is currently stalled in the Senate.

Yet even as courts and legislatures muddle through the question of

offering protection to parents who choose not to medicate their

children, controversy deepens over the use of stimulants like

methylphenidate - the generic name for Ritalin - by children.

 

According to testimony given before Congress in 2000, ADHD diagnosis

in children grew from 150,000 in 1970 to 6 million in 2000,

representing 12 to 13 percent of US schoolchildren.

 

On the one hand, a recent National Institute of Mental Health study,

published in the April edition of the journal Pediatrics, confirmed

long-held assumptions that consistent use of stimulants mildly

suppresses children's growth - at an average rate of about an inch

over the course of two years, in addition to weight loss in some

children.

 

At the same time, another part of the same study gave the use of

medication a boost when it comes to the treatment of ADHD. The study

showed that strict behavioral regimes, used without drugs, were not

as successful as treatments involving stimulants. They suppressed

ADHD symptoms in 34 percent of the children tracked over a two-year

period, while medication worked in 56 percent of cases.

 

Yet if the study was reassuring to some who work with children, it

was alarming to others.

 

" The study helps prove that the country is only hearing half the

story about ADHD, " says William Frankenberger, a professor at the

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, who has been studying ADHD for

almost two decades. " If these medicines suppress growth, you have to

ask what else they are doing that we can't measure. "

 

Dr. Frankenberger says pharmaceutical companies pitch ADHD

medications in part as a way to help children improve academic

performance. While stimulants immediately increase focus (for

children with or without ADHD) and often lead to short-term

betterment of classroom performance, Frankenberger says his

longitudinal research suggests that ADHD medications caused no boost

in academic achievement over the long run.

 

In addition, the length of time a student uses the medication and the

type of test given can cloud test results, says Marc Atkins, director

of psychology training at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr.

Atkins, who sometimes works as a paid consultant for Alza, the maker

of a popular ADHD medication, calls the NIMH study " cause for some

concern " and says it should prompt the medical community to

reevaluate the ease with which stimulants are prescribed.

 

But Atkins - who agrees that schools should not be allowed to mandate

medication - takes issue with laws that prevent school healthcare

professionals from offering recommendations or a diagnosis to parents.

 

" To cut schools off from giving parents good information is not what

you want, " he says.

 

Frankenberger says one of his research projects examined the origin

of initial referrals to psychologists to explore the possible

presence of ADHD in children.

 

" In about 80 percent of the time, we found that it came from

teachers, " he says.

 

But overreliance on teacher observations and recommendations to drive

use of medication can be problematic, say some experts. It may make

judgment calls all the more complicated for parents.

 

Teachers and school administrators interviewed for this story

generally agreed that for some students diagnosed with ADHD,

stimulants make a remarkable difference, calming internal storms and

bringing normalcy to scattered young lives.

 

But several also noted worrisome trends in diagnosis, noting, for

example, that teachers in crowded, cash-strapped classrooms are more

likely to steer a disruptive child toward medication.

 

Several observed another complicating factor: white middle class or

upper middle class boys form the majority of diagnosed cases while

minorities - whether due to stigma or lack of access - often go

untreated.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I had this happen with my daughter and whenI refused to put my daughter on the

meds they told me they would put her in a special class, I took her to a

peditrician who does not believe in medicating children in less absolutely

neccessary. She told me that there was nothing wrong with my daughter.

I later found out that they had an over abundance of students in that grade

level and were trying to " ween out " certain students that needed more help than

the general student population so that the teachers were not taxed by their

large class sizes. I changed schools.

That was 5 years ago and now my daughter is a perfect reader and is on the B

honor roll consistently, with NO MEDICATIONS ever given.

 

Frank <califpacific wrote:

 

 

 

JustSayNo

Sat, 19 Jun 2004 21:33:16 -0400

[sSRI-Research] SOME PARENTS JUST SAY 'WHOA' TO SCHOOL-REQUIRED

MEDICATIONS

 

SOME PARENTS JUST SAY 'WHOA' TO SCHOOL-REQUIRED MEDICATIONS

 

As parents seek more legal protection, controversy over drugs' impact deepens.

 

By Kelly Hearn | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor, June 14, 2004

{http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0614/p12s01-legn.html}

 

When Patricia Weathers' son Michael had problems in his first-grade

class, a school psychologist told the New York mother he had

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and needed to be

medicated with stimulants. If not, he would be sent to a special

education facility near his Millbrook, N.Y., school.

 

Confused and intimidated, Ms. Weathers says she consented to put

Michael on Ritalin, a commonly used stimulant that doctors prescribe

to decrease the symptoms of ADHD - restlessness, disorganization,

hyperactivity.

 

But Michael exhibited negative effects from the drug, such as social

withdrawal. Instead of spotting the side effects, Weathers says,

school officials again pressured her back to the psychiatrist's

office, where Michael's diagnosis was changed to social anxiety

disorder and an antidepressant prescribed.

 

Finally, says Weathers, " I saw that the medicines were making Michael

psychotic, so I stopped giving them to him. " When she stopped the

medicine, the school reported her to state child protective services

for child abuse.

 

Though charges were dropped, the Weathers case has become a symbol of

the simmering controversy surrounding attention deficit

disorder/ADHD, treatment for it, and the subjective diagnostic tests

some critics say has led to an overuse of stimulants in schools.

 

Though there is no official count of people claiming coercion,

(Weathers says some 800 parents have logged complaints of similar

coercion on her website www.ablechild.org), child abuse allegations

appear to be infrequent, perhaps because states are moving to pass

laws that to some degree limit what schools can say or do regarding

ADHD and other behavioral disorders.

 

To date, according to activists who track the issue, seven states

have laws prohibiting school personnel from recommending psychotropic

drugs for children. Over the past few years, 46 bills in 28 states

have either passed or are awaiting action.

 

Currently, one federal bill, the Child Safety Medication Act,

prohibits schools from making medication a requirement of attendance

and calls on the Government Accounting Office to track how often

schools pressure parents to seek ADHD diagnoses. It passed the House

in 2003 but is currently stalled in the Senate.

Yet even as courts and legislatures muddle through the question of

offering protection to parents who choose not to medicate their

children, controversy deepens over the use of stimulants like

methylphenidate - the generic name for Ritalin - by children.

 

According to testimony given before Congress in 2000, ADHD diagnosis

in children grew from 150,000 in 1970 to 6 million in 2000,

representing 12 to 13 percent of US schoolchildren.

 

On the one hand, a recent National Institute of Mental Health study,

published in the April edition of the journal Pediatrics, confirmed

long-held assumptions that consistent use of stimulants mildly

suppresses children's growth - at an average rate of about an inch

over the course of two years, in addition to weight loss in some

children.

 

At the same time, another part of the same study gave the use of

medication a boost when it comes to the treatment of ADHD. The study

showed that strict behavioral regimes, used without drugs, were not

as successful as treatments involving stimulants. They suppressed

ADHD symptoms in 34 percent of the children tracked over a two-year

period, while medication worked in 56 percent of cases.

 

Yet if the study was reassuring to some who work with children, it

was alarming to others.

 

" The study helps prove that the country is only hearing half the

story about ADHD, " says William Frankenberger, a professor at the

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, who has been studying ADHD for

almost two decades. " If these medicines suppress growth, you have to

ask what else they are doing that we can't measure. "

 

Dr. Frankenberger says pharmaceutical companies pitch ADHD

medications in part as a way to help children improve academic

performance. While stimulants immediately increase focus (for

children with or without ADHD) and often lead to short-term

betterment of classroom performance, Frankenberger says his

longitudinal research suggests that ADHD medications caused no boost

in academic achievement over the long run.

 

In addition, the length of time a student uses the medication and the

type of test given can cloud test results, says Marc Atkins, director

of psychology training at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr.

Atkins, who sometimes works as a paid consultant for Alza, the maker

of a popular ADHD medication, calls the NIMH study " cause for some

concern " and says it should prompt the medical community to

reevaluate the ease with which stimulants are prescribed.

 

But Atkins - who agrees that schools should not be allowed to mandate

medication - takes issue with laws that prevent school healthcare

professionals from offering recommendations or a diagnosis to parents.

 

" To cut schools off from giving parents good information is not what

you want, " he says.

 

Frankenberger says one of his research projects examined the origin

of initial referrals to psychologists to explore the possible

presence of ADHD in children.

 

" In about 80 percent of the time, we found that it came from

teachers, " he says.

 

But overreliance on teacher observations and recommendations to drive

use of medication can be problematic, say some experts. It may make

judgment calls all the more complicated for parents.

 

Teachers and school administrators interviewed for this story

generally agreed that for some students diagnosed with ADHD,

stimulants make a remarkable difference, calming internal storms and

bringing normalcy to scattered young lives.

 

But several also noted worrisome trends in diagnosis, noting, for

example, that teachers in crowded, cash-strapped classrooms are more

likely to steer a disruptive child toward medication.

 

Several observed another complicating factor: white middle class or

upper middle class boys form the majority of diagnosed cases while

minorities - whether due to stigma or lack of access - often go

untreated.