But research shows that improved classroom performance is the only positive short-term outcome of Ritalin use. As Richard DeGrandpre wrote in a recent article, “Dozens of objective studies have assessed the long-term effectiveness of stimulants on children’s academic performance, social development, and self-control. None has shown them to be effective for anything but controlling the kids’ behavior—an effect that vanishes once the drug wears off.”[viii]

Because of its short-term effect and its only positive attribute being that the child’s classroom behavior improves, many doctors and educators are beginning to consider Ritalin not much more than a performance pill. Other medications have been developed and marketed to attempt to enhance children’s, and adults’, abilities to sustain focused attention. Yet Concerta, Adderall, Adderall XR, Cylert, Strattera, Dexedrine, and other drugs are also gaining recognition for their deleterious side effects, ranging from strokes, to increased incidence of suicide in children and adolescents, to even death.  Strattera can cause liver damage, upset stomach, decreased appetite, nausea or vomiting, tiredness, dizziness, and mood swings.[ix]

There is growing concern that Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are just convenient labels to throw over those whose learning styles are perhaps more hands-on and activity-oriented than others. Clearly, there are children who exhibit behavioral problems, but whether these problems are truly pathological, and not a valid response to an increasingly information-addled society, is at the ethical crux of the debate over Ritalin and other psychotropic medications used to increase attention span for school and work-related tasks.[x] 

In the words of Peter Breggin, MD, a leading critic against prescribing medication to treat attention disorders: “We are the first adults to handle the generation gap through the wholesale drugging of our children. We may be guaranteeing that future generations will be relatively devoid of people who think critically, raise painful questions, generate productive conflicts, or lead us to new spiritual or political insights.”[xi]

Many children who are intellectually gifted also display some or all of what are considered to be traits of Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Throughout history, there have been stories of the genius or inventor who was mistaken as a problem child. But is taking a drug like Ritalin going to affect a child’s mind permanently, or if the child is gifted, “dumb” him down to a level of normality? We don’t know. We do know that long-term stimulant abuse negatively affects the physical structure of the brain, causing cortical atrophy (i.e., brain deterioration).”[xii]    

If the only benefit a child may gain from taking Ritalin is better performance in the classroom, while the negative side effects and possible adverse reactions are greatly disproportionate, who stands to gain from the sale of these drugs? 

Clearly, the overworked teacher—whose classroom is twice the size it should be—breathes a sigh of relief when the boy who was loudly interrupting and bouncing in and out of his seat last week now sits quietly and pays attention because he’s taken his pill. And the parents of the girl who refused to do her homework and responded defiantly to every request are overjoyed when she sits down to study unprompted and obsequiously does what she’s told. But behavioral improvements wear off when the drug is out of the child’s system; the efficacy (and dangers) of long-term use of these medications is unknown; and, eventually, children, parents, and teachers will be forced to confront the repercussions of delaying the development of internal coping mechanisms in lieu of a chemical straitjacket.

It seems that pharmaceutical companies are the big winners here. Through alliances with supposedly unbiased organizations such as Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), drug manufacturers have created additional avenues for hyping their products. It was recently discovered that over the course of a few years CHADD had received over $1 million from Novartis, the maker of Ritalin.[xiii]

“I’ve been offered $100 to sit and listen to someone talk about ADHD, funded by Adderall, for fifteen minutes…” Lawrence Diller has said.[xiv] And the marketing of these drugs doesn’t stop with physicians, “parent groups,” or researchers: drug companies are now going straight to the consumer.

In a recent issue of Parade Magazine, a full-page ad celebrates “[p]utting control of your child’s ADHD right where it belongs...in your hands.” The beneficent company so concerned with your child’s well-being is Shire US Inc., “Your ADHD Support Company.” Nowhere does the ad mention that Shire US Inc. is part of the international pharmaceutical company Shire—which manufactures the Attention Deficit Disorder drugs Adderall and Adderall XR.

As the consumption of psychotropic drugs reaches an all-time high, few of us seem willing to question why. However, because the pharmaceutical empires producing these drugs are big businesses that must turn hefty profits in order to survive, we not only have a right but a responsibility to question their motives. In no area is this questioning more important than in the realm of our children’s health.

The coming chapters will show you how the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD can be alleviated and eradicated through non-drug methods. Giving Ritalin or any other stimulant or psychotropic drug to a child masks the actual health problems he or she is experiencing—and postpones improvement of neurological functioning. Parents, doctors, and teachers should realize that, almost invariably, when children “misbehave” they are actually trying to communicate to us that something is wrong. An inability to sit still and listen, to pay attention, or to follow through with things indicates that something in the brain and the nervous system in general is not working properly. Wouldn’t it be better to figure out what isn’t working properly in the brain, then permanently fix the problem, rather than just manage symptoms with toxic drugs? This book shows you how.