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Focusing On Ritalin
Understanding the Method Behind the Medicine
Part Two
By Donna Smith
The issue of over-prescription, says Dr. Fay, is "very controversial. Studies seem to indicate that 3 to 5 percent of school-age children have ADHD; studies of Ritalin usage show that between 5 and 15 percent of school-age children are taking medication for the disorder. That would seem to indicate that it is being over-prescribed. Busy parents and physicians, coupled with an understaffed and overworked educational system, frequently make the decision to medicate a child too quickly." In other words, it's easier to medicate a child than to try various behavior modification techniques.
Elizabeth Pantley, author of Kid Cooperation and Perfect Parenting , gets the opportunity to talk candidly with many parents and professionals about many topics. "Over the years, the word 'Ritalin' pops into conversations more and more often," she says. "I've uncovered some pretty scary numbers. John Breeding, Ph.D., author of The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses , cites an increase of 700 percent in the production of Ritalin between 1990 and 1997." Breeding believes that the number of children on Ritalin today in the United States is around 5,000,000. "Have children changed so much over the years?" asks Pantley, whose own children span more than a decade. "I don't believe they have."