Children With Ritalin

Issue 12, deals with the controversial topic, should school age children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) be treated with stimulants such as Ritalin. After reading both sides of the debate, I would be in favor for not prescribing children with ADHD stimulants. In my opinion, the first method of treatment should be some type of behavioral therapy rather than medications and drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta should be used as last resorts not first resorts. Writer Michael Fumento, would disagree with this view he argues for being in favor of treating children with ADHD with Ritalin or similar stimulants. He considers these medications to be effective for the treatment of ADHD and that more students would benefit from using them. In my opinion, its crazy that Fumento believes that using or taking the drug Ritalin does not lead to abuse or addiction, when we know this drug has a high potential for abuse. We’ve all heard stories of use and abuse of Ritalin or other stimulants like it. On the other hand, Lawrence Diller, a behavioral pediatrician argues that Ritalin or

This statistic is shocking. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder can be described as the inability to pay attention, hyperactivity and increased impulsivity. There is also ADD, that is attention deficit disorder without the symptoms of hyperactivity. With ADHD being the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorder in the United States, its important to fully understand the drug and its effects. The most commonly prescribed drugs to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity are stimulants, mainly Ritalin. The use of stimulants or drugs such as Ritalin to treat this disorder is not a new practice and the use of stimulants to treat ADHD dates back to 1937 and began to boom in during the 1970’s. Apparently these drugs used to be called mothers little helpers which I feel is kind of