All Articles - Page 35 of 41

Generation Ritalin

Written by Able Child on September 19, 2005. Posted in MedWatch.

Doctors are at odds over the treatment of children affected by ADHD … to drug them or not to drug them?

Michelle Wiese Bockmann reports.

At the age of 10, Brandon Frances screamed for hours on end, suffered psychotic episodes and daily beat his mother.

A pediatrician in Perth diagnosed Brandon with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when he was four, and for the next seven years he was constantly medicated with a cocktail of up to six different drugs to control his behaviour.

Now 13, Brandon no longer takes the medication, is behaving and doing well at school. Eighteen months ago doctors at a Perth public hospital clinic found Brandon did not have ADHD, but a learning disorder. His entire treatment was changed.

Rutherford Institute Attorneys Sue Indiana School for Conducting Mental Health Screening Exam on Teenager Without Parental Consent

Written by Able Child on September 19, 2005. Posted in Lawmaking, MedWatch.

South Bend, IN—Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana on behalf of an Indiana family whose 15-year-old daughter, Chelsea Rhoades, was subjected to a mental health screening examination at school without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

Fierce Opposition Arises to Mental Health Screening in Schools

Written by Able Child on September 18, 2005. Posted in Lawmaking, MedWatch.

By Karen MacPherson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WASHINGTON — Back in 2003, a federal commission created by President Bush recommended improving and expanding mental health programs in schools to provide help as early as possible to students with learning problems or those who might turn violent or disruptive.

The commission highlighted one means of early diagnosis, the Columbia University “TeenScreen” program, that allows students — with parental permission — to get a mental health “check-up” via a computer-based questionnaire before graduating from high school.

Are ADHD Drugs Safe? Report Finds Little Proof

Written by Able Child on September 13, 2005. Posted in Lawmaking, MedWatch.

M. ALEXANDER OTTO; The News Tribune

At a time when millions of children and adults are taking drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the most comprehensive scientific analysis of the drugs to date has found little evidence that they are safe, that one drug is more effective than another or that they help school performance. The 27 drugs studied included Adderall, Concerta, Strattera, Ritalin, Focalin, Cylert, Provigil, and others that, in some households, are well-known for their sometimes calming affects.

Antidepressant Protest in Front of White House

Written by Able Child on September 4, 2005. Posted in Lawmaking.

by James Torlakson

I flew back to Washington, DC to participate in a protest focused on the often-lethal nature of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) and other atypical antidepressants, which took place in front of the White House on August 24th, 25th, and 26th. My twenty-one year old daughter, Elizabeth, committed “suicide” as a direct result of her use of the SSRI, Celexa. More than five thousand young people have committed violent suicides induced by their antide- pressants. Though known by those involved in this cause, it is just now reaching the media that the SSRIs have the same fatal effects on many adults of all ages.

In Over-drugging Kids, ‘Cure’ Is Worse Than Disease

Written by Able Child on August 7, 2005. Posted in Lawmaking, MedWatch.

By Noelle Talevi

There is a deadly connection between mind-altering, psychiatric drugs and violent, suicidal behavior.

David Burgos, the young man who recently committed suicide in a Connecticut correctional facility, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder. What mind-altering drugs was he on, and how long was he on them? David was in the custody of the Department of Children and Families since the age of 10. The majority of children under this agency’s control are on at least one, if not a cocktail, of psychiatric drugs. No one knows the exact number of children, because no one in Connecticut keeps track.

Chairman Sensenbrenner Backs Majority Leader DeLay on the Importance of Parental Rights

Written by Sheila Matthews on August 1, 2005. Posted in Articles, Lawmaking.

Patricia Weathers
President
www.ablechild.org
(845) 677-8115

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has weighed in on the importance of maintaining parental consent rights. These parental rights are now in jeopardy if H.R. 181, The Parental Consent Act of 2005 dies in committee.

Congressman Sensenbrenner has emphatically stated, “It is not, and should not be, the role of government to subject children to arbitrary mental health screenings without the consent of their parents. Parents, children, and their private doctors should determine whether a child has mental health problems, not government bureaucrats.”

His statement comes just after House Majority Leader Tom DeLay stood up for parental rights and released this statement last week. “In the wake of the creation of psychiatric labels, every parent should be wary of relinquishing their responsibility to the government to define and assess their child’s mental health status.”

The highly controversial issue of mandatory mental health screening programs of American school children initiated by the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health is the subject of widespread debate. This debate arises due to the use of subjective, unscientific psychological testing methods used for screening children for mental illness without the provision of full parental informed consent in place. This “testing” is currently awaiting federal funds to expand the implementation of screening programs nationwide.

“If H.R. 181 is passed it will prevent wasteful and potentially devastating federal funding while safeguarding the informed consent rights of all parents in what is a most serious matter, their children’s health and safety”, says Patricia Weathers President and co-founder of AbleChild.org a national non-profit group of parents committed to ensuring that the issue of informed consent and an individual’s right to “opt out” of psychological testing is a national priority.

Dr. Grace Jackson, a board certified psychiatrist since 1996 recently stated, “Contrary to the reports which have been emphasized by the major news outlets, there is no evidence to justify the claim that psychiatric disorders arise from anatomic or physiological abnormalities in the brain. Based upon a variety of theoretical and practical limitations, the functional imaging technologies cannot identify the origin of mental phenomena.”

In light of such growing controversial fervor and obvious lack of agreement on the issue of psychiatric diagnoses within the medical establishment itself, any promotion or implementation of mandated, which is equivalent to forced, screening methods should be viewed as a national threat to public health, and should be challenged by the American public.

For more information on mental health screening programs, psychiatric drug risks, and the FDA’s warnings regarding psychiatric drugs, please visit www.ablechild.org .

Mental Health, Education and Social Control, Part 17

Written by Able Child on July 25, 2005. Posted in Articles.

By Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D., NewsWithViews.com

Ablechild is an organization of parents for label and drug free education. And in their press release of July 19, 2005, one learns that according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, “Every indicator available, including scientific abuse liability studies, actual abuse, paucity of scientific studies on possible adverse effects associated with long-term use of stimulants, divergent prescribing practices of U.S. physicians, and lack of concurrent medical treatment and follow-up, urge greater caution and more restrictive use of Methylphenidate (Ritalin).” The press release also quoted U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Rep. Tom DeLay as proclaiming that “the federal government should become advocates in strengthening American famililes and encouraging parental participation in decisions that directly effect their children’s health and overall well-being. In the wake of the creation of psychiatric labels, every parent should be wary of relinquishing their responsibility to the government to define and assess their child’s mental health status.”

Majority Leader Fights for Parents’ Rights

Written by Sheila Matthews on July 18, 2005. Posted in Lawmaking.

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

Gloria Wright
Vice President
glorous002@ablechild.org

AbleChild, a national parent organization, dedicated to educating the public on informed consent and an individual’s right to refuse psychiatric services, stands with Majority Leader Tom DeLay in support of H.R. 181 – The Parental Consent Act of 2005.

“The federal government should become advocates in strengthening American families and encouraging parental participation in decisions that directly effect their children’s health and overall wellbeing,” said Majority Leader Tom DeLay. “In the wake of the creation of psychiatric labels, every parent should be wary of relinquishing their responsibility to the government to define and assess their child’s mental health status,” he added.

AbleChild has recently been informed that H.R. 181- The Parental Consent Act of 2005, may die in committee and the House of Representatives may not get a chance to vote on this critical informed consent bill.

H.R. 181 prohibits the federal government from being able to fund any universal or mandatory mental health screening programs. According to Michael Cannon and Marie Gryphon of the Cato Institute, “Empowering public schools to ‘play a larger role in mental health care for children’ could do special needs students and their parents more harm than good.”

Without passage of H.R. 181, the federal government will fund universal mental health screening programs and provide the mental health and psychiatric industry open access to America ’s children without the consent of their parents. This will invariably result in an increase in prescribing psychotropic drugs to many of the 56,000,000 children in America ‘s public schools.

On June 29, 2005, the FDA determined the need to add new warnings regarding psychiatric side effects to the drugs used as treatment for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), a highly subjective diagnosis and the subject of much debate within the medical establishment and among the public. The FDA’s recent determination was prompted by reports of hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and aggressive and psychotic behaviors brought about by the use of these drugs. Ablechild emphatically takes the position that no child should be subjected to the dangers of these drugs, nor to the life-long labels associated with subjective mental disorders without first being provided with full informed parental consent and the right to refuse.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, “Every indicator available, including scientific abuse liability studies, actual abuse, paucity of scientific studies on possible adverse effects associated with long-term use of stimulants, divergent prescribing practices of U.S. physicians, and lack of concurrent medical treatment and follow-up, urge greater caution and more restrictive use of Methylphenidate.” Methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin, is only one such drug, which is widely prescribed to children labeled ADHD.

To err on the side of caution is prudent, both on the subject of mandating mental health screening programs for children and prescribing drugs. AbleChild and parents nationwide are encouraged by Congressman Tom DeLay’s willingness to stand up for parental rights and the health of children.

American Medical Association Endorses Drug Experiments on Children

Written by Sheila Matthews on July 18, 2005. Posted in MedWatch.

Sheila Matthews
National Vice President
www.ablechild.org
(203) 966-8419

The American Medical Association has issued a report advocating the training of investigators to study the effects of psychotropic drugs on children, adolescents, and young adults. According to the AMA, “SSRIs should remain available for use in children and adolescents, including for unlabeled uses.” SSRIs were a popular class of antidepressants that have been the subject of widespread controversy, banned in Great Britain in 2003 for use in children and adolescents due to their propensity to induce suicidal thoughts and ideations, and more recently given black box labels in 2004 by the Food and Drug Administration.

The AMA’s statements indicate that it views both the FDA Black Box Suicide Warning on these drugs, and the issue of full informed consent as a restriction. This comes despite their conclusions that “The use of antidepressants is associated with a doubling in the number of reports indicative of suicidal thinking and behavior in children and adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder and other psychiatric disorders.”

Ablechild contacted the FDA to obtain a comment regarding the AMA’s report which promotes the experimental use of drugs that are known to increase suicidal tendencies. According to FDA Spokesperson, Susan Cruzan, “The FDA has reviewed all the scientific data and incorporated two advisory boards’ recommendations on the link to suicide ideation, resulting in a Black Box Warning recommending close oversight for all that use antidepressants to look for increased suicide ideation. The FDA worked with the manufacturers on the Black Box warning mandated on all antidepressants.”

According to Bill Hall, Health & Human Services Spokesman, “HHS regulates all human subjects research carried out by those institutions and organizations that have signed assurances with the HHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP).” Unfortunately, OHRP is not funded to track all unlabeled usage of psychotropic drugs as promoted by the AMA in their recent report.

Based on the statements of both organizations we have concluded that there is insufficient oversight of experimental use of psychotropic drugs on children.

OHRP must protect all citizens from becoming unknowing victims of experimental research.

The promotion of unlabeled SSRI use on children by the AMA, when the dangers and risks associated with the usage is well documented, is unethical and irresponsible. It undermines the FDA’s role, its recommendations, and jeopardizes overall public health.

The AMA needs to be reminded that disclosing drug risks to the public and promoting full disclosure should not be seen as a barrier, but as requisite to public health and safety.