The legal drugs given to children, especially boys

Think about the amount of prescription drugs given to school kids. Tucker Carlson had some great statistics about that the other night, but without a citation, I couldn’t provide it. And because the MSM demonizes him, it’s hard to sift through a search. Many kids, especially boys, are given drugs from a very early age for ADHD. Probably if they could labor on a farm like most generations until the 1920s some of that energy could be put to use. A consistent side effect for many of the mind/behavior altering drugs is suicidal thoughts and aggressive behavior. Mix that with alcohol when available and it’s a toxic combination. Until the 1950s, I think about half the U.S. population lived/worked on farms—did you hear of ADHD (or similar name) before the 1970s?

https://www.verywellmind.com/side-effects-of-adhd-medications-2633123

These ADHD medications now include:
Short-acting stimulants: Adderall, Dexedrine, Focalin, Ritalin
Intermediate-acting stimulants: Dexedrine Spansule
Long-acting stimulants: Adderall XR, Concerta, Daytrana, Dyanavel XR, Focalin XR, Metadate CD, Ritalin LA, Vyvanse
Nonstimulants: Intuniv, Strattera, Qelbree

That list makes it seem like there are a lot of different ADHD medications to choose from, especially if your child has side effects to one or more of them. Your choices quickly narrow when you understand that the stimulants are really just different forms and variants of the following two types of ADHD medications:

Methylphenidate-based ADHD medications: Concerta, Daytrana, Focalin and Focalin XR, Metadate CD, Ritalin LA
Amphetamine-based ADHD medications: Adderall and Adderall XR, Dexedrine and Dexedrine Spansule, Dyanavel XR, Vyvanse

Note from Norma: The warnings for Methylphenidate based meds are scary!

Also taken by many:

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/ss/slideshow-commonly-abused-drugs

Then add to that, the easily available, and now legal gate way drug, marijuana.

ADHD drug may affect puberty

Juvenile male rhesus monkeys given methylphenidate hydrochloride (ritalin) a drug widely used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibited delayed progression of puberty, according to a recent PNAS study.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/09/12/1102187108.full.pdf

Ritalin, Obama, and the economy

Murray observed yesterday that

If my child behaved like Obama our family doctor would more than likely tell me he was suffering from *AD/HD. I mean, just look at what Obama's been up to since he's been in office.

He's at the White House for a press conference, then off to Ohio to give a speech, then over to Illinois to talk up HIS plan, then back to the White House to undo another Bush Policy, then off to Iowa to make some promises, then back to the White House to sign an unread bill. He holds a news conference every other day and hits the TV talk shows. His rapid fire, daily destruction of our country while breaking campaign promises doesn't seem to be enough since he is now over in Europe selling HIS plan. Why... the guy can't slow down or sit still. If that isn't hyperactivity then such a thing doesn't exist. It would be great if such activity was positive for the country, but quite the contrary; he is quickly sabotaging our country's finances and future. Foreigners know it but, out of fear, we seem to be slow to catch on. Even if he was stopped right now it would take years for this country to get back on its feet. We have a handful of legislators who know this, but unfortunately there are too many PORK lovers who are backing him.

When confronted, the backers usually claim that Obama "inherited" all these problems from the Bush administration. Well, that's nothing but a cop out that only separates the two parties even further. Besides, if you take the time to examine the chain of events you will find not only did the Democrats promote sub prime mortgages, Obama himself was part of it.

I've said it before: the only way to get this country back on its feet is to abolish our two party system. First, Obama must be stopped! It ought to be evident to everyone by now that the Democrats and the Republications are never going to agree on anything. Contrary to what Obama promised in his campaign speeches time and time again, that he would bring them closer together, he has done just the opposite. Every day he and his cohorts fire another arrow into the Republican crowd by blaming the crisis on them. Our legislators have lied to us so much that it's impossible to separate the truth or if truth actually exists anymore.
Dr. Murray

*The most common symptoms of ADHD are:
Impulsiveness: acting before thinking of consequences, jumping from one activity to another, disorganization, tendency to interrupt other peoples' conversations.
Hyperactivity: restlessness, often characterized by an inability to sit still, fidgeting, squirminess, climbing on things, restless sleep.

And Tom Barrett who writes for Conservative Truth has a similar theme. He first wants to stop putting kids on Ritalin; he then wants our President to stop ruining the country through his own “hyper” behavior.

Which brings us back to the problem I mentioned earlier. If we stop turning our kids into drug users, what will we do with all the Ritalin?

Because the NEA (National Education Association, the national teacher’s union) and most school systems have jumped on the Ritalin bandwagon, it has become a huge cash cow for the drug’s maker. As a result, huge stockpiles of the drug have been produced based on projected demand. So, even if the schools came to their senses, what could be done with all these drugs? I may have an answer.

I say we give it to Obama. He has all the classic signs of ADHD. He can’t stay focused on anything. He’s hyperactive. He can’t stay on one subject for more than a day. And he definitely can’t keep his hands to himself. And his staff shares his problems. The White House is crawling with ADHD!!

Let’s focus just on Obama, and examine his symptoms. The nation is in the midst of a major financial crisis, which he has acknowledged. The problem stems from policies instituted by his party 31 years ago which have resulted in a wave of foreclosures and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. So you would think he would focus on fixing the credit problems and job creation. But he can’t seem to stay focused. In fact, during his first eight weeks in office he has constantly jumped from one priority to the next, while ignoring the major problems. Sure sounds like ADHD to me.

He told us he would focus on dealing with the so-called “toxic assets” held by financial institutions. Instead he has forced healthy institutions to take bailout money when they didn’t want it and didn’t need it. The president of Wells Fargo said that he when he tried to refuse the money he was told to take it and buy up smaller banks with it! That obviously won’t help the credit crunch, so why is Obama pushing it? Simply because if a few big banks absorb all the smaller ones, it will be easier for him to nationalize the banking system.

Ninety-five per cent of new jobs are created by small businesses. Helping them would be the single best way to stimulate job creation. And the best way to help them would be to reduce the unconscionable federal tax burden. In all of his trillions and trillions of dollars of proposals he has not thrown a crumb to small business. In fact, he has said that he will increase their tax burden, making it difficult for them to just survive, much less create jobs. (Obama has been hearing Republicans complain about him ignoring small business, so in the last few days he has come up with some half-hearted proposals. But they’re all bureaucratic in nature, and will result in more government control over businesses.) and there's more.

Golden boy

You might think ADHD kids can't focus, but that's not necessarily so. Some focus almost exclusively on one particular thing to the detriment of social skills or academic learning. Michael Phelps, according to his mother, has ADHD and as a child was medicated. And this is just a guess, but once she found that swimming could grab his attention, and helped him channel that energy, they were off to the Olympics. Having exceptionally long arms and being very tall with big feet, probably didn't hurt. With 13 gold medals, he's won more gold than any athlete in Olympics history.

I watched an interview with her this morning, and she still maintains a web site for parents of ADHD children. I'm against medicating kids--Thomas Edison was ADHD, too--thank goodness no one medicated him. Maybe Mom or the teacher just need to take something. Michael's mother says he was diagnosed at 9 and went off medication at 11, and that he didn't use it in the summer or on week-ends. I'm not a doctor, but most medications need to be taken consistently. If they noticed any improvement in his behavior, I'm guessing it was the placebo effect. But the medication gurus are pushing their stimulants based on the Phelps case in their publications. Unfortunate.

Does AD/HD really exist as a disorder?

It's been a busy day. I walked about 45 minutes inside the church for exercise, then walked through an exhibit in the narthex of an organization for people interested in AD/HD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and learning problems, then went to women's Bible Study (Jennifer Rothschild), then helped a friend with her MS Walkathon mailing, adhering labels, stuffing envelopes, sorting zip codes and stuff. In my walk through the narthex I looked at some of the vendors materials and picked up some reading material. I also noticed that about 99% of the people attending and the vendors were women, although supposedly most of the people with this disorder are males.

I'm concerned that what is probably fairly normal little boy or male adolescent behavior, at least at the milder end, is labeled, pathologized, medicated, and sometime criminalized. I picked up a free issue of Attention, December 2007, published by an organization called CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder. Leafing through it, I see that AD/HD has become a big business in the last 20 years. Here's the advertising I saw: many colleges and special schools; the drug Concerta; the drug Vyvanse; a study funded by the government to see if there are specific genes that contribute to AD/HD; special summer camps for AD/HD kids; transitional curricula for getting into college; boarding schools; nutritional supplements; numerous appeals to send money to or join CHADD, which has special VISA cards, vehicle donation, workplace donations through United Way, a discount medical insurance card, estate planning and a corporate contribution program; special toys for LD kids; and special watches for behavior modification and self-monitoring for medication.

There was an article on having a proactive strategy to deal with difficult behavior, such as each parent having a role, establishing a daily routine, teaching organizational skills, and clearly communicating your expectations and being consistent. Fine. I have no problems with those. But the #1 strategy? Well, the author called it "Maintaining a disability perspective,"--in other words, seeing that your child has a legitimate medical condition that undermines self control. The worst article was "The price we all pay," with the most outlandish statistics I've ever seen in my life, none with citations. Would you believe that incarceration costs due to AD/HD (40% of the prison population) cost over $16 TRILLION just for the AD/HD prisoners. That's so bizarre, I can't even imagine it got past the editors.

"Signs of [ADHD] may be minimal or absent when the person is under very strict control, is in a novel setting, is engaged in especially interesting activities, is in a one-to-one situation, or while the person experiences frequent rewards for appropriate behavior" (DSM-IV, p. 79). How many diseases or conditions--like depression or diabetes, OCD or cystic fibrosis--go away or are controled with attention from someone else? Is drugging children worth it, if keeping them busy with interesting things or other rewards work too?

We are pathologizing our children--especially little boys. Send them outside to play; get them a rowing machine for raining days. Turn off the TV. Hire someone to teach them tennis or horseback riding. Give them interesting and exciting things to do--like work. If medication is necessary, have something prescribed for you.

Update: I e-mailed the editor with a list of questions and received a reply: "That $16 trillion figure was the author’s mistake, and we regret that the error was not caught prior to publication. Please see the correction of that figure, which was published in the February 2008 issue of the magazine." She also said that references for the article are in the on-line version. That's really poor form, in my opinion. If they are printed with the article, it is much easier for the reader to spot the mistake. If I hadn't just read the Pew article, I probably would have skipped over it. But at least she responded. When I published in library journals in the 90s, the editors selected and checked, and the peer reviewers checked, and then I had to check the galleys.