This article ran in Colorado papers. It is being posted with permission of the author. Please feel free to send this on to anyone you think would be interested.
The Ritalin phenomenon caught my attention in 1994. As I walked with some children in a parade, one six-year-old boy intrigued me. He was precocious, energetic and a delightful companion. When I dropped him off at his home, I mentioned these traits to his mother. She startled me when she replied, " That's not what his teacher says. She told me he has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and needs to be put on Ritalin." I urged the mother to have her son tested before drugging him. He was so bright, and his level of energy seemed normal for a little boy. What if he just needed a more challenging curriculum or a different learning environment? Now that I know much more about Ritalin, I feel even more strongly that all options should be explored before resorting to Ritalin.
In 1991, the Federal Education Department said schools could get hundreds of dollars in special education grant money each year for every child diagnosed with ADHD. Since then ADHD diagnosis shot up an average of 21% a year. Ritalin production has increased 700% since 1990. These data suggest a link between money and Ritilan use. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. buys and uses 90% of the world's supply of Ritalin. Approximately 4 million U.S. children are on Ritalin. 10 to 12% of U.S. boys are being treated with Ritalin. No other nation is following our example. In fact, Sweden banned methylphenidate (Ritalin) in 1968 after reports of widespread abuse.
Ritalin is highly sought after by the drug-abusing population. According to Drug Abuse Warn Net (DAWN) it represents the greatest increase in drugs associated with abuse, and the highest number of suicides and emergency room admissions. Ritalin is classified as a schedule II, or most addictive drug, on par with cocaine, morphine, PCP and metamphetamines. The DEA has noted serious complications associated with Ritalin, including suicide, psychotic episodes and violent behavior. According to "Washington Times" [Insight magazine], "the common link in the recent phenomenon of high school shootings may be psychotropic drugs like Ritalin." The International Journal of Addictions lists over 100 adverse reactions to Ritalin: paranoid psychosis, terror and paranoid delusions among them.
Ritalin can have other serious side effects including disorientation of the central nervous system. It is an amphetamine, capable of inducing sudden cardiac arrest and death. Twelve year old Stephanie Hall of Canton, Ohio died the day after her Ritalin dose was increased. The medical community has expressed alarm over the widespread use of psychotropic drugs for children. Dr. Fred Baughman Jr., pediatric neurologist, said of psychiatrists, "They have proven several times over that chronic Ritalin/amphetamine exposure they advocate for millions of children causes brain atrophy (shrinkage)." The National Institute of Health (NIH) reported, "We do not have an independent valid test for ADHD, and there are no data to indicate that ADHD is due to brain malfunction. Further research to establish the validity of the disorder continues to be a problem." The NIH also reported that Ritalin and other stimulant drugs result in "little improvement in academic or social skills," and they recommend research into alternatives such as change in diet or biofeedback.
If we care about children's health, we owe it to them to explore healthful ways to improve their classroom performance and deportment. I would start with an observation: In the 1950's we did not have millions of children unable to concentrate in the classroom. What has changed? First, the classroom climate: the traditional classroom was expected to be a quiet, well-ordered environment. Desks were arranged so that all students could make eye contact with the teacher, see the demonstrations and read instructions. Students were not permitted to distract or disrupt others. The teacher was presumed to know more than the children, and so gave direct, whole group instruction, guiding students step by step in learning new skills, modeling standard English grammar and syntax in the process. Time was spent learning disciplines of cursive writing by practicing ovals and "push pulls." Subjects were taught separately. Elementary students had a short recess in the morning, a half-hour recess after lunch and a short recess in the afternoon.
Progressive educators undermined this approach and gave us the open classroom in the 1960's. Yet, structure makes so much sense. When adults are faced with tasks such as balancing the checkbook or figuring our income tax, we tend to seek out quiet place where we "can hear ourselves think." Children are more sensitive to stimuli than adults, more easily distracted. Insisting that they become "self-directed learners," fending for themselves in a noisy, chaotic, confusing, classroom can do them a disservice.
Therapists have had success with children diagnosed as ADHD by providing a calm, soothing, structured environment. Scientists are finding that the discipline of cursive writing develops part of the brain associated with self-control. Recent test scores, common sense, and science seem to lead us toward the conclusion: Traditional classroom instruction and age appropriate recess time is very effective.
It is hard to tell today's "process" classroom from yesterday's recess. Desks are arranged in groups. Students cannot see the teacher and distract one another. The failed "Whole Language" method has replaced phonics. Students are passed on to the next grade whether or not they have learned to read. Children spend their time ambling around the room, chatting with classmates, playing computer games, and even lying on the floor. Discipline is sometimes lax and supervision is casual. Subjects are combined into long blocks of time. Some schools have abolished recess altogether. Many of those children go home to empty houses where they play more video games, surf the Internet, and snack on chemically altered, heavily-sugared, artificially- flavored junk food. Wouldn't it make sense to provide more attention, more supervision, more exercise, and more nutritious foods before prescribing potentially harmful psychotropic drugs to render children compliant? Could attention deficit disorder really mean that children suffer from a deficit of attention as well as displaying it?
This brings to mind another change since the 1950's. According to film critic Michael Medved, in the 1950's the TV camera lingered on one scene an average of 45 seconds, whereas in the 1990's the average is a maximum of 5 seconds per scene. Children come to school after having watched thousands of hours of flashing cartoons and shows that jump from one scene to the next. We could reasonably conclude that television has contributed to shortening or disrupting children's attention span. If their television viewing were limited would they be more receptive to classroom instruction?
Recently I listened to a frustrated mother complain on a radio talk show that her 18-month-old had too much energy. She justified why she felt she had to drug him. He was wearing her out. At 18 months he was climbing straight up the bookcase. Could some cases just be a matter of perspective on what is normal behavior? One frustrated mother's "hyperactive" child may be another mother's proud "future Olympic gymnast."
It is not my intention to judge parents, counselors, and doctors, or to dismiss the genuinely hard cases. My only motivation is to provide information that could help schools and parents make sound decisions about the health and welfare of their children. [All emphasis mine. -RT]
Patti Johnson
Colorado State Board of Education, 2nd Congressional District
1344 Macintosh Avenue
Broomfield, Colorado 80020
303-465-0224
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