A shocking report surfaced via the Guardian newspaper today with news that UK children, as young as four, are being given Ritalin type drugs, which has prompted a national review by a leading psychological society.
Prescription rates, based on data given by 459 GP's, were highest for children aged six to 12, doubling to just over eight per 1,000 in the five years up to 2008. Children aged 13 to 17 had the second highest rate at six per 1,000.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence [N.I.C.E.] said they were concerned that children under six should not be receiving drugs at all.
The UK, as I have said time and time again on this blog, are now following in the steps of America. There is no 'what if we follow', it's happening now and something needs to be done about it.
The Guardian reported that a five-year-old from the West Midlands was found to be receiving a double dose of Ritalin, the drug used to treat "ADHD", despite his school insisting that he is "among the best-behaved children in his class".
The Guardian continues with:
In notes seen by the leading educational psychologist in the case, the boy's headteacher reports that the school does not believe he has ADHD, but that the medication is being prescribed "to help mum at home".
In another case in the West Midlands a five-year-old was put on the drugs for three years at the request of his parents without any consultation with teachers or psychologists.
What sort of society have we become when we allow a dangerous drug to become our children's babysitter - that's the reality of it all. Parents have the quick fix at hand, they are practically giving their children a plastic bag to play with, a box of matches...all those things we were warned about when we were children. "Keep away from the edge of the platform", "Don' t talk to strangers", "Look both ways when you cross the road"
Sound advice. But what we are forgetting, or maybe ignoring, is these types of drugs are just as dangerous as suffocating with a plastic bag, burning yourself with a box of matches, a busy road, a stranger or standing on the edge of a platform. The difference being, parents are told that they are safe, they are effective. The men in white coats tell them little Johnny will be right as rain after a few weeks on the pills or that little Julie needs to increase her dosage due to the fact that she is becoming violent.
Parents fall for it. With the white coated men comes a sense of belief, of trust, a God-like figure who has been through med school so he/she knows exactly what they are talking about.
Ironically, I met with two volunteers from CCHR yesterday in my hometown of Birmingham. I shared a coffee with Sarah and Vicky and we spoke at length about kids in Birmingham being drugged. We brainstormed about ways to put a stop to this. It would appear that parents have to go back to school to get educated, don't expect any help from the UK medicines watchdog, the MHRA, they are all too busy taking the money from the pharmaceutical companies and pussy-footing around with statistics that are clearly wrong. In any event, they are powerless to do anything about this problem. They can issue warning letters to GP's throughout the UK but GP's are not forced to act upon them. Beggars the question why the MHRA have the audacity to use the tagline, "Safeguarding human health" - they are obviously not, particularly where our children are concerned.
Of course the pro-pill pushers [Psychiatry] deny they are doing anything wrong. This from the Guardian:
But Dinah Jayson, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Trafford general hospital and a spokesperson for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, insisted that in some cases it could be "cruel" not to treat children of any age if all other options had been exhausted.
She said: "With every child there is a risk of doing something but there is also a risk of doing nothing. We know early [medical] intervention can help children who would otherwise be losing out."
Jayson, who earlier this year was quoted in another UK newspaper, is a firm believer that ADHD is a developmental condition characterised by inattention and difficulty concentrating, along with hyperactivity and impulsivity. She also told the Daily Mirror:
Those with it are at much higher risk of getting into trouble at school and falling into crime, substance abuse, and broken relationships, if untreated.
So where did this ADHD suddenly appear from? Why wasn't it recognised when I was still at school?
Remember when you were at school? There was always one kid who played up a lot, normally they would be less intelligent than the rest of the class, hence the disruption. I'm no psychologist but it's quite easy to fathom out why a kid is disruptive. It's borne out of frustration, in essence it's a child screaming from within, "TEACH ME, TEACH ME." Either that or the kid is just totally bored by the teacher quoting the Pythagoras theory or the difference between stalactites and stalagmites.
You want to change how children behave? Make education more interesting, don't give them a drug that will turn them into a dribbling suicidal wreck.
I cannot for the life of me understand why people put their faith in the headshrinkers, they are a breed who prescribe these drugs without any knowledge of how these drugs work. They'll tout the chemical imbalance theory to unsuspecting parents, sadly, the parents will believe them. Doctor's or psychiatrist's don't lie, do they?
Outside of school, the children go home to the latest computer console system or sit in front of a monitor leaving messages to friends on their Facebook walls, the same friends who probably live within walking distance of their keyboard. But that's okay, it leaves mom and dad to get on with what needs to be done around the house.
As a youngster I was never in, I chose to play out, running, playing football, Postman's knock [a kissing game with local girls] I'd even knock the door and run, it was all good fun back then, it was fresh air and exercise. These days a kid will go into school and tell his friends about the wonder goal he scored... on his PS2...or is it 3? I just can't keep up with technology these days.
Of course, I generalise. Not all parents are like this, neither are their children but it's only a matter of time before Mrs Jones tells Mrs Smith at the school gates that her son has calmed down so much since he was put on this wonder pill prescribed to him by the family doctor. "Oh, the change is fantastic, he no longer wants attention, he just goes to his room and plays quietly, there are the odd times when he still has an outburst but we just give him his pills and everything is back to normal again." [normal]
I only hope Mrs Smith doesn't have to tell Mr Jones some years down the line that her son killed himself.
The evidence is out there in abundance. Far too many children have died by suicide whilst on these types of medication, far too many have self-harmed, far too many have committed crimes.
Don't let your child become one of the above. Ask you doctor about the drug he is prescribing your child. Write his answers down if you have to. Then go home and do your homework and research the brand name of the drug. If it's Ritalin [which seems to be the psychiatrist's choice of weapon these days] Google 'Ritalin forum' - you should be educated enough to know which ones are pharma funded and which ones are patient run.
Still unsure?
Watch the powerful documentary, 'Dead Wrong: How Psychiatric Drugs Can Kill Your Child' and don't be fooled into thinking that it won't happen to your child.
The Guardian article can be read HERE
You can watch 'Dead Wrong: How Psychiatric Drugs Can Kill Your Child' HERE
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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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