According to the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR), the drug Ritalin, widely prescribed to children for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is extremely dangerous.

The PDR states that RitalinSHOULDNOTBEUSEDfor all children with this condition and should not be used if the child has symptoms of marked anxiety, tension and agitation.

Additionally, it is warned that the drug should NEVERbe given to children under the age of six, because its “safety” has not been determined.

Here are some surprising facts about Ritalin:

1. The American Psychiatric Association reported in The Diagnosticians Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, “There are no laboratory tests that have been established as diagnostic in the clinical assessment of Attention Deficit Disord e r (ADD).”
2. Child Psychologist, Bart Hodgens of the University of Alabama at Birmingham states, “ADHD is a relatively rare disorder. There are children who are not carefully evaluated, probably misdiagnosed and taking stimulant medications.”
3. Peter R. Breggin, M.D., Director of the Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology in Bethesda, Maryland, and author of Toxic Psychiatry, believes that what we call the child’s attention deficit is our own lack of attention of the child’;s needs: “There is no medical, neurological, or psychiatric justification for the ADD diagnosis.”
4. According to the Consumer’s Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs, Ritalinis considered a class II controlled substance, which is in the same category as amphetamines and speed.

SOURCE: Health Watch, World Chiropractic Alliance, Internet access, April 1999.