The CDC has been busy trying to stop the spread of just this question. This is from the Denver Post,
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Board to soften drug resolution
By Peter G. Chronis
Denver Post Staff Writer
Nov. 11 - Members of the State Board of Education indicated Wednesday they would soften a resolution about the use of psychiatric drugs by schoolchildren. A vote on the resolution is expected at today's meeting of the panel.
Mental-health advocates appeared before the board Wednesday to counter a presentation last month by people who claim use of psychotropic drugs causes school violence. On Tuesday, similar allegations about the medications were voiced before an informal gathering of state senators and representatives.
Mental-health advocates see the latest developments as a new phase in a long-standing assault on psychiatry with strong ties to the Church of Scientology.
Board member Gully Stanford urged a change in the resolution to declare that the "state board recognizes there is much concern regarding the issues of diagnosis, medication and the impact on student achievement'' instead of the earlier version, which warned of "highly negative consequences'' of using psychiatric drugs.
Parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the medical and psychiatric communities have been alarmed by the attack on the use of medications, such as Ritalin, often prescribed to help schoolchildren function.
Dr. William Dodson, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, told the education panel that while the arguments they heard last month might sound convincing, "they were not arguments based on fact. They were not arguments based on scientific proof. They were not arguments that were true.''
Dodson refuted claims that ADHD is not a disease, noting that the American Medical Association recognizes the disorder.
Dodson blamed Scientology for creating a phony issue about the use of the medications by branding it "mind control.''
Drugs shown to help kids
Studies show the medications help children succeed in school and in life, and develop "positive selfesteem,'' Dodson said.
In a related matter, board member Patti Johnson cited an example of a parent pressured to either put a child on medication or take the child out of McGlone Elementary School in Denver.
John Leslie, head of student services for Denver Public Schools, said medication is "always a medical decision,'' and neither school nurses nor school officials recommend any medications to parents. They may, however, provide information about a student's behavior or performance.
Similarly, Betty Fitzpatrick, director of health services for the Jefferson County School District, said that "it isn't practice in our district or in any district to coerce parents into going to doctors and getting prescriptions for Ritalin. There's no policy around this because there is no need.'' In some situations, she said, a teacher may recommend that a parent have further evaluations of a child.
Push against drugs not new
Meantime, Matthew Cohen of Chicago, president of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, said the push against the use of the drugs isn't new, but it has become more public. "The thing that's different is a public body gave people promoting it a forum to share their views,'' he said.
Curiously, he said, the issue is being brought up at a time when the U.S. Department of Education has recognized ADHD as a valid condition, and the Centers for Disease Control also is focusing on the disorder.[/quote]
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