Tag: Ablechild

The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses

Written by AbleChild on June 22, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses, is, as the title implies, a work that encourages the spirits of our young people and shines a more positive light on them. The book also has two subtitles. The first subtitle, The Truth About Ritalin, ADHD, and other “Disruptive Behavior Disorders” signals that the book really brings a lot of attention to the phenomenon of unrealistically high numbers of children being labeled with these kind of diagnoses, and prescribed potentially dangerous psychiatric medication. The second subtitle is What to Do When Your Child is Labeled By the Schools. The book offers a great deal of support for any adult that is caring for and looking to help a child in this type of situation.

This book is divided into three major sections:

Part 1: Recognition and Remembrance

Since society distorts the reality regarding the experience of children and schools, we need to recognize this and create a realistic picture of the situation to respond effectively.
Addresses the “Biopsychiatry” approach, which has led to the overmedicating of children with psychiatric drugs like Ritalin in the United States.
This section works to focus on ideas of who the child truly is and see the schools for what they really are.
Remembrance refers to training ourselves to be able to remember who our child truly is, which can be easy to forget in times of heightened stress and when the child is having a hard time emotionally or behaviorally.

Part 2: Information and Action

This section focuses on solutions – what action parents can take to help their child.
In our flawed society where no one tells us how to be parents, this book guides us on how to respond to these sensitive situations.

Part 3: On Counseling Children

This section is the heart of the book.
Does a great job of outlining and unpacking all of the conditioned thinking that has led our society astray.
Our society lacks support for both parents and children, and helping your children the way that is outlined in this book is very challenging in our culture today.
This section thoroughly examines important topics like fear, shame, crying and anger.
The author shares his own personal experiences as a parent.

About the Author

John Breeding, Ph.D., is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience who counsels adults children and families out of his private practice in Austin, Texas, and also around the world. He is the director of the non-profit organization Wildest Colts Resources, which focuses on helping adults working with young people having a hard time to offer non-drug treatment alternatives. He is also the director of Texans for Safe Education, a citizens group dedicated to fighting the growing role of psychiatry and psychiatric drugs in schools today.

Dr. Breeding is also experienced in other aspects of psychiatric oppression, including electroshock and psychiatric drugging of elders in nursing homes. He received his doctorate from the University of Texas. He has published several other books: Eyes Wide Open: Parenting and Life Mainfestos for the 21st Century, True Nature and Great Misunderstandings (On How We Care for Our Children According to Our Understanding, and Necessity of Madness and Unproductivity: Psychiatric Oppression or Human Transformation.

Reviews

Moira Dolan, M.D. The West News, Fall 1996:

“Are you the parent of a ‘wild colt’? Is your darling child identified as a ‘problem’ in school, or been the target of kindly professionals suggesting Ritalin? If so, you will discover your child in John Breeding’s new book….”

Chris Mercogliano, author of Making it Up as We Go Along, the Story of the Albany Free School and Co-Director of the Free School:

“Authors die for the perfect titles for their work. Well, John Breeding has come up with a doozy here. I wholeheartedly agree with Breeding and share his horror at what we are doing to our society’s wild colts. Breeding elects to focus mainly on today’s most popular designer label for children who don’t fit the mold, “Attention Deficit Disorder.” He emphatically repudiates any and every psychopharmaceutical approach to the behavioral management of children… Breeding knows what he’s talking about. So, parents out there, if the “psychiatric police” show up at your door, there is another way.”

True Nature and Great Misunderstandings (On How We Care for our Children According to Our Understanding)

Written by AbleChild on June 15, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

In this groundbreaking work from 2002, author John Breeding gives extra attention to the view, or understanding, from which we are viewing our children. For example, if we think they are rowdy and violent, then we will have an understanding that we have to tame them. Or if we don’t recognize their unlimited capacity for curiosity and intelligence, we will see them as uncooperative and misbehaving and feel the need to punish or reward them accordingly. In this book, Breeding gently shines the light on the misunderstanding we have that our children’s wonderful gifts are in fact biologically-based problems labeled as “mental illness,” then the turnout is a society with millions of children on dangerous and unnecessary psychotropic drugs.

But instead of leading us to extreme shock and anger, Breeding does an excellent job of allowing us to properly absorb the information, clearly see the correct perspective and take the necessary actions to correct these misunderstandings. Breeding explains in detail how we can stop suppressing our children’s gifts and passions and instead nurture their emotional and intellectual growth and development. He eases fears many parents have about certain behaviors they may have been conditioned to see as signs of “mental illness.” True Nature and Great Misunderstandings is not only an excellent book that will help parents care for their children, it can also help parents and other adults heal from their own childhood hurts.

About the Author

Dr. Breeding is also experienced in other aspects of psychiatric oppression, including electroshock and psychiatric drugging of elders in nursing homes. He received his doctorate from the University of Texas. He has published several other books: Eyes Wide Open: Parenting and Life Mainfestos for the 21st Century, The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses, and Necessity of Madness and Unproductivity: Psychiatric Oppression or Human Transformation.

Reviews

Psychologist/teacher Roger Mitchell, Ph.D.:

“Somehow, someway, John Breeding has found a way to measure his steps, his dreams, his pain, and his passion-to transform them into a dynamic interplay with the times and the American culture in a way that is thought provoking and heart rendering. I am always inspired when I read his ‘marking of the twain,’ sounding the depth of our American way of life.”

Author Jan Hunt (The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart):

“In his strong voice, John Breeding makes it clear that our children deserve to be accepted and valued for their unique and wonderful qualities, not evaluated, pigeon-holed, labeled, or drugged. It is my hope that this refreshing, thought-provoking, and very important book will be read and taken to heart by all those fortunate enough to have children, work with children, or advocate on their behalf.”

No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without Drugs

Written by AbleChild on June 9, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

With several million children still being prescribed ADHD drugs such as Ritalin every year, Dr. Mary Ann Block makes the case for why Ritalin (generic name methylphenidate) could be a huge risk to your child’s health. Block takes an avant-garde approach in No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without Drugs, not only questioning the very existence of the ADHD diagnosis, but she outlines safe and more effective drug-free alternative means of treatment. Block is of the school of thought that you can’t treat the problem until you identify the underlying causes of ADHD, such as hypoglycemia, allergies, environmental factors and hyperthyroidism. Often, symptoms stemming from issues such as these are misdiagnosed as ADHD. The book also lists commonly prescribed medications, explains what they are and the potential side effects they can have on children.

Block discusses in the book her belief that children diagnoses with ADHD are usually right-brain dominant in their information processing and learning styles, as well as being more creative than those with left-brain dominant styles. She explains the need for right-brain dominated children to be offered better accommodations with their learning styles in the school system. Block presents her arguments with thorough research and actual case histories from her clinic.

About the Author

Dr. Mary Ann Block is a top-selling author on family health, and director of the Block Center. Her medical approach is to look for and treat, whenever possible, the underlying causes of the problem, instead of using drugs to cover the symptoms. Her other books include No More ADHD, Just Because You’re Depressed, Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression, Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease, So Find the Cause — Fix the Problem, Today I Will Not Die, and The ABC’s of Raising Great Kids.

Dr. Block chairs The Health and Empowerment Committee for the National Foundation of Women Legislators. She is a State of Texas Family Practice Preceptor and served on the faculty as assistant professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Block is a regular contributor on TBN and FamilyNet’s Your Health with Dr. Richard Becker, as well as being quoted in magazines, newspapers, radio and TV shows across the country.

No More ADHD, 10 Steps to Help Improve Your Child’s Attention and Behavior WITHOUT Drugs

Written by AbleChild on June 1, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

From the same top-selling author of Just Because You’re Depressed, Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression, Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease, So Find the Cause — Fix the Problem is a book that thoroughly investigates the truth about the ADHD diagnosis, and helps parents identify their child’s true health and learning problems and find non-pharmaceutical ways to improve these issues. Block reveals what’s behind the origin of the medical profession’s label of ADHD, question’s the disorder’s medical legitimacy, and shows how children’s attention and behavior symptoms can be the result of real and explainable health and learning problems.

Dr. Block is an outspoken critic of children being diagnosed with ADHD and the dangers of the psychiatric drugs being prescribed to treat children. She advises parents to make sure their children are thoroughly examined by a medical professional to find underlying medical problems that could be misdiagnosed as a mental disorder.

Dr. Block is a mother who knows from personal experience how the medical system can fail a child. Her daughter became seriously ill following an incorrect diagnosis from doctors and inappropriate use of pharmaceutical drugs. This compelled her to attend medical school at the age of 39 to save her daughter. Dr. Block’s perspective as both a parent and a physician should set many parents at ease and give them confidence in her advice in this book.

About the Author

Dr. Mary Ann Block is a licensed osteopathic physician and top-selling author on family health, and director of the Block Center. Her other books include No More Ritalin, No More Amoxicillin, Today I Will Not Die, and The ABC’s of Raising Great Kids.

Just Because You’re Depressed, Doesn’t Mean You Have Depression, Depression is a Symptom Not a Disease, So Find the Cause — Fix the Problem

Written by AbleChild on May 25, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

In this book, Dr. Mary Ann Block uses a clear and easy to understand writing style to expose the truth about the diagnosis of depression, and the dangers of the current medications prescribed for it. If you or someone you love is among the 300 million people diagnosed with or suffering from the symptoms of depression, the information from this book could literally save your life. In the book, Block examines the often flawed area of psychiatry with a fine-tooth comb, to help people understand the real issues underlying their symptoms. Having the right information then allows you to make an educated decision.

Block’s book outlines the six most common causes of depression that she has seen among her patients. They are as follows:

Thyroid Problems
Hormone Deficiencies
Magnesium and Other Nutritional Deficiencies
Allergies
Prescription Drug Side-Effects
A Personal Loss or Other Normal Life Cycle Experience

Other important points covered in Block’s book include:

Postpartum depression, and how it is a hormonal imbalance, not something that requires treatment with anti-depressants.
How poor nutrition can impact your mood and lead to symptoms of depression.

Block also reviews the many side effects of anti-depressants, which include depression, heart failure, heart attack, atrial fibrillation, cerebral embolism, stroke, shock, thrombosis, ventricular arrythmia, venticular fibrillation, hemorrhage, coma, delusions, abnormal EEG, hypertension, angina pectoris, agitation, sleep disorder, apathy, ataxia, hallucinations, hostility, paranoid reactions, personality disorder, psychosis, vertigo, antisocial behavior and stupor.

About the Author

Dr. Mary Ann Block is a top-selling author on family health, and director of the Block Center. Her medical approach is to look for and treat, whenever possible, the underlying causes of the problem, instead of using drugs to cover the symptoms. Her other books include No More ADHD, No More Ritalin, Today I Will Not Die, and The ABC’s of Raising Great Kids.

Reviews

David Brown Stein, M.D., author of Overcoming Thyroid Disorders and Drugs That Don’t Work, and Natural Therapies That Do

“This book is a must read for those who have been diagnosed with depression. This book gives the reader all the information they need to make the best choices about how to find the real cause of their symptoms. I highly recommend this book by Dr. Mary Ann Block.”

And They Call It Help: The Psychiatric Policing of America’s Children

Written by AbleChild on May 19, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

In this shocking and revealing expose, author Louise Armstrong expresses her frustration with how “problem” children and teenagers have become hostages of of psychiatric hospitals. She gives us a snapshot of how these children are drugged, isolated and held prisoner supposedly for their own good. Armstrong also examines the motivations behind these hospitals for this abuse of children and teenagers, with greed being at the top of the list.

Going back to the 1980s, Armstrong follows the rapid expansion of juvenile hospitalization and makes a connection to profits that comes from the state and insurance companies. She points out how the mental health industry has continued to make more and more behaviors, feelings and thoughts that are part of the natural human makeup into psychiatric issues that require treatment. This, according to Armstrong, leads to institutionalization and drugging of children that are perfectly normal, but are going through a troubling time or living in a stressful environment. In the book, Armstrong includes conversations with some of these hospitalized children who describe their experiences in these institutions.

About the Author

Louise Armstrong is a writer, feminist and activist, who has published numerous children’s and adults’ books. The topics she covers in her books range from child abuse, to incest, family violence and sexual abuse. Her other books include Kiss Daddy Goodnight, A Child’s Guide to Freud, and Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism. She also is a former staff member of the Institute of Children’s Literature, led a committee on family violence for the National Women’s Health Network, and has been a contributor to magazines such as Woman’s Day.

The Myth of the ADHD Child, Revised Edition: 101 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels and Coercion

Written by AbleChild on May 9, 2021. Posted in Essential Books.

In response to the rise of ADHD diagnoses and the number of people taking psychoactive medications, The Myth of the ADHD Child: Revised Edition: 101 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels or Coercion really examines the root of where all of these issues are coming from. Psychologist Dr. Thomas Armstrong addresses what many people believe to be a highly overdiagnosed disorder at the very least, and he even challenges the actual existence of ADHD, based on lack of concrete evidence. He instead explores possible alternatives for dealing with hyperactivity and short attention spans by engaging children’s creativity and vitality, which is often mischanneled.

Armstrong recommends the book be followed along with the guidance of the child’s doctor, and that the parents have an active role in the child’s treatment. Also, the book gives an overview of the history and politics of ADD and ADHD, and Big Pharma’s role in creating such a heavily medicated society. This is the second edition of the book, published 22 years after The Myth of the A.D.D. Child: 50 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels or Coercion. Since the first book was published 22 years ago, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of people, and children, on psychotropic medication.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas Armstrong has a background in education, and has written a lot of material on parenting and education. He has also explored mindfulness in the classroom as a way to help children feel calmer and more focused in school, which he wrote about in Mindfulness in the Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Concentration, Compassion, and Calm. He also avidly promotes neurodiversity, which is an idea that views people with disabilities as having differences from others, including both challenges and strengths, as opposed to only focusing on the weaknesses of the disabled. You can learn more in Armstrong’s book The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleash the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain.

Reviews

Jack Canfield, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and Success Principles:

“Parents everywhere should read this book, not just those with kids diagnosed with ADHD! Thomas Armstrong presents a wealth of strategies, ideas, tips and resources that will help parents nurture kids who feel good about themselves, who have skills for coping with life’s challenges, strategies that will help them succeed in the classroom and beyond. I wholeheartedly recommend The Myth of the ADHD Child.”

Alan Sroufe, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Child Psychology, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota:

“…absolutely essential reading for parents. teachers, and others concerned with children who struggle. Armstrong provides a lucid and comprehensive response to the tragic overuse of medication for America’s children. Bursting the myths of an established brain deficit, a single cause, and long-term effectiveness of drugs, Armstrong discusses parental options with compassion.”

AbleChild’s Statement on Informed Consent as it Relates to Covid and Consumer Safety

Written by AbleChild on February 16, 2021. Posted in Articles, MedWatch.

AbleChild has worked diligently throughout the years on informing the public on the importance of Informed Consent and an individual’s right to be given all necessary information (full disclosures on diagnosis, benefits, risks, alternatives) regarding psychiatric drugs and children. Informed Consent is no less important as it overlaps many different issues and comes back to overall public safety.

Internal FDA Documents Link Mind Altering Psychiatric Drugs to Murder

Written by Sheila Matthews on May 12, 2016. Posted in Lawmaking, Violence.

Rare documents, that are kept far from the public view, expose the knowledge the FDA has regarding the link between mind altering psychiatric drugs and murder.

Below are internal documents that were collected through the MEDWATCH reporting system on adverse drug events collected by the FDA and obtained by Parents Against Pharma by a Freedom of Information Request. (FOIA)

These documents illustrate the importance of educating the public on the MedWatch Adverse Drug Reporting System and the known link between mind-altering psychiatric drugs and increase risk of homicide.

AbleChild vs. Chief Medical Examiner in Connecticut was the case in front of the Freedom of Information Commission in the aftermath Sandy Hook requesting the release of Adam Lanza’s mental health records, toxicology, and autopsy reports. AbleChild submitted FDA findings in our filing.

In addition, these documents should be provided to every lawmaker to increase consumer protection laws on informed consent in the “loosely” regulated field of mental health that places us all in danger.

ParentsAgainstPharma
FDA MedWatch Prozac
FDA Prozac MedWatch2

PostMarketing
Highlights
Vyvanse FDA MedWatch
Redacted2
LINK TO MURDER FDA Nortrityline
LINK TO MURDER FDA
Redacted Prosac4
Redacted

CT Parents’ Right Coalition to Discuss Opposition to Sandy Hook Advisory Commission’s Findings on Upcoming Radio Broadcast

Written by Able Child on July 16, 2015. Posted in Lawmaking, Sandy Hook.

Connecticut Parents’ Right Coalition (CPRC) members will discuss Sandy Hook Advisory Commission (SHAC) final report and questions surrounding the findings and their opposition to the recommendations.

(CPRC) was formed in response to legislation passed under “emergency rule” without public hearings in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook mass murder.

The (CPRC) Coalition includes 40,000 Connecticut parents and more than a dozen non-profit organizations.

Sheila Matthews of AbleChild will join Deborah Stevenson, a constitutional and education attorney and fellow member of the (CPRC) on the upcoming broadcast. Stevenson also spent ten years as a reporter and has appeared on several radio programs. In a recent interview, Stevenson described the goal of the (SHAC) recommendations to serve as a national model as ‘disturbing.’

This Saturday, July 18^th at 5:30 PM Eastern Time on the Republic Broadcasting Network (RBN), Matthews and Stevenson will join Deana Spingola of Spingola Speaks. The radio talk show focuses on current events, history, warfare, health issues, and other relevant topics.

Spingola is the author of “Screening Sandy Hook.” The book examines the role of psychiatric drugs in the school shooting incident and multiple other issues and theories.