Stopping the ADD Insanity - JAMA reports an
alarming trend towards medicating preschoolers.Updated:
02/23/00
The ADD/ADHD pharmaceutical juggernaut is out of control in our
preschool classrooms - it is time for teachers to take action.
A recent study, underwritten by the NIMH and published by the
Journal of the American Medical Association, found that psychotropic
drugs (most commonly Ritalin) are being prescribed to young children
with little understanding of the consequences. Adam Pasick of
FOX News quotes lead researcher Dr. Julie Magno Zito of the
University of Maryland: "If you thought that because a doctor
puts a child on these medications then it's safe, that's a false
assumption."
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There is nothing in the science of Early Childhood Education that
can in any way endorse the systematic drugging of young children for
any reason other than valid medical need to prevent harm. Attention
deficit disorder and its variants (hereafter referred to as
"ADD") has a set of symptoms popularly ascribed to it which
are in many cases considered to be desirable and common to healthy
active children worldwide. Some of these symptoms - inattentiveness,
talking out of turn, fidgeting - are also seen frequently in people
whose IQ is over 160.1 Only in America, however, has
the negativity surrounding common/active/non-conformist childhood
behavior reached levels that could be classified as abusive, with
the prescription of powerful drugs to control children who do not
conform to rigid societal rules. ADD/ADHD by itself has not
been proven to be harmful to the preschool children it purportedly
affects, so logic dictates that powerful prescription drugs are far
more potentially harmful to preschool children than ADD itself,
according to studies regarding the side effects of ritalin.
Look at the facts:
The Forgotten History of ADD
ADD is a relatively new disorder, having come into existence
with the infamous "Factory School System" at the turn of the
century, which was designed to create "good workers" for urban area
industrial factories in Great Britain and the United States.2 At that time, the ideal
worker considered to be submissive, diligent, conformist, and
productive; therefore, the ideal student was considered to be
compliant, quiet, and able to take instruction.3
The Eugenics Movement was a powerful influence in the creation of
the Factory School System.4
Many proponents of selective sterilization and breeding, looking to
declare certain races and individuals as genetically superior, saw
the Factory School as a field lab for validating their
theories. Intelligence testing, norms, and deviancy studies
were common in Factory Schools, and by these oppressive standards
one such group was tested - aggressive, independent children.
These children did not display the preferred characteristics of
submission and conformity, and were considered to be inferior; they
were pronounced by Dr. George Fredrick Still in 1902 as "defective
in moral character".5
Others described it as "Brain Damage", then "Minimal Brain
Damage". It was attributed alternately to varying organic
causes, including encephalitis, but researchers agreed that these
children did not meet the new "ideal". Following World War II, the
ideologies of the Eugenics Movement became unpopular, in large part
due to the atrocities committed in the name of eugenics by Nazi
Germany.6
But the eugenics philosophy was now status quo in the United States,
and authorities were reluctant to relinquish their rigid ideas of
normalcy.7
New names were invented for many conditions considered to be
disorders within the Eugenics Movement: the "Defective Moral
Character" was one of them. According to "A Brief History of
ADD" by Bob Seay, the About.com ADD Guide: "Defective Moral
Character" metamorphed to "Minimal Brain Damage" in the 1930's and
40's, became referred to as "Hyperactivity" by the 1960's and in the
following two decades became increasingly referred to as "Attention
Deficit Disorder" and its variants.5
The Present Definition of ADD
In November of 1998, a distinguished panel of 13 professionals
from fields as diverse as psychology, psychiatry, neurology,
pediatrics, epidemiology, biostatistics, and education met under the
aegis of the National Institute of Health to try to reach a
consensus regarding ADD and its treatment.8
The Consensus Development Conference Statement is the most reputable
definition of Attention Deficit Order to date. The
panel's own conclusion in the section, "What Is the
Scientific Evidence To Support ADHD as a Disorder?" was this:
"as of yet, there is no independent valid test for ADHD.
Although research has suggested a central nervous system basis for
ADHD, further research is necessary to firmly establish ADHD as a
brain disorder."
Read that again. The most expert opinion available from the
National Institute of Health has stated that there is NO
INDEPENDENT VALID TEST FOR ADHD. No expert opinion is
available to clearly define what ADD/ADHD truly is.
Moreover, according to the panel, in the next phrase they confirm
that ADHD is not firmly established as a brain disorder. What
is it, then? The most clear statement by the panel is found in
the next section, "What Is the Impact of ADHD on Individuals,
Families, and Society?"
Next Page >
What
Is the Impact of ADHD on Individuals, Families, and
Society? > Page 1, 2,
3
Or Go To ECE Forum: The
JAMA Article, Preschoolers and Meds - what's your opinion?
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