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The Controversy Behind ADHDMore than seven million American children are diagnosed with", default", Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), for which there is no scientific basis.Methylphenidate is very similar to both amphetamines and cocaine, a drug used to treat attention deficit-disorder, and (ADHD) attention deficit hyper-activity, in mostly children. Children are being diagnosed with a list of behaviors that In 1987 was literally voted into existence by the American Psychiatric Association and inserted in the DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Within one year 500,000 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with the disorder. In 1998 at the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on ADHD The NIH issued the following statement regarding ADHD: "We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction" About seven million children in this country are treated with addictive, dangerous, and potentially deadly drugs without demonstration of abnormality of disease. School administrators are coercing parents into drugging their children for disorders that have no scientific and organic validity of disease. If they don't drug as requested by school officials, Child Protective services may and have been called, therefore involving still another government agency in fraudulent cases. There are absolutely no positive long-term effects of these medications on learning, academic standards, performances, and social behavior. Between the years of 1990-2000 over 569 children were hospitalized, 38 of them were life threatening hospitalizations, and 186 died from Ritalin. These drugs make children more manageable, not necessarily better. ADHD is a phenomenon, not a brain disease. Because the diagnosis of ADHD is fraudulent, it doesn't matter whether a drug works. Children are being forced to take a drug that is stronger than cocaine for a disease that is yet to be proven. Beverly Eakman Author, Situation: In the USA More than seven million American children are diagnosed with a disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), for which there is no scientific basis. They are prescribed powerful, potentially addictive drugs. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published an authoritative study showing that one of the stimulants used to treat ADHD is more potent than cocaine. You may receive literature or read in the media claims about ADHD being a brain dysfunction, a no fault brain disease,¨ a chemical imbalance in the brain¨ a severe disorder effecting 5% of our nations children. The following is to provide you with facts about the lack of science and veracity behind these assertions and to show that there has been a severe dereliction of duty with regards to informing parents fully about the causes of classroom behavior and learning problems, thereby violating the very essence of informed consent. Consequently, parents have been coerced into placing their child on a psychotropic drug and even threatened with a charge of medical neglect if they took their child off the drug. In some cases, all that was wrong was that the child had a problem with allergies and needed phonics and extra tutoring. Schools are now required by law to screen children for ADHD and the numbers of children being labeled with ADHD in the public schools has skyrocketed. Special Education budgets are astronomical and many Special Education analysts attribute this to the number of children now being categorized as "learning disordered", and particularly ADHD. Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) In 1980, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), which is literally a list of behaviors, was voted to be a mental disorder¨ at a committee meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and included in the APA Diagnostic & Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, DSM-III (third edition). In 1987, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), was literally voted into existence by the American Psychiatric Association and inserted in the DSM-IV. Within one year, 500,000 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with the disorder. "...We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there are no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction." 1998 National Institutes of Health The medical community has elevated Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to the status of diagnoses, and most people believe that these are real diseases. They aren't and doctors who label children ADD or ADHD don't have a clue what's really ailing them. Dr. Sydney Walker III The psychiatrist does not do any testing. The psychiatrist listens to the history and then prescribes a drug. Let me clear this up right now. ADHD is not like diabetes and [the stimulant used for it] is not like insulin. Diabetes is a real medical condition that can be objectively diagnosed. ADHD is an invented label with no objective, valid means of identification. Insulin is a natural hormone produced by the body and it is essential for life. [This stimulant] is a chemically derived amphetamine-like drug that is not necessary for life. Diabetes is an insulin deficiency. Attention and behavioral problems are not a [stimulant] deficiency.¨ Dr. Mary Ann Block, ADHD is Not Caused by a Dopamine Over-Production in the Brain While some studies assert (but cannot prove) that an over-production of dopamine is a cause of ADHD (Lancet study reported in The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2000), this is extremely misleading: Brain scans and tests to confirm ADHD have never been done on "drug naive" patients; i.e., the tests have been done on subjects who were either on psychotropic drugs, or had previously been on psychotropic drugs, both of which can alter brain chemistry. Pediatric Neurologist Fred Baughman clarifies this point: "Researchers from Harvard and Boston Life Sciences' studied a mere 6 adult subjects 'diagnosed' with ADHD who were on drug treatment until 4 weeks prior to the brain scanning which was said to show the chemical imbalance. The researchers and Lancet editors know as well as I, that the drugs their subjects were on until a month before scanning, cause long-term, even permanent, changes of the brain, and that the changes reported could not be claimed to be [anything] other than drug-induced.¨ Dr. Fred Baughman points to a review of braining scanning by a Dr. Swanson, collaborating with F. Xavier Castellanos of NIMH. He said, They concluded that the brains of ADHD subjects were 10% smaller than those of normals, and claimed this as proof that ADHD is a brain disease. What Swanson failed to acknowledge was the fact that virtually all of the ADHD subjects had been on long-term Ritalin treatment, and that this was the likely cause of the brain smallness. Swanson did acknowledge this fact, immediately thereafter, when I made the point from the audience. Castellanos acknowledged, in an interview published in the January, 2000, Reader's Digest that Incontrovertible evidence (that ADHD is a disease) is still lacking,¨ and also that these smaller areas of the brain could be the result of stimulant treatment:¨ Making Children Ineligible for the Armed Services In 1998, the U.S. military discharged more than 3,100 recruits with psychiatric histories, either in boot camp or within the first six months of enlistment. Documented cases of discharges ranged from recruits with lengthy psychiatric treatment, to those who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder¨ (ADHD). The drugs prescribed for ADHD¨ are amphetamine-like. Other drugs prescribed children include tranquilizers and, even, barbiturates. Few parents are warned that this fabricated diagnosis, and the customary subsequent prescription of dangerous, potentially addictive drugs, would disqualify their children from joining the armed forces to protect their country. The Indianapolis Star DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD The following diagnostic criteria for ADHD are specified in the DSM-IV 1. Six (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level: a) often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities b) often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities c) often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly d) often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions) e) often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities f) often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework) g) often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books or tools) h) is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli) is often forgetful in daily activities 2. Six (or more) of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level: Hyperactivity: a) often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat b) often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected c) often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness) d) often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly e) is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor" f) often talks excessively Impulsivity : g) often blurts out answers before questions have been completed h) often has difficulty awaiting turn 1) often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games) Prescribing Kiddy Cocaine¨ to our Children From the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 1995 Report on Methylphenidate Like other schedule II stimulants, abuse of methylphenidate, the stimulant most prescribed for ADHD¨ can lead to tolerance and severe psychological dependence. The literature indicates that the addiction produced by methylphenidate abuse is neither benign nor rare in occurrence, and methylphenidate is more accurately described as producing severe dependence. In clinical studies methylphenidate is self-administered by humans and produces patterns of reinforcing and subjective effects similar to d-amphetamine. Methylphenidate and d-amphetamine produce similar patterns of subjective effects, including increases in rating of euphoria and drug liking. In a study of the incidence of cocaine use and abuse in adult subjects exposed to methylphenidate as children, medicated ADHD subjects who tried cocaine reported higher levels of drug dependence than non-medicated ADHD subjects and controls. Recent data suggests that pre-exposure to stimulants, including methylphenidate, in childhood, may predispose these same individuals to the reinforcing effects of cocaine. ADHD adults have a high incidence of substance abuse disorders. With three to five percent or more of today's youth being administered methylphenidate on a chronic basis, these are issues of concern. Typical of other CNS stimulants, high doses of methylphenidate often produce agitation, tremors, euphoria, tachycardia, palpitations and hypertension. Psychotic episodes, paranoid delusions and bizarre behavior characteristic of amphetamine-like psychomotor stimulant toxicity have all been associated with methylphenidate abuse. Severe medical consequences, including death have been reported. Case reports document that methylphenidate abuse can lead to marked tolerance and psychic dependence in children and adults. Psychotic episodes, violent behavior and bizarre mannerisms have been reported. A significant body of literature is available that describes the actual abuse of methylphenidate and consequences associated with that abuse. Some of the earliest reported abuse cases came out of Sweden where the widespread abuse of methylphenidate led to its withdrawal from the Swedish market in 1968. The Consequences of Stimulants for ADHD¨ : Suicide and Death The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) indicated that between 1990 and 1993, most emergency room mentions for methylphenidate involved whites (75% to 89%) who were taking the drug orally (90% to 96%) to commit suicide (47% to 67%). Note: The DSM III listed the major complication of methylphenidate withdrawal was suicide. This information was not included in the subsequent version, DSM -IV. The FDA reported on May 2, 2000, that "A total of 4,400 health-related complaints of adverse reactions to methylphenidate have been received since 1969. Thirty percent of those more than 1,300 complaints were reported in the last 15 months, including complaints of convulsions and tics, drug dependence, heart ailments, and death. Some estimate only about one percent of all complaints is ever reported to the FDA. The FDA reported 121 cases of people dying while taking methylphenidate and other medications; in nearly 50% of those deaths (59 cases), methylphenidate was suspected of playing a role in the patient's death." The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) The standard reference used by psychiatrists and psychologists for diagnosis and for assigning insurance-payment codes is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Here is what authorities have said about DSM. The third edition of DSM states: There is no satisfactory definition that specifies precise boundaries for the concept mental disorder. The revision of DSM III admits: there is no assumption that each mental disorder is a discrete entity with sharp boundaries between it and other mental disorders or between it and no mental disorder.¨ (Emphasis added). DSM IV also admits to not being able to define a mental disorder: Moreover, although this manual provides a classification of mental disorders, it must be admitted that no definition adequately specifies precise boundaries for the concept of mental disorder." The low level of intellectual effort was shocking. Diagnoses were developed by majority vote on the level we would use to choose a restaurant. You feel like Italian, I feel like Chinese, so let's go to the cafeteria. Then it's typed into the computer.¨ Dr. Paula Caplan, psychologist, author of They're Making Us Crazy, commenting on the American Psychiatric Association's 1987 hearings into DSM Given their farcical empirical procedures for arriving at new disorders with their associated symptoms lists, where does the American Psychiatric Association get off claiming a scientific, research-based foundation for its diagnostic manual? This is nothing more than science by decree. They say it is science, so it is.¨ Dr. Margaret Hagen, PhD, "Finally, why must the APA pretend to know more than it does? DSM IV (the fourth edition) is the fabrication upon which psychiatry seeks acceptance by medicine in general. Insiders know it is more of a political than scientific document. To its credit it says so --although its brief apologia is rarely noted. DSM-IV has become a bible and a money making best seller-its major failings notwithstanding...It is the way to get paid...The issue is what do the categories tell us? Do they in fact accurately represent the person with the problem? They don't and can't, because there are no external validating criteria for psychiatric diagnoses. There is neither blood test nor specific anatomic lesions for any major psychiatric disorder psychiatry a hoax--as practiced today? Unfortunately the answer is mostly yes." Dr. Loren Mosher, Psychiatrist former Chief of The National Institute of Mental Health's Center for the Study of Schizophrenia Excerpts from the article printed in Clinical Psychiatry News: "Has the DSM -IV gone too far in including psychiatric diagnoses on the fringe, such as those that do not have a demonstrated biological etiology" "Dr. Theodore Pearlman says the DSM-IV has gone too far. 'There are too many diagnoses without any objective basis or biological support,' said Dr. Pearlman, a psychiatrist in Houston." "There has never been any criterion that psychiatric diagnoses require a demonstrated biological etiology', said Dr. Harold Pincus, vice chairperson o the DSM-IV task force. In fact, virtually no mental disorder, except those that are substance induced or due to a general medical condition, has one." "The manual is also taken too seriously by the rest of society --including the government, the courts, the hospitals, and insurance companies, said Dr. Suriff, a clinical psychologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston." Clinical Psychiatry News No Biological Basis for DSM's Mental Disorders, No evidence of a Chemical Imbalance" The designation disease can only be justified when the cause can be related to a demonstrable anatomical lesion, infection, or some other physiological defect. As there is no such evidence for any mental disorder, the term disease is a misnomer; in fact, it is fraudulent. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Research has yet to identify specific biological causes for any of these [mental] disorders. Mental disorders are classified on the basis of symptoms because there are as yet no biological markers or laboratory tests for them.¨ The U.S. Congress Office of Technology 'There has never been any criterion that psychiatric diagnoses require a demonstrated biological etiology' [cause], said Dr. Harold Pincus, vice chairperson of the DSM-IV task force. In fact, virtually no mental disorder, except those that are substance induced or due to a general medical condition, has one." Clinical Psychiatry News "...What they have done is medicalize many problems that don't have demonstrable, biological causes." They are a "masterpiece of political maneuvering." Al Parides, California psychiatrist "...modern psychiatry has yet to convincingly prove the genetic/biologic cause of any single mental illness...Patients [have] been diagnosed with 'chemical imbalances' despite the fact that no test exists to support such a claim, and... there is no real conception of what a correct chemical balance would look like. Yet conclusions such as depression is a chemical imbalance are created out of nothing more than semantics and the wishful thinking of scientist/psychiatrists and a public who will believe anything now that has the stamp of approval of medical science.¨ David Kaisler "There's no biological imbalance. When people come to me and say, 'I have a biochemical imbalance,' I say, 'Show me your lab tests.' There are no lab tests. So what's the biochemical imbalance?" Ron Leifer, "Contrary to what is often claimed, no biochemical, anatomical or functional signs have been found that reliably distinguish the brains of mental patients." "... many are not aware of the enormous influence that the [pharmaceutical] industry has in shaping our views of mental disorders and the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic drugs.." "I am convinced that the pharmaceutical industry spends enormous amounts of money to increase its sales and profits by influencing physicians and the pubic in ways that sometimes bend the truth and that are often not in the best interests of science or the public. Dr. Elliot Valenstein, University of Michigan
Neuroscientist Methylphenidate is very similar to both amphetamines and cocaine, a drug used to treat (ADD) attention deficit-disorder, and (ADHD) attention deficit hyper-activity disorder, in mostly children. Children are being diagnosed with a list of behaviors that In 1987 was literally voted into existence by the American Psychiatric Association and inserted in the DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Within one year 500,000 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with the disorder. In 1998 at the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on ADHD The NIH issued the following statement regarding ADHD: "We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction" About seven million children in this country are treated with addictive, dangerous, and potentially deadly drugs without demonstration of abnormality of disease. School administrators are coercing parents into drugging their children for disorders that have no scientific and organic validity of disease. If they don't drug as requested by school officials, Child Protective services may and have been called, therefore involving still another government agency in fraudulent cases. There are absolutely no positive long-term effects of these medications on learning, academic standards, performances, and social behavior. Between the years of 1990-2000 over 569 children were hospitalized, 38 of them were life threatening hospitalizations, and 186 died from Ritalin. What are the professionals saying about ADHD and the drugs used as treatment These drugs make children more manageable, not necessarily better. ADHD is a phenomenon, not a brain disease. Because the diagnosis of ADHD is fraudulent, it doesn't matter whether a drug works. Children are being forced to take a drug that is stronger than cocaine for a disease that is yet to be proven. Beverly Eakman Author, Situation: In the USA More than six million American children are diagnosed with a disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), for which there is no scientific basis. They are prescribed powerful, potentially addictive drugs. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published an authoritative study showing that one of the stimulants used to treat ADHD is more potent than cocaine.¨ You may receive literature or read in the media claims about ADHD being a brain dysfunction, a no fault brain disease,¨ a chemical imbalance in the brain¨ a severe disorder effecting 5% of our nations children. The following is to provide you with facts about the lack of science and veracity behind these assertions and to show that there has been a severe dereliction of duty with regards to informing parents fully about the causes of classroom behavior and learning problems, thereby violating the very essence of informed consent.¨ Consequently, parents have been coerced into placing their child on a psychotropic drug and even threatened with a charge of medical neglect if they took their child off the drug. In some cases, all that was wrong was that the child had a problem with allergies and needed phonics and extra tutoring. Schools are now required by law to screen children for ADHD and the numbers of children being labeled with ADHD in the public schools has skyrocketed. Special Education budgets are astronomical and many Special Education analysts attribute this to the number of children now being categorized as "learning disordered", and particularly ADHD. Attention Deficit Disorder and In 1980, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), which is literally a list of behaviors, was voted to be a mental disorder¨ at a committee meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and included in the APA Diagnostic & Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, DSM-III (third edition). In 1987, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), was literally voted into existence by the American Psychiatric Association and inserted in the DSM-IV. Within one year, 500,000 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with the disorder. "...We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there are no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction." 1998 National Institutes of Health The medical community has elevated Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to the status of diagnoses, and most people believe that these are real diseases. They aren't and doctors who label children ADD or ADHD don't have a clue what's really ailing them. Dr. Sydney Walker III The psychiatrist does not do any testing. The psychiatrist listens to the history and then prescribes a drug.¨ Let me clear this up right now. ADHD is not like diabetes and [the stimulant used for it] is not like insulin. Diabetes is a real medical condition that can be objectively diagnosed. ADHD is an invented label with no objective, valid means of identification. Insulin is a natural hormone produced by the body and it is essential for life. [This stimulant] is a chemically derived amphetamine-like drug that is not necessary for life. Diabetes is an insulin deficiency. Attention and behavioral problems are not a [stimulant] deficiency.¨ Dr. Mary Ann Block, ADHD is Not Caused by a Dopamine Over-Production in the Brain While some studies assert (but cannot prove) that an over-production of dopamine is a cause of ADHD (Lancet study reported in The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2000), this is extremely misleading: Brain scans and tests to confirm ADHD have never been done on "drug naive" patients; i.e., the tests have been done on subjects who were either on psychotropic drugs, or had previously been on psychotropic drugs, both of which can alter brain chemistry. Pediatric Neurologist Fred Baughman clarifies this point: "Researchers from Harvard and Boston Life Sciences' studied a mere 6 adult subjects 'diagnosed' with ADHD who were on drug treatment until 4 weeks prior to the brain scanning which was said to show the chemical imbalance. The researchers and Lancet editors know as well as I, that the drugs their subjects were on until a month before scanning, cause long-term, even permanent, changes of the brain, and that the changes reported could not be claimed to be [anything] other than drug-induced.¨ Dr. Fred Baughman points to a review of braining scanning by a Dr. Swanson, collaborating with F. Xavier Castellanos of NIMH. He said, They concluded that the brains of ADHD subjects were 10% smaller than those of normals, and claimed this as proof that ADHD is a brain disease. What Swanson failed to acknowledge was the fact that virtually all of the ADHD subjects had been on long-term Ritalin treatment, and that this was the likely cause of the brain smallness. Swanson did acknowledge this fact, immediately thereafter, when I made the point from the audience. Castellanos acknowledged, in an interview published in the January, 2000, Reader's Digest that Incontrovertible evidence (that ADHD is a disease) is still lacking,¨ and also that these smaller areas of the brain could be the result of stimulant treatment:¨ Making Children Ineligible for the Armed Services In 1998, the U.S. military discharged more than 3,100 recruits with psychiatric histories, either in boot camp or within the first six months of enlistment. Documented cases of discharges ranged from recruits with lengthy psychiatric treatment, to those who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder¨ (ADHD). The drugs prescribed for ADHD¨ are amphetamine-like. Other drugs prescribed children include tranquilizers and, even, barbiturates. Few parents are warned that this fabricated diagnosis, and the customary subsequent prescription of dangerous, potentially addictive drugs, would disqualify their children from joining the armed forces to protect their country. The Indianapolis Star DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD The following diagnostic criteria for ADHD are specified in the DSM-IV 1. Six (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level: a) often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities b) often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities c) often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly d) often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions) e) often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities f) often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework) g) often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books or tools) h) is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli) is often forgetful in daily activities 2. Six (or more) of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level: Hyperactivity: a) often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat b) often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected c) often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness) d) often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly e) is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor" f) often talks excessively Impulsivity : g) often blurts out answers before questions have been completed h) often has difficulty awaiting turn i) often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games) Prescribing Kiddy Cocaine¨ to our Children From the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 1995 Report on Methylphenidate Like other schedule II stimulants, abuse of methylphenidate, the stimulant most prescribed for ADHD¨ can lead to tolerance and severe psychological dependence. The literature indicates that the addiction produced by methylphenidate abuse is neither benign nor rare in occurrence, and methylphenidate is more accurately described as producing severe dependence. In clinical studies methylphenidate is self-administered by humans and produces patterns of reinforcing and subjective effects similar to d-amphetamine. Methylphenidate and d-amphetamine produce similar patterns of subjective effects, including increases in rating of euphoria and drug liking. In a study of the incidence of cocaine use and abuse in adult subjects exposed to methylphenidate as children, medicated ADHD subjects who tried cocaine reported higher levels of drug dependence than non-medicated ADHD subjects and controls. Recent data suggests that pre-exposure to stimulants, including methylphenidate, in childhood, may predispose these same individuals to the reinforcing effects of cocaine. ADHD adults have a high incidence of substance abuse disorders. With three to five percent or more of today's youth being administered methylphenidate on a chronic basis, these are issues of concern. Typical of other CNS stimulants, high doses of methylphenidate often produce agitation, tremors, euphoria, tachycardia, palpitations and hypertension. Psychotic episodes, paranoid delusions and bizarre behavior characteristic of amphetamine-like psychomotor stimulant toxicity have all been associated with methylphenidate abuse. Severe medical consequences, including death have been reported. Case reports document that methylphenidate abuse can lead to marked tolerance and psychic dependence in children and adults. Psychotic episodes, violent behavior and bizarre mannerisms have been reported. A significant body of literature is available that describes the actual abuse of methylphenidate and consequences associated with that abuse. Some of the earliest reported abuse cases came out of Sweden where the widespread abuse of methylphenidate led to its withdrawal from the Swedish market in 1968. The Consequences of Stimulants for ADHD¨ : Suicide and Death The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) indicated that between 1990 and 1993, most emergency room
mentions for methylphenidate involved whites (75% to 89%) who were taking the drug orally (90% to 96%) to commit suicide (47% to 67%). Note: The DSM III listed the major complication of methylphenidate withdrawal was suicide. This information was not included in the subsequent version, DSM -IV. The FDA reported on May 2, 2000, that "A total of 4,400 health-related complaints of adverse reactions to methylphenidate have been received since 1969. Thirty percent of those more than 1,300 complaints were The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) The standard reference used by psychiatrists and psychologists for diagnosis and for assigning insurance-payment codes is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Here is what authorities have said about DSM. The third edition of DSM states: There is no satisfactory definition that specifies precise boundaries for the concept mental disorder. The revision of DSM III admits: there is no assumption that each mental disorder is a discrete entity with sharp boundaries between it and other mental disorders or between it and no mental disorder.¨ (Emphasis added). DSM IV also admits to not being able to define a mental disorder: Moreover, although this manual provides a classification of mental disorders, it must be admitted that no definition adequately specifies precise boundaries for the concept of mental disorder." The low level of intellectual effort was shocking. Diagnoses were developed by majority vote on the level we would use to choose a restaurant. You feel like Italian, I feel like Chinese, so let's go to the cafeteria. Then it's typed into the computer.¨ Dr. Paula Caplan, psychologist, author of They're Making Us Crazy, commenting on the American Psychiatric Association's 1987 hearings into DSM Given their farcical empirical procedures for arriving at new disorders with their associated symptoms lists, where does the American Psychiatric Association get off claiming a scientific, research-based foundation for its diagnostic manual? This is nothing more than science by decree. They say it is science, so it is.¨ Dr. Margaret Hagen, PhD, "Finally, why must the APA pretend to know more than it does? DSM IV (the fourth edition) is the fabrication upon which psychiatry seeks acceptance by medicine in general. Insiders know it is more of a political than scientific document. To its credit it says so --although its brief apologia is rarely noted. DSM-IV has become a bible and a money making best seller-its major failings notwithstanding...It is the way to get paid...The issue is what do the categories tell us? Do they in fact accurately represent the person with the problem? They don't and can't, because there are no external validating criteria for psychiatric diagnoses. There is neither blood test nor specific anatomic lesions for any major psychiatric disorder psychiatry a hoax--as practiced today? Unfortunately the answer is mostly yes." Dr. Loren Mosher, Psychiatrist former Chief of The Excerpts from the article printed in Clinical Psychiatry News: "Has the DSM -IV gone too far in including psychiatric diagnoses on the fringe, such as those that do not have a demonstrated biological etiology" "Dr. Theodore Pearlman says the DSM -IV has gone too far. 'There are too many diagnoses without any objective basis or biological support,' said Dr. Pearlman, a psychiatrist in Houston." "There has never been any criterion that psychiatric diagnoses require a demonstrated biological etiology', said Dr. Harold Pincus, vice chairperson o the DSM-IV task force. In fact, virtually no mental disorder, except those that are substance induced or due to a general medical condition, has one." "The manual is also taken too seriously by the rest of society --including the government, the courts, the hospitals, and insurance companies, said Dr. Suriff, a clinical psychologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston." Clinical Psychiatry News No Biological Basis for DSM's Mental Disorders, No evidence of a Chemical Imbalance" The designation disease can only be justified when the cause can be related to a demonstrable anatomical lesion, infection, or some other physiological defect. As there is no such evidence for any mental disorder, the term disease is a misnomer; in fact, it is fraudulent. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Research has yet to identify specific biological causes for any of these [mental] disorders. Mental disorders are classified on the basis of symptoms because there are as yet no biological markers or laboratory tests for them.¨ The U.S. Congress Office of Technology 'There has never been any criterion that psychiatric diagnoses require a demonstrated biological etiology' [cause], said Dr. Harold Pincus, vice chairperson of the DSM-IV task force. In fact, virtually no mental disorder, except those that are substance induced or due to a general medical condition, has one." Clinical Psychiatry News "...What they have done is medicalize many problems that don't have demonstrable, biological causes." They are a "masterpiece of political maneuvering." Al Parides, California psychiatrist "...modern psychiatry has yet to convincingly prove the genetic/biologic cause of any single mental illness...Patients [have] been diagnosed with 'chemical imbalances' despite the fact that no test exists to support such a claim, and... there is no real conception of what a correct chemical balance would look like. Yet conclusions such as depression is a chemical imbalance are created out of nothing more than semantics and the wishful thinking of scientist/psychiatrists and a public who will believe anything now that has the stamp of approval of medical science.¨ David Kaisler "There's no biological imbalance. When people come to me
and say, 'I have a biochemical imbalance,' Ron Leifer, "Contrary to what is often claimed, no biochemical, anatomical or functional signs have been found that reliably distinguish the brains of mental patients." "... many are not aware of the enormous influence that the [pharmaceutical] industry has in shaping our views of mental disorders and the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic drugs.." "I am convinced that the pharmaceutical industry spends enormous amounts of money to increase its sales and profits by influencing physicians and the pubic in ways that sometimes bend the truth and that are often not in the best interests of science or the public. Dr. Elliot Valenstein, University of Michigan Neuroscientist |
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