# Ritalin, What's your opinion? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171 "2004-06-25T13:36:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/21 "2004-06-26T02:20:27Z")
My son was diagnosed with ADHD and was prescribed Ritalin when he was 7. He had been a difficult, extremely hyperactive child since birth. On Ritalin he coped better in the classroom, but he lost his appetite, became pale, tired and listless, and looked dreadful with dark circles under his eyes. He was only on the smallest dose too, 1/4 tablet. I know it works well for some kids, but I didn’t like what it did to my son, so we stopped the Ritalin and didn’t try any alternative medication. He did gradually grow out of his hyperactivity, and now at 15, is doing very well. He has gone from being the class troublemaker in primary school, to an A student, totally focused on his studies and his future. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/22 "2004-06-26T03:44:59Z")
> [@ms\_mom67](#): > > . . . > Methylphenidate, a schedule 2 substance, has a high potential for abuse and produces the same effects as cocaine or the amphetamines. . My god! A medication that has a potential for abuse! In other shocking news, exclusive footage reveals what bears do in the woods! > [@](#): > > Binge use, psychotic episodes, cardiovascular complications and severe psychological addiction have all been associated with methylphenidate . . . Odd then, that only one of these is in the side effects lists I’ve read so many times > [@](#): > > This year, approximately six million children—roughly one out of every eight—will take Ritalin for what is termed “attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder” (ADHD), a condition that was once labeled hyperactivity. Yes and schizophrenia was once labeled dementia precox. Disassociative identity disorder was once labeled multiple personality disorder. Strangley, scientists like to change terms based on new information or to make them more accurate. > [@](#): > > However, the drugs that are prescribed for ADHD are cocaine-like stimulants. And according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the human nervous system cannot differentiate between cocaine, amphetamines and methylphenidate (Ritalin). Ritalin is a stimulant? On an unrelated note, We ask the Pope if he is Catholic, see the startling answer at 11! > [@](#): > > Since ADHD hit the mainstream in the 1980s, prescriptions for Ritalin have skyrocketed. And over the past three years, there has been a 23 percent increase for all children, including those under 5 years of age. However, as the DEA reports, not only is Ritalin a dangerous narcotic, it also has numerous, troublesome side effects: difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, irritability, nervousness, stomach aches, headaches, blurry vision, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, ticks, hypersensitivity, anorexia, blood pressure and pulse changes, cardiac arrhythmia, anemia, scalp hair loss and toxic psychosis. Other rare side effects include abnormal liver function, cerebral arteritis, leucopenia and sometimes death. A long list of side effects, though any one patient will likely experience just a few. > [@](#): > > Recent evidence also ties Ritalin and other methylphenidate derivatives to abnormally violent behavior in the young people who take such drugs. WOW! Three whole cases out of thousands of patients who have been on the drug! I’m convinced. > [@](#): > > Tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder, Rod became the youngest inmate in the Massachusetts prison system. After he was arrested and taken off methylphenidate, however, his violent thoughts stopped. They took him off methylphenidate, but what else did they put him on? I doubt in the extreme they simply tapered him off the methylphenidate and left it at that. > [@](#): > > If Ritalin is so bad, why is it being used on schoolchildren? Yeah, if it’s so bad explain to me why the FDA hasn’t banned it. It’s been on the market how long? How much research has been done? > [@](#): > > It has been proven that Ritalin can cause especially severe reactions in children under six years of age and should not be used for this age group. Despite this fact, the number of stimulants for children aged two to four has increased 200 to 300 percent between 1991 and 1995. I say this in utter seriousness, Cite? > [@](#): > > Another alarming fact has recently surfaced. Adolescents are increasingly giving and selling their Ritalin medication to schoolmates and friends who are taking it orally, crushing the tablets and snorting Ritalin powder like cocaine. My god, teenagers are abusing a legal substance to get high! You won’t believe the shocking stories of teens breaking into daddy’s liquor cabinet, inhaling aerosol fumes, or buying nitrous oxide cannisters from supermarkets. > [@](#): > > It is no wonder, then, that Ritalin is often referred to as “Kiddie Cocaine.” I want cites that anybody other than this shmuck uses that term to refer to Ritalin. > [@](#): > > Ritalin is also closely related to the illegal street drugs methamphetamine—street name “crystal meth.” Yeah, and? Procaine, novacaine, lydocaine, and various legal cocaine derivitives used by doctors are related to the illegal street drug cocaine. The illegal street drug heroin is a synthetic of morphine. > [@](#): > > Ironically, our society imprisons people for manufacturing drugs similar to the drugs physicians commonly prescribe to millions of our school children It also imprisons people for impersonating police officers while letting genuine police walk free. And if I charge to perform surgery, they’ll arrest me. But they turn a blind eye to these so called ‘hospitals’. > [@](#): > > And does taking Ritalin help our children academically? According to Dr. Mary Ann Block: “It may surprise many to know that studies have found that children who take amphetamine-type or other mind-altering drugs do not perform better academically. No studies indicate enhanced academic performance from these drugs.” Just who is Dr Block? What is her doctorate in? > [@](#): > > What can we do? Well, the putz who wrote the article can really improve things by never writing again. > [@](#): > > First, our government should immediately step in and place a moratorium on Ritalin and similar drugs. No child should be subjected to such medical and psychological abuse. The article has failed spectacularly to prove any medical or psychological abuse. > [@](#): > > Second, with very few exceptions, no one should force their child to take psychotropic drugs Parents of diabetic children may have to hold them down and stick syringes in them. The principle is the same. > [@](#): > > . In fact, it has been established that environmental toxins, mercury poisoning and allergies often affect behavior and academic performance and create the symptoms that are now called ADHD. Wow! Another unsubstantiated claim! > [@](#): > > Consult a physician before even considering such dangerous drugs. Considering you need a prescription in order to get Ritalin, I’d sure as heck hope that you consult a doctor first. > [@](#): > > Third, do not allow your child to be threatened with a psychiatric label such as ADHD. He or she may merely be a normal hyperactive child or may be suffering from a learning problem or other non-drug-related problem. Improper labels can cause problems. Proper diagnosis is very helpful. And ADHD is a ‘learning problem’. > [@](#): > > Finally, we as a nation must move away from the concept of drugs of any kind as an answer. . Utter stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/23 "2004-06-26T03:58:16Z")
**ms\_mom67** , you might ask a moderator to substitute [this link to this Rutherford commentary page](http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/commentary.asp?record_id=283) for your quoted piece. In my (totally untrained) opinion, it seems to exceed “fair use” length. Aside from that, note that Rutherford is an attorney, not a doctor of medicine, psychiatry, or psychology. This does not invalidate his opinions, _per se_–lots of people have made contributions outside their own fields of expertise. However, if you read through his polemic, you will note that he provides no citations or references for his heavily anecdote laden commentary. As **pesch** has already noted, his claims seem to be either selective quoting (or, perhaps, deliberate distortion) of the actual studies to which he alludes. My son “outgrew” Ritalin and moved on to other meds, but there is no evidence that Ritalin harmed him while he took it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/24 "2004-06-26T13:45:25Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > **ms\_mom67** , you might ask a moderator to substitute [this link to this Rutherford commentary page](http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/commentary.asp?record_id=283) for your quoted piece. In my (totally untrained) opinion, it seems to exceed “fair use” length. Thanks for the link-modification done. ---
**Author:** ![ms\_mom67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@ms\_mom67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ms_mom67)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/25 "2004-06-26T20:05:38Z")
Thanks for fixing that. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/26 "2004-06-27T01:34:23Z")
There are other ways to try to address ADHD that, while I freely admit may not help (though I have heard anecdotes in their favor), seem very unlikely to hurt either. If I had a child with ADHD, which was demonstrably not a case of trying to stick an active young child in a chair for 8 hours a day and expecting them to sit down and shut up (as I think some cases are) I would try these first: Fish oil, high in Omega-3 oils. The typical American diet is unbalanced in fats, tending toward Omega-6. Removing all sugars and refined flours from the child’s diet, as these cause insulin spikes and crashes. Consider using EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy) to address emotional components. Of _COURSE_ I make no claims about the efficacy of these things, only that they do appear to help SOME children. And for that matter, even if the ‘help’ is a placebo effect, it should at least have zero side effects. [www.mercola.com](http://www.mercola.com) is the resource from which I pull this information. Dr. Mercola is a practicing Osteopath (D.O.) and Naturopath, so even though he does seem to spend an inordinate amount of time shilling his eating plan and all, he also provides cites to medical journals about things like the helpful nature of Omega-3 fats in the diet. Now, here’s my single (first hand observation) of Ritalin for a boy of my acquaintance: The boy was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and something else, some anxiety disorder. He’s six. I found him no more wild than my undiagnosed and presumably healthy nephew, but his school teacher couldn’t deal with him, so the school told the parents ‘drug him or he’s out of here’. So, the parents drugged him. Then, several times, his mother had to get him out of school because of heart rates in the 160’s (caused by the Ritalin). His mother has a heart rhythm problem, so she immediately took the boy off the medication, at which point she met with the school counsellor, doctors, etc., who told her that he HAD to be on Ritalin, as no other medications were suitable for him. She said she wouldn’t; she’d homeschool him first. They were horrified at the very idea, think of what a disservice she would do by depriving him of the rich experience of public education! In other words, they had no advice for her but to put her child back on a dangerous (to him) medication. Period. She removed him from that school, put him in another school where the classroom was more open, with different areas where kids could move around and work on different things while the teacher talked at the front of the class…and yes, found a different medication. I guess the kid is doing just fine now. No thanks to his original school. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/27 "2004-06-27T01:40:00Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I think we may be hurting humanity by giving Ritalin, but not in the way you expect. > > I think AD/HD is a normal human condition. These people are the risk takers, the non-conformist, and the truly independant thinkers. They try things that others don’t even think of trying. Some make great advancments, not only for themselves, but for humanity. (read Thom Hartmanns books, especially the Edison Trait, for more info). But many people w/ AD/HD unfortunatly fail in their personal risk taking. Overall having a certain %'age of humanity beign AD/HD is a benifit to humanity, even if a very small number of those w/ AD/HD actually make a difference. > > This is not to say that numanity would benifit w/ everyone being AD/HD, as most of them fail, but having a few of them have made great advancment. (BTW it appears that Ben Franklin, Edison and Einstein were AD/HD). > > By providing meds, you make a AD/HD person opperate as a ‘normal’ person, which may be easier on that person, but that person may not be able to be that creative risk taker who has brought us our standard of living. > > This is my humble opinion, if you don’t like mine, well you know what you can do w/ it 😛 I like to agree that ADD is linked to nonconformist thought, creativity, and independence, and according to books I’ve read on ADD, that may be true. But I have to say - Ritalin was a _godsend_ for me. I think the argument is that the children who are nonconformist, independent, and hyperactive are put on Ritalin in order to cope with their behavioral problems, and that therefore Ritalin must produce conformity and cause the children to start acting like any other kid. In my experience, that is completely untrue. I, for one, still think the way I did before Ritalin, except that with it, I’m able to do something useful with my thoughts. The drug doesn’t cause the patient to lose their independent thoughts, and it allows them to turn those thoughts into actions. The organization that Ritalin has enabled has allowed me to really act on my ideas in a useful way. Ritalin has helped me to harness my creativity towards useful ends. The searching, inquiring mind that I have used to cause me to be distracted and unable to concentrate in class. Ritalin has allowed me to listen to my professors and use these attributes of my mind to let me question and explore what I’m being told. It lets me perform acts of creativity, instead of stopping partway through or never getting started in the first place. If you have no attention span, you can’t get anything done! Ritalin can allow you to act on these creative impulses rather than being imprisoned by them. When I forget a dose, I find myself unable to concentrate on a lecture for the length of a sentence. People may claim that we put unrealistic demands on children (or adults), and that ADD is just the inability to fit into these demands. But you could not structure an educational experience to fit my ADD. So either I sit in class, miserable, and have to manage to teach myself the material later, or I take my Ritalin and I can suddenly understand, take notes, and get so much more out of my education. People oppose Ritalin on philosophical grounds, in my opinion, because the medical research simply doesn’t offer any reasons to oppose its use. It’s made so much difference for my life that I can’t imagine where I’d be without it. ---
**Author:** ![ms\_mom67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@ms\_mom67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ms_mom67)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/28 "2004-06-27T01:51:32Z")
> [@Chotii](#): > > The boy was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and something else, some anxiety disorder. He’s six. I found him no more wild than my undiagnosed and presumably healthy nephew, but his school teacher couldn’t deal with him, so the school told the parents ‘drug him or he’s out of here’. So, the parents drugged him. Then, several times, his mother had to get him out of school because of heart rates in the 160’s (caused by the Ritalin). His mother has a heart rhythm problem, so she immediately took the boy off the medication, at which point she met with the school counsellor, doctors, etc., who told her that he HAD to be on Ritalin, as no other medications were suitable for him. She said she wouldn’t; she’d homeschool him first. They were horrified at the very idea, think of what a disservice she would do by depriving him of the rich experience of public education! In other words, they had no advice for her but to put her child back on a dangerous (to him) medication. Period. > > She removed him from that school, put him in another school where the classroom was more open, with different areas where kids could move around and work on different things while the teacher talked at the front of the class…and yes, found a different medication. I guess the kid is doing just fine now. No thanks to his original school. This is the way school’s sometimes deal with this. This was the first year that my son liked going to school. He liked his teacher. She had been teaching ADHD childern for 20 some years. The open house they had before school started, I went in there with a folder of things I had gotten off the net, and also a 4 page leter I wrote about me son. Explaining his streghtens and weakness. His likes and dislikes. And I was surprised to see she had him sitting right up front in the middle where he was involed in everything. They re-zoned our schools for the fall. So we are starting out at a new school… But I am looking at that as a new start for him too…Like he’s on even ground with everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![ms\_mom67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@ms\_mom67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ms_mom67)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/29 "2004-06-27T01:58:34Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > It’s made so much difference for my life that I can’t imagine where I’d be without it. Thanks **Excalibre** I am really happy to hear that. It makes me feel better about the choices I have made for my son. Since he is not old enough to make them. The other battle I have is when he goes to his grandparents(father’s) everyother weekend. I found out from my son that he wasn’t getting his meds when he went. His grandfather doesn’t believe there is anything wrong with him… He’s just a boy, he says. But I informed his father if I found out again that he wasn’t getting his meds there I would get in contact with my laywer… In other words he wouldn’t be alowed to see his son until they took care of his needs. I have not had any trouble since. I just cross my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/30 "2004-06-27T02:07:38Z")
Is this Rutherford Institute a Scientology group, by any chance? I’ve been hearing about celebrity Scienos speaking out against it recently like they’ve got a big movement going on or something. Horribly wildly inaccurate speaking out\*, but still trying to stir up shit against the ancient enemy Psychiatry. Danny Masterson’s recent Celebrity Poker appearance was to benefit a group dedicated to “fighting abuses by the psychiatric community”. Someone else was on Oprah going on about overmedicated children, but I can’t recall who. Is the Rutherford Institute ligit? (I don’t have a dog in this fight, I just wanted to ask.) \*The schools are prescribing these dangerous drugs to entire classes of children!! Horrid zombiefied children!!! Won’t somebody think of the children???!!! (Yes, they actually said the SCHOOLS were prescribing Ritalin.) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/31 "2004-06-27T02:10:29Z")
> [@Chotii](#): > > Fish oil, high in Omega-3 oils. The typical American diet is unbalanced in fats, tending toward Omega-6. > > Removing all sugars and refined flours from the child’s diet, as these cause insulin spikes and crashes. Note that according to most books I’ve read on ADD, all the studies trying to link diet and ADD have demonstrated that there’s no connection. Perhaps, in a very few cases, ADD behavior results from a bad reaction to diet, but these things simply to not provide any benefit for ADD symptoms except possibly in very, very rare cases. And removing all sugars and starches from a kid’s diet most assuredly has negative effects - children like sugar. No, it’s not the foundation of a healthy diet, but to simply never allow Junior to have birthday cake or an ice cream cone strikes me as quite a nasty thing to do unless it’s really necessary. No question that we could use more omega-3 fatty acids, though. I don’t know anything about the therapy model you mention, and I’d be interested in hearing more. Therapy can be a great help to people with ADD, especially if their nonachievement has led to low self-esteem or depression. And while psychoanalysis and similar approaches don’t usually yield much result for ADD, there are therapy models that can help them cope with the problem and learn exactly how to operate. Probably most people with ADD should be in therapy (though I admit I’m not.) But therapy on its own is probably only effective in very mild cases. You have to understand the stress of trying to concentrate when you _just can’t concentrate._ Therapeutic approaches that help a person overcome the problems ADD causes are a great idea, but if the attention span is just too short to manage in school, or at work, or to have a conversation with your spouse, then the medicine offers enormous benefits. As much as people are wary of the drugs, all the coping strategies in the world are insufficient in cases where the person has to work so hard to pay attention that they end up miserable. If I managed to organize myself, and become so structured that failure (and skipping classes) wasn’t possible, I could probably manage in school without Ritalin. But the effort of trying to pay attention in class, even when I really wanted to, was so much work, and so miserable, that I ended up skipping half my classes just to avoid it. Just learning to do well in school wouldn’t be enough for me if I was desperately unhappy the entire time. ADD drugs are sometimes used for a person’s entire life, and sometimes not. They may be used everyday (as in my case) or only at particular times that demand an especially high attention span. Don’t dismiss them without understanding exactly how much benefit they can provide for people who need them. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/32 "2004-06-27T02:18:57Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Note that according to most books I’ve read on ADD, all the studies trying to link diet and ADD have demonstrated that there’s no connection. Perhaps, in a very few cases, ADD behavior results from a bad reaction to diet, but these things simply to not provide any benefit for ADD symptoms except possibly in very, very rare cases. > > \ > > ADD drugs are sometimes used for a person’s entire life, and sometimes not. They may be used everyday (as in my case) or only at particular times that demand an especially high attention span. Don’t dismiss them without understanding exactly how much benefit they can provide for people who need them. I never said they’re not suitable in situations where they’re needed. I wouldn’t say that about _any_ medication, including anti-depressants (which I took during my pregnancy, when stress related to an extended hospitalization, and mother-in-law issues, made me so depressed I would not eat). However, I see no harm, and potential good, in _trying_ alternative therapies, such as adding Omega-3 oils to the diet. What will they hurt? That would be like saying, “Yes, I have arthritis, but methotrexate controls it, so I’ll eat stupidly, never exercise, and trust the medication to make everything all better” (or diabetes/insulin, etc.) I would not necessarily try alternative therapies _instead_ of traditional ones, but _in addition_ to them. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/33 "2004-06-27T11:57:34Z")
> [@AveDementia](#): > > Is this Rutherford Institute a Scientology group, by any chance? They are a conservative Christian group that seems to ally with the CoS on a number of issues like opposing Ritalin and opposing the banning of Scientology in Germany. However, there doesn’t seem to be any official connection. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/34 "2004-06-27T13:15:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I think the argument is that the children who are nonconformist, independent, and hyperactive are put on Ritalin in order to cope with their behavioral problems, and that therefore Ritalin must produce conformity and cause the children to start acting like any other kid. In my experience, that is completely untrue. I, for one, still think the way I did before Ritalin, except that with it, I’m able to do something useful with my thoughts. The drug doesn’t cause the patient to lose their independent thoughts, and it allows them to turn those thoughts into actions. The organization that Ritalin has enabled has allowed me to really act on my ideas in a useful way. I have heard this argument some times, but I sort of find the statement self-contraditiary. ADD is better though of (again IMHO) as a over abundance of attention, the person w/ ADD notices everything, this causes distractability, the seaking for greater stimulation then the boarding school leture (this seakign of greater stimulation is not under the control of the person, it is an automatic tendancy). If you take meds to be able to focus, you HAVE to be less distracted by what is going around you. You are also not trying to find more efficient ways to learn the subject matter. (using your example - which admittadly is hard to justify as school enviroment is just a ADD unfriendly enviroment). A slightly different take on the school setting, lets say the professor is teaching and off to the side outside the door the hallway was on fire, who is more likely to sound the alarm, the ‘normals’ who are watching the teacher and taking notes, the treated ADD kid who is also watching the teacher and taking notes, or the untreated distractable ADD kid who is looking around. This is just one example how one person w/ untreated ADD can be a benifit to the greater whole, but he (the ADD kid) will have a tough life. Also the ADD kid will be more likely to invent better ways to study, I know one who learned, somehow, he doesn’t even know how, to JUST take notes on what was going to be on the test. While not perfect, it was fairly accurate and his notes were about 1/4 to 1/10 the lenght of the other students - and actually he got in trouble a few times for not taking adaqutie notes :rolleyes: . This method now helps him later in life (out of school) being able to get a point right away. W/ meds this ‘compensational method’/‘natural gift’ might never been explored. While the meds may make you think you are just as creative, I’d say not (again MHO here), you are more productive, more focused, but creativity requires combining many things together. You are getting things done, but that does not mean creative. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/35 "2004-06-27T18:15:06Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > While the meds may make you think you are just as creative, I’d say not (again MHO here), you are more productive, more focused, but creativity requires combining many things together. You are getting things done, but that does not mean creative. I disagree. I feel pretty darn creative. I have numerous cites supporting this. [Exhibit A](http://www.livejournal.com/users/doc_cathode/) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/36 "2004-06-27T23:49:29Z")
I understand **DocCathode** and have read some of that romance noval you linked too. I am not saying that ADD meds don’t help in social situations, I know they do. I also know that ADD meds have different effects on different people. But we will have to agree to disagree on if it helps or hurts the benificial ADD traits, in favor or non-ADD traits. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/37 "2004-06-27T23:59:05Z")
**Kanicbird** The part with Bjork? Or the part with the stone woman? I’m planning on having the next entry be a decidedly non-sexual even with a frog. ---
**Author:** ![TheWildestHeart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@TheWildestHeart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheWildestHeart)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/38 "2004-06-28T01:37:03Z")
> [@ms\_mom67](#): > > The other day I was reading the paper, I came across a article that read. > Ritalin nation: Are we killing our children?? This was in the opinion section of the paper. So I really only took it for a grain of salt. But the more I read it the more I got pissed off about the article. I wish it was on the net then I could link the page. > I do realize all the side effects this and other medications like it cause. My son who is age 8 now has had a few of them, and we had to keep a close eye on him. But as far as those goes he is fine on this medication. He takes 20 mg of time release every morning. He is one that has to have it everyday. Until some who just take it for school. He is on it all the time inculding the summer. Before he was ever in school, basicly right after he was born we knew something wasn’t right with this child. At 9 months he started to walk. He also had a few health problems that needed to be surgically fixed. When he entered school I was in the office everyday that first week. They wanted me to take him out of school and start him over the next year. Well I didn’t think I should do that and I beleived that would not be good for him either. His pediatrician sent to him Duke to be evaluaed. > Their diagnoses was ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Behavior Sleep Disorder. > The doctors decided ritalin would be a good one to start with, and over the years we have had to change the dosage and also add some in the afternoon. > It has been an up and down road at school since he started. I have to work hard with his teachers all the time. He’s grades aren’t the best in the world. He just finshed 2nd grade. He did stay back in 1st two years ago with in all I think was a good idea since he is younger then most in his class. But ended up with a A in math which he loves. A C in reading, that has been a battle all year and I started to take him to a reading class after school to help him. and a F in spelling. Then the grade’s that don’t recive a letter grade… Like handwriting( he is left handed) He had mostly N’s and U’s in those… Very few S’s. So we have a long way to go. > > But in this article this John W. Whitehead founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He is basicly saying we are killing our childern by giving them this medication. I would agree with this statement if the childern do not have ADHD or another form of this disorder. Then yes we are killing them since this medication is for ADHD, if you give it to a child that has another disorder then the side effects are unreal. He states that there is no proof that childern that take amphetamine-type or other mind-altering drug do not perform better academically. No studies indicate enhanced asademic performance from these drugs. > Now what I understood these drugs did… Was claim the child down so they can learn, so they can sit still and there for they learn. I know my child is learning. It’s not easy, but I know he is learning. And I also know he is a very smart little boy. And that’s not just mom saying it. He has the info in his head. But when it comes to sitting down and writing it down is where he can’t seem to do it. If in school he could answer out loud he would have wonderful grade. But to sit and right… He’s to much in a hurry… > So… now I am looking for what you’ll think about this… I know… I can not take him off this medication now. But I am also concerned about the long term effect of taking it. My mean concern is about my child and always will be. I want to do what is best for him. ```auto My son is 12 and has been diagnosed with ADHD since he was in 2nd grade. We have run through the whole litany of different medications for him. We tried Ritalin a few times and I just didn't care for the side effects at the end of the day, it was a roller coaster. We finally have him on Concerta and finally, there seems to be a good balance, and it is something he only takes once a day. I also found that extreme structure is necessary and a lot of limitations on tv and video time. Best of luck! ``` ---
**Author:** ![ms\_mom67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@ms\_mom67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ms_mom67)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/39 "2004-06-28T02:03:01Z")
> [@TheWildestHeart](#): > > ```auto > > I also found that extreme structure is necessary and a lot of limitations on tv and video time. Best of luck! > > ``` Structure is very important, unfortunately he doesn’t have that all the time. He just got back from his dad’s for the weekend. I am not sure of the rules at his Nana’s house. But it’s like I have to retrain him for being here. He is so wild when he gets home it takes a while to settle him down. Good thing we only have to do this twice a month. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171/40 "2004-06-28T11:59:04Z")
Personally, I do not believe that there is a pill for every condition. There is a pertainent line in a song by Zager and Evans somewhere. I’m curious if you give a child ritalin to manage it when it’s 5 or 6 and when it is 15 or 16, you tell it, “Just say no to drugs, drugs are dangerous.” How do you explain giving it drugs for the past 10 years? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ritalin-whats-your-opinion/252171.md?page=3)