ADHD and Education Part 2

“Public school administrators, long the enthusiastic adherents of a “Just Say No!” policy on drug use, appear to have a new motto for the parents of certain tiny soldiers in the war on drugs: "Medicate or Else!" It is a new and troubling twist in the psychiatric drugs saga, in which public schools have begun to issue ultimatums to parents of hard-to-handle kids, saying they will not allow students to attend conventional classes unless they are medicated.

With a 700 percent increase in the use of Ritalin since 1990, parents have been repeatedly told that their kids probably have ADHD and that Ritalin is the treatment of choice. In the most extreme cases, parents unwilling to give their kids drugs are being reported by their schools to local offices of Child Protective Services, the implication being that by withholding drugs, the parents are guilty of neglect.“

Schools Pressure Parents To Force Ritalin Use
by Lawrence H. Diller, M.D.

“As the parents soon learned, the IEP [Individualized Education Program] group had already decided that Robert needed psychiatric treatment. The Parks, not having experienced these same alleged behavior problems at home, disagreed.

The school continued to provide reports on Robert. The parents investigated, finding logical explanations for their son's behavior. A boy he hit had a reputation as a bully. Robert got upset when his desk was moved, but no one had bothered to inform him they were going to move it, or why. Robert teased his younger sister. The Parks did not consider these actions signs of "mental illness”, but rather common childhood behavior they had handled at home with appropriate communication or discipline. To them the school was looking for an easy way to control their son.”

“Legal” Drugs in Schools
by Cory Brennan

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