Ablechild letter from one psychiatrist who had contacted us regarding our position

3-29-02

Dear Greg,

Ablechild: Parents for Label and Drug Free Education is an organization that does not believe in Labels or Drugs as treatment in any type of educational setting. I thought our name speaks for itself. Our goal is simply to provide valid information to parents that have been given only one side of the issue. Do we believe in ADHD as it is being marketed today (a neuro-biological disorder, genetic in nature)? NO! Do we believe in using drugs to "treat" children diagnosed with ADHD? No! You can't treat what you can't prove!

To simplify our views to you I will phrase it this way: If a doctor (or psychologist/psychiatrist) was to say to you, listen, “Your child has some behavioral/attentional issues and I "believe" he suffers from a disorder ADHD. This disorder has never been validated by science; whereby I mean, there is no blood test, no brain scan, nothing to objectively prove your child suffers from it. All I have to determine that your child has this is a very subjective teacher report and rating scale/checklist with criteria such as talking out of turn or fidgeting, etc..... Furthermore, I believe that the only” treatment” for this disorder are Schedule II drugs which the Drug Enforcement Administration has deemed to be highly addicting, similar to Cocaine in make-up, and gateway drugs. There is no consistent proof that your child will benefit academically. It simply will make your child more manageable. Lastly, this disorder falls under the DSM IV of Psychiatry, which constitutes a mental illness.” In other words, “You are labeling your child mentally ill. Your child will be barred from future military eligibility if on these Schedule II drugs after the age of 12.”

Unfortunately, parents are not hearing these facts! These facts are twisted and turned. They are so distorted that what parents are hearing is that our child suffers from a learning disorder that is a "neurobiological", "organic", "brain condition", "disease", "chemical imbalance", etc....... They are further told that the only "treatment" to correct their child's imbalance is "medication." These parents are not given the actual side effects of the drugs, or the fact that children have died as a result of taking these drugs. These parents are never told about the DEA Report (26 pages) or the Berkeley Study or the fact their child will be ineligible for military service. Lastly, (and not surprisingly) parents are not told that the schools profit off each child that they have labeled with this and each child that they have drugged. Doctors that push these drugs get kickbacks directly from pharmaceutical companies! (There are lawsuits that have been recently filed)

So our goal is to inform a parent of the other side of the issue. Parents need to know so that they can make sound, educated decisions regarding this. Informed consent is crucial. We would not have a problem if the current medical and educational establishment were honest with parents and then a parent choose to drug their child.

Furthermore, we know that teachers should not be put into positions of diagnosticians. Unfortunately, since there is NO valid test in existence to determine if a child has this disorder, (1998 National Institute of Health Consensus Statement on ADHD) teachers are finding it all too easy to use “Psychiatry’s rocket science checklists” to diagnose children, which as you well know are completely subjective. A teacher should stick to educating. There are numerous laws in effect and laws pending prohibiting teachers from even suggesting that a child has this disorder and needs drugs. Please look at legislation grid on website. Recently there has been Federal Legislation passed to outlaw schools from doing this.

Greg, we do not feel that all psychiatrists are bad. I can give you a few off the top of my head that are right on the same page with us.

“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

Psychiatrist

“….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

“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

New York Psychiatrist

“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….is psychiatry a hoax—as practiced today? Unfortunately the answer is mostly yes.”

Dr. Loren Mosher

Psychiatrist and former Chief

Of The National Institute

Of Mental Health’s Center

For the Study of

Schizophrenia

So what should this tell us? Even your own industry does not agree! What can I say? I guess controversy is never-ending. The point is that we do not want the Mental Health Industry Inside our Schools. They do not belong there. Our children’s education is compromised as a result.

I will pray that you might realize that drugging children for a nonexistent disease is not the ethical thing to do. Sadly, you have been manipulated and misled by your own industry, which I am sure you put your trust into. Many times people cannot overcome such a hurdle. I can only pray that you will someday see the truth and have the courage to speak out against it, if not for parents’ sake, then for the sake of children’s lives, health, and well-being.

Patricia Weathers

Ablechild: Parents for Label and Drug Free Education

President

www.ablechild.org

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