Ritalin, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
American Policy Center
http://www.torontofreepress.com
by Tom DeWeese
Saturday, November 5, 2005
It takes a village to destroy a child
In the old days, children were warned not to smoke because it would stunt their growth. Apparently the same warning can now be issued on Ritalin. Researchers at the University of Sydney have analyzed 29 separate studies on the subject and have concluded that there is indication that some Ritalin users may experience slow or even stunted growth.
"Parents should expect their children to lose some weight and grow more slowly for a time after starting on stimulant medication, and this should be monitored," says pediatrician Sally Poulton of the University.
Two of the studies reviewed by Poulton and colleagues suggest that children who experience nausea and vomiting as an early side effect of Ritalin may be uniquely vulnerable to slow growth. University of Iowa psychologist John R. Kramer, PhD, who led one of the research teams, said that this small sub group of Ritalin users ended up more than 2 inches shorter than other Ritalin users.
Ritalin, of course, is the drug of choice give to children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The drug is now administered to over 10 million American children, beginning as early as four years old. Promoted by federal education policies, use of the drug increased more than 500% in the 1990s.
Yet, as usage continues to rise, Dr. Fred Baughman, a leading critic of ADHD theory, warns that there still is no valid research to prove that ADHD even exists! To date, according to Baughman, there has never been a single bit of physical evidence to confirm the disease exists. So-called experts on the subject have refused to answer the simple question, is ADD /ADHD a real disease? Medical researchers charge that ADHD does not meet the definition of a disease or syndrome or anything organic or biologic. Instead, Baughman charges, ADHD was literally invented by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
The explosion of new ADHD cases in the 1990s, which continues today, can be traced directly to a 1991 change in eligibility for federal education grants allowing schools to be paid $400 in annual grants for each child diagnosed with ADHD, after classifying it as a handicap.
Ritalin is known to cause cardiac arrythmia, tachycardia and hypertension. Research has proven that Ritalin can interfere with body phospholipid chemistry (body fat), causing the accumulation of abnormal membranes visible with an electronic microscope.
Ritalin is early training to introduce children to drug abuse. Today, a black market for obtaining Ritalin without a prescription has developed on some college campuses, where some students actually crush the pills and snort them like cocaine. In fact, research has shown that children on Ritalin are three times more likely to develop a taste for cocaine.
Yet, with the money pouring into school coffers, education officials, acting like local street pushers, keep forcing it on unsuspecting, worried parents and their innocent children. Ritalin: it will stunt your child's growth; shrink their brains; cause violent mood swings and cause addiction, just to treat a disease that doesn't exist. And Americans wonder what's wrong with public education.
Tom DeWeese is the publisher/editor of The DeWeese Report and president of the American Policy Center, a grassroots, activist think tank headquartered in Warrenton, Virginia. Its Internet site is
© Tom DeWeese 2005