another round of anti Big Pharma notes as they do in the kidz

Teen screen

unscrupulous doctors

irresponsible parents

kids with no human rights or advocates

Adrenal system breakdown

Bush family profit$

Big Pharma lies

foster care

schools geared toward behaviour modification

breakdown in the RULE OF LAW
(which prevent child abuse to some degree)

MSM propaganda machine

Essay over

Ricky's diagnois based on mom's input

Jack Kresnak
Special to the State Journal

For nearly three years, Dr. Aurif Abedi, a child psychiatrist at Jackson's Foote Hospital, treated Ricky Holland's strange and reportedly violent behavior with drugs, adjusting them based on reports from Ricky's mom, Lisa Holland.

Abedi first diagnosed the boy with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, using assessments from a psychologist and a therapist, Lisa's accounts of Ricky's behavior and his own observations.

Abedi prescribed stimulants such as Ritalin for the ADHD and the antidepressant trazadone to help Ricky sleep.

"He had periods where he did better and then he had periods where he was not doing well," Abedi recalled recently. "When we started finally addressing it as a mood disorder, he did very well."

Abedi prescribed the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa to help stabilize Ricky's moods. Some of the drugs given to him - trazadone and Zyprexa - are not FDA-approved for children, but their use is fairly common, said Dr. Sheila Marcus, a child psychiatrist and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. The "off-label" use of such medications may occur in children who have disruptive or aggressive behaviors, she said.

In the wake of Ricky's case, Abedi said, he and others working with children in Jackson meet regularly to communicate concerns about kids in the foster care or adoption system.

"Everybody is aware that you could be taken for a ride" by bad parents, he said. "Could this happen again? I hope not. Will it happen again? Unfortunately, I can see it happening again."

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Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:03 pm
OGIC, That's what ticked me off. The child is now an adult, who does not now or ever did have seizures or epilepsy. It was prescribed off label from the psychiatrist. THIS pyschiatrist. Not a medical doctor or neurologist. Brandy, Did you follow the controversy about the State of Maine prescribing birth control pills for children as young as 11 years old, through the school health clinics? They will not share medical information with parents without a release from the student. state law, which allows the students to decide whether to inform their parents about the SERVICES they receive. There are no national figures on how many middle schools provide such services. Most middle schoolers range in age from 11 to 13. http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/18/middleschool.contraception.ap/index.html Permission is needed by the parent to treat the child, but once you give your permission, all bets are off unless litte susie wants to include you. Most children would tell their parents that the school doctor wanted to prescribe them prozac for their depression after sally broke up with johnny, but not all of them. The schools don't have to tell you either. The schools in Illinois don't even have to tell you they are testing your children for depression or bipolar, they just do it. It's "MANDATORY". http://www.aapsonline.org/confiden/mhspaul.htm The state of Illinois has also approved a mental health screening program. The Illinois legislature passed the Children's Mental Health Act of 2003 which will provide screening for "all children ages 0-18" and "ensure appropriate and culturally relevant assessment of your children's social and emotional development with the use of standardized tools." In addition, all pregnant women in Illinois are to be screened for depression. Dr. Karen R. Effrem, another physician and leading opponent of mandatory screening recently stated, "Universal mental health screening and the drugging of children, as recommended by the New Freedom Comission [presidential commission], needs to be stopped so that many thousands if not millions of children will be saved from receiving stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives. America's school children should not be medicated by expensive, ineffective, and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses." Sounds nice. Check out all the people who collect a check for getting their hands in the cookie jar of the pharmaceutical industry. But it's all in the best interest of the children. Riiiiiiiiiight. http://www.ivpa.org/childrensmhtf/pdf/2007ICMHPAnnualReport.pdf For the sheep and constitutionalists alike. Don't miss this. Where else can you get NCLB being a portal for drugging children AND the FBI saying that people who defend the constitution are "mentally unstable" in one page? I knew some lawyers were pretty whacko, but all of them? http://edaction.org/2004/082704.htm
Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:38 pm
I also think that children are prescribed far too much medication. I also think that children are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD when it really is not the case. However, there are times when children are in need of medication. Phenobarbital is prescribed for seizures. Epilepsy can be tested for, and if children who have seizures are denied medication to control their seizures, they can die or end up brain damaged. My oldest son is an epileptic and was prescribed Phenobarbital as a toddler. As he got older, the medications changed and he eventually was prescribed other medication. There aren't too many FDA approved medications for babies with epilepsy. nineball, if your friend’s child has seizures and doesn't give her child their medication, he could die, end up with brain damage and she could be charged with medical neglect. Dr's should not be so eager to prescribe non-lifesaving medications, however medication for children should not be automatically dismissed in accurately diagnosed conditions.
Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:22 pm
Yep, I have to agree too. My husband and I are against it too. I told the school we would have to work together to achieve the goals we want my child to have.
medicating our children	Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:18 pm
My youngest in still in middle school and it has a Health Center and as far as I know Im still the parent to the minor child and they HAVE to tell me of his medical condition. He is a minor and I am his parent. HIPPA doesnt apply to a minor. I do agree with society/parents wanting to put our kids on drugs because they cannot control them, well lets start w/ a good butt whipping and see what happens. I bet they wisen up quickly. My son came home from 6th grade and told me not to tell anyone but his math teacher asked him if he was taking medication (ritalin) and if so had he taken it today. WTH! If he was on it which he's NOT its not of their business. He is a hyper kid but aren't all kids or shouldnt they be. My husband has refused to get him tested and says the teachers just want an easy way out. I have to agree w/ him.
Reader Comment	Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:43 pm
My son will tell me if they slip him anything. As long as they don't give it to him in a drink. but even then, he should be suspicious.

WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS CALLED "DOPE?"

• Vital Information About Ritalin, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder and the Politics Behind the ADHD/Ritalin Movement
• Talking Back to Ritalin by Peter R. Breggin, M.D. is published by Common Courage Press, P.O. Box 702, Monroe, Maine 04951. Phone: 1-800-497-3207.
• http://www.antipsychiatry.org:80/ritalin.htm
• 
  
• Several million children are being treated with Ritalin and other stimulants on the grounds that they have attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suffer from inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. The stimulants include: Ritalin (methylphenidate), Dexedrine and DextroStat (dextroamphetamine or d-amphetamine), Adderall (d-amphetamine and amphetamine mixture), Desoxyn and Gradumet (methamphetamine), and Cylert (pemoline). Except for Cylert, all of these drugs have nearly identical effects and side effects. Ritalin and the amphetamines can for most purposes be considered one type of drug.
  
• The number of children being drugged has escalated several-fold in the last few years.
  
• Ritalin and amphetamine have almost identical adverse effects on the brain, mind and behavior, including the production of drug-induced behavioral disorders, psychosis, mania, drug abuse, and addiction.
  
• Ritalin and amphetamine frequently cause the very same problems they are supposed to treat--inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
  
• A large percentage of children become robotic, lethargic, depressed, or withdrawn on stimulants.
  
• Ritalin can cause permanent neurological tics including Tourette's syndrome.
  
• Ritalin can retard growth in children by disrupting the cycles of growth hormone released by the pituitary gland.
  
• The recent finding that Ritalin can cause cancer in some animals was not taken seriously enough by the drug company or the FDA.
  
• Ritalin routinely causes gross malfunctions in the brain of the child. There is research evidence from a few controlled scientific studies that Ritalin can cause shrinkage (atrophy) or other permanent physical abnormalities in the brain.
  
• Withdrawal from Ritalin can cause emotional suffering, including depression, exhaustion, and suicide. This can make children seem psychiatrically disturbed and lead mistakenly to increased doses of medication.
  
• Ritalin is addictive and can become a gateway drug to other addictions. It is a common drug of abuse among children and adults.
  
• ADHD and Ritalin are American and Canadian medical fads. The U.S. uses 90% of the world's Ritalin. CibaGeneva Pharmaceuticals (also known as Ciba-Geigy Corporation), a division of Novartis, is the manufacturer of Ritalin. It is trying to expand the Ritalin market to Europe and the rest of the world.
  
• Ritalin "works" by producing malfunctions in the brain rather than by improving brain function. This is the only way it works.
  
• Short-term, Ritalin suppresses creative, spontaneous and autonomous activity in children, making them more docile and obedient, and more willing to comply with rote, boring tasks, such as classroom school work and homework.
  
• Short-term, Ritalin has no positive effect on a child's psychology or on academic performance and achievement. This is confirmed by innumerable studies and by many professional reviews of the literature.
  
• Longer-term, beyond several weeks, Ritalin has no positive effects on any aspect of a child's life.
  
• Labeling children with ADHD and treating them with Ritalin can keep them out of the armed services, limit their future career choices, and stigmatize them for life. It can ruin their own self image, subtly demoralize them, and discourage them from reaching their full potential.
  
• There is no solid evidence that ADHD is a genuine disorder or disease of any kind.
  
• There is a great deal of research to confirm that environmental problems cause ADHD-like symptoms.
  
• A very small number of children may suffer ADHD-like symptoms because of physical disorders, such as lead poisoning, drug intoxication, exhaustion, and head injury. Physical causes may be more common among poor communities in the United States.
  
• There is no proof of any physical abnormalities in the brains or bodies of children who are routinely labeled ADHD. They do not have known biochemical imbalances or "crossed wires."
  
• ADHD is a controversial diagnosis with little or no scientific or medical basis. A parent, teacher, or doctor can feel in good company when utterly dismissing the diagnosis and refusing to apply it to children.
  
• Ciba spends millions of dollars to sell parent groups and doctors on the idea of using Ritalin. Ciba helps to support the parent group, CH.A.D.D., and organized psychiatry.
  
• The U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) push Ritalin as vigorously as the manufacturer of the drug, often in even more glowing terms than the drug company could get away with legally.
  

Our society has institutionalized drug abuse among our children.

Worse yet, we abuse our children with drugs rather than making the effort to find better ways to meet their needs. In the long run, we are giving our children a very bad lesson--that drugs are the answer to emotional problems. We are encouraging a generation of youngsters to grow up relying on psychiatric drugs rather than on themselves and other human resources.
The material in this summary is documented with citations to scientific literature in Talking Back to Ritalin. The book also describes non-drug approaches to helping children diagnosed ADHD through identifying and meeting the basic needs of children, and through improvements in school and family life.

If you want to support efforts to stop the psychiatric drugging of children, and to receive a newsletter, we invite you to join the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, 4628 Chestnut Street, Bethesda, MD, 20814. Visit our web site at www.breggin.com.