Taken from Parents magazine-November 2001
About 2.5 million Americans under the age of 18 take ritalin, dexedrine, adderall or other stimulants, mostly for ADHD, a syndrome that has no conclusive diagnostic test but is characterized by impulsive, inattentive behavior. A recent studt published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that among 2-4 year olds, use of ritalin (which is not approved for children under 6) tripled in the early 1990s.
What are the long term effects of these powerful agents, which alter the brains chemistry, on minds and bodies that are still growing? (The newest research indicates that the brains frontal lobe goes through a growth spurt at puberty and doesn't fully mature until age 21.) Several studies are underway, but lack of existing research is stunning. And even if the drugs prove safe are they really necessary?
"It's a national scandal," says Chicago child psychiatrist William Pieper, MD, co author of SmartLove (Harvard Common Press, 2001). "For a drug to be approved for adults, there must be systematic studies of its effectiveness and side effects. Yet, we're medicating children with chemicals before their nervous systems have fully developed, with little scientific knowledge about how the drugs will work on them. "If you gave unapproved drugs to adults in the same way, you'd go to jail".
It may come to a surprise to many that it is perfectly legal for doctors to prescribe a drug to a child that has only received FDA approval for use by older people. The FDA merely established guidelines and the doctors have discretion to prescribe medicines "off label"-that is for purposes not officially sanctioned.
"Children with attention problems often improve in school after they've been put on ritalin or something similiar, but this does not prove they have ADHD or ADD," notes Michael Conner, a Psy. D. The symptoms are alleviated, but the problem could stem from something else like sleep apnea. Other common problems sometimes mistaken for ADD or ADHD include learning disabilities, poor hearing, depression, social anxiety and mononucleosis-in short anything that would provoke restlessness, moodiness, withdrawal or angry outbursts.
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