Parents, Educators Fight “Legal” Drugs in Schools

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I search through a lot of groups to find great information for

us... One of the best I have found is:

Gettingwell

I found this article there...

Comments?

Misty

http://www..com

 

Parents, Educators Fight " Legal " Drugs in Schools

by Cory Brennan

 

An increasing number of school boards, public officials and parents

are challenging intrusive psychiatric programs and widespread

drugging in schools, and urging a return to academic solutions as

the first priority.

 

Robert Parks* is a bright, active boy with a mind and will of his

own. But in his early school years, he had trouble adjusting to a

classroom environment. From the day Robert started school in the San

Fernando Valley in Southern California, his parents received reports

that their son was running around the classroom, not listening to

the teacher and altercating with other students.

 

 

Within a few weeks, a school official asked the Parks to attend

an " Individualized Educational Program (IEP) " meeting about Robert

with the school nurse, several mental health workers, the principal

and teacher. As the parents soon learned, the IEP group had already

decided that Robert needed psychiatric treatment. Not having

experienced these same alleged behavior problems with their son at

home, they disagreed.

 

 

The school continued to issue reports on Robert. The parents

investigated, finding logical explanations for their son's behavior.

A boy he hit had a reputation as a bully. He got upset when his desk

was moved without his consent. He teased his younger sister. The

Parks did not consider their son's reactions signs of " mental

illness, " but rather common childhood behavior they handled at home

with communication or discipline. To them, the school was looking

for an easy way to control their son. School officials even

suggested putting Robert into " special education " while admitting he

was of at least normal intelligence and was not having problems with

his schoolwork.

 

 

When the Parks family moved to a different district, Robert's

school records, including a psychological profile, followed him to

his new school where officials were imbued with the idea the boy was

mentally ill. School officials began pressuring the Parks to put

their son on psychiatric drugs, while subjecting him to repeated

psychological evaluations, at times without the parents' knowledge.

 

 

" They assessed and reassessed him like some kind of lab rat. The

psychological abuse inflicted on him is beyond belief, " Robert's

father told Freedom. " For years he was always anxious to go to

school to learn and make new friends. Now it scares him. He was

constantly followed with a pad and pen. "

 

Deteriorating State

 

When the school principal told the Parks he would call Social

Services if they refused to put Robert on a drug, they gave in and

took their son to a psychiatrist. With no medical examination and

after asking the boy several questions from a book, the

psychiatrist, according to Robert's father, told them their son

was " hyper " and prescribed a stimulant drug frequently given for so-

called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

 

 

Once on the drug, Robert experienced drastic effects. " He lost

one forth of his body weight in one month and his sleep patterns

were disrupted, " his father said.

 

 

Now, bad behavior reports on Robert poured in. The psychiatrist's

solution was to increase the drug dosage in spite of the side

effects. The Parks, alarmed at their son's deteriorating state,

chose instead to put a stop to the drugging.

 

 

The school's response was to suspend Robert, and to give the

parents their only options: continue the psychiatric " treatment " or

take Robert to a special school located in another town altogether.

The Parks decided to do neither and instead began to homeschool

their son. He has been receiving an education ever since without

incident, free of the psychological and psychiatric meddling and

drugs that plagued his limited school years.

 

 

" The efforts of various psychologists and psychiatrists combined

with the school to deprive my son of the education he deserves, "

Robert's father said. " They forced him out of school and spread

vicious rumors around this small town in an effort to keep him out

of school, church and other community functions.

 

 

" My son has hurt no one, caused no damage to anything and is

generally a happy camper who reads two grade levels beyond his own, "

he said. " I fear the next `diagnosis' will be `acute depression.'

Nothing could be further from the truth—that is, until they get done

with him. "

 

 

Meanwhile Robert does not have the right to be educated in public

school unless his parents agree to allow the administration of

powerful drugs—drugs which, by observation and experience, were

harmful to their son. The Parks can't help but wonder why the public

schools are in the business of diagnosing children, or why school

officials feel that drugs are the only way to control students.

 

 

An isolated instance? Unfortunately not. Approximately six

million children in the United States are classified

as " hyperactive " , " attention deficit " or having other behavioral or

learning " disorders " for which they are being drugged. The Citizens

Commission on Human Rights, a watchdog organization founded by the

Church of Scientology in 1969 to investigate and expose psychiatric

abuse, has received thousands of reports of abuse and harm of

children through the psychiatric system. Many of these children

first found their way into the mental health system in our public

schools.

 

 

An increasing number of school boards and public officials across

the United States are challenging the intrusive involvement of

psychiatry in the education system, and urging a return to academic

solutions as the first priority for school problems faced by youth.

Schools as Mental Health Centers

 

 

One question that looms in many school districts is what the

parent's role, versus the school's role, should be in determining

medical or mental health treatment for children. The question

desperately calls for more public debate and research. Yet many

public schools in California and across the nation are on the fast

track to act not only as partners with local mental health centers,

but as mental health providers by placing such centers on the school

campus. Additionally, video tapes, assessment tests and brochures

are sent to schools in increasing volume to " train " teachers and

administrators how to " recognize mental illness " in their students.

Diagnostic Fraud

 

 

Diagnoses of ADHD and other childhood mental health labels,

including " math disorders " and the catch-all " conduct disorders, "

continue to skyrocket with younger and younger children being

drugged for " treatment. " In fact, a study in the Journal of the

American Medical Association in February of 2000 reported a 200 to

300 percent increase in antidepressants and stimulants given to

children age 3 and under.

 

 

The ADHD diagnosis has been repeatedly debunked, especially since

a national experts' conference in 1998 resulted in the consensus

that " ADHD " is bereft of any scientific evidence and not a valid

diagnosis. As stated in a Report to the National Institutes of

Health's Consensus Conference on ADHD, " We do not have an

independent valid test for ADHD, and there are no data to indicate

that ADHD is due to brain malfunction. Further research to establish

the validity of the disorder continues to be a problem. "

 

 

Dr. William Carey, who addressed the consensus conference,

stated, " What is now most often described as ADHD in the United

States appears to be a set of normal behavioral variations.... "

 

 

Diagnostic criteria for ADHD includes such " symptoms " as

fidgeting, speaking out of turn, interrupting, not being able to lay

quietly, and losing schoolwork or other items, with scientific

qualifiers like " often " or " frequently " .

 

 

Nothing has evolved in more recent years to lend any scientific

credibility to " ADHD " . Yet despite the lack of evidence validating

it—or other mental disorders diagnosed in children—schools continue

to be inundated with information about how to " recognize ADHD " and

are encouraged to refer children for treatment.

 

Documented Dangers

 

As a result of such propaganda, stimulant prescriptions for

American children to " treat " ADHD have increased several hundred

percent in the last decade. Now, concern about the fraudulent " ADHD "

diagnoses and drugging is catching up—including studies that not

only discredit any efficacy of stimulant drug " treatment " but report

distressing facts about their physiological effects.

 

 

That evidence includes a report in the August 22-29, 2001 issue

of the Journal of the American Medical Association on research

conducted by Nora Volkow, M.D. Researchers, according to Dr.

Volkow, " were surprised as hell to find evidence that [Ritalin] is

more potent than cocaine. We didn't expect this.... The data clearly

show that the notion that Ritalin is a weak stimulant is completely

incorrect. " Researchers acknowledged that the long-term effects of

chemical changes in the brain caused by methylphenidate (the

chemical name of Ritalin) are unknown, although drug has been used

on children for several decades.

 

 

A study released from the University of Buffalo in New York in

November 2001 said research " suggests that [Ritalin] has the

potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure

and function. "

 

 

Indicators have existed for some time that stimulant use causes

brain shrinkage, yet " Until now, possible effects on brain

development... have not been investigated systematically " read a

report in Doctors for Disaster Prepardness Newsletter of September

2001.

 

 

Reports also exist of psychotic symptoms, heart failure and

stroke related to stimulant use in children.

 

 

Dangers also include cancer. According to Samuel Epstein, M.D.,

emeritus professor of environmental medicine at the University of

Illinois School of Public Health in Chicago, the American Society of

Pediatrics " ignores clear evidence of Ritalin's cancer risks of

which parents, teachers and school nurses, besides most

pediatricians and psychiatrists, still remain uninformed and

unaware. " Dr. Epstein, according to an October 2001 report of the

Cancer Prevention Coalition, is especially concerned because of

the " escalating incidence of childhood cancer, by some 35% over the

last few decades. "

 

 

Psychiatric drugs, regardless, are in increasing use on children.

Many of the " symptoms " for prescribing them—which also include

shyness, daydreaming, or adolescent discontent—were considered part

of the normal process of growing up in past generations, subject to

communication or discipline. Yet today parents find themselves under

increasing pressure to medicate Johnny for problems ranging from

difficulties with math to trouble with girls.

 

National Trend

 

An aspect of the trend most troubling to parents is that school

teachers and administrators are diagnosing their children.

 

 

When Yolanda Guzman's first grade teacher in Los Angeles told her

parents she needed to be on Ritalin for behavior problems, the

girl's doctor disagreed. Due to the insistence of the teacher, the

doctor relented and prescribed the drug, though refused to renew the

prescription. When the family moved to Rosamond, Yolanda's mental

health records followed her. The Guzmans were sent to College

Community Services where a social worker reportedly told them if

they did not have Yolanda on stimulants, all three of their children

would be taken away from them. Fearing the threat, Mrs. Guzman took

Yolanda to a doctor in Los Angeles. He refused to prescribe

stimulants. Another doctr told the Guzmans that their daughter could

not be on stimulants as they would react badly with her asthma

medication. Yet the Guzmans say the director of College Health

continued to insist Yolanda be on a stimulant. The Guzmans continue

their battle to keep their daughter off drugs.

 

 

Similar battles are being fought all across the nation.

 

 

When some of Danny Grant's teachers at his Sacramento school were

unhappy with his behavior and study habits, school officials said he

had ADHD and pressured the parents to get him on a stimulant drug.

Though they had reservations, the Grants dutifully took their son to

a doctor who prescribed Ritalin. The doctor told them Danny would

experience no bad reactions and the drug was not addictive. But

Danny almost immediately had severe physical and emotional

reactions, including vomiting, uncontrollable crying, and inability

to eat or sleep. Alarmed, the parents took him off the drug, not

telling the school so they would not be pressured to put him back

on.

 

 

Michael and Jill Carroll of Albany, New York, told officials at

their son's school they were going to take their son off Ritalin

because he was having side effects that concerned them, including

eating only one meal per day and sleeping only a few hours per night—

loss of appetite and insomnia being common side effects of

stimulants. The school's response was to report them to child

protective services, which promptly placed them on a state-wide list

of alleged child abusers. The Carrolls risked having their child

taken away from them if they stopped the drug.

 

 

The examples go on and on—hundreds of similar cases have been

reported to chapters of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights

throughout the United States, as well as to child and family

advocacy groups. According to the reports of parents and education

workers, the instances of such pressure and abuse number at least in

the tens of thousands.

 

Encouraging Signs

 

The implications of schools and social services conspiring to

force parents to drug a child or risk having that child be refused

an education—or even taken away from them altogether—are alarming

authorities nationwide.

 

 

There are some encouraging signs that this alarm is turning into

action. Since 1999, school boards and legislators in eight states

have passed resolutions or laws demanding schools return to proven

academic methods for dealing with learning problems. Connecticut, in

a unanimous legislative vote in July 2001, was the first state to

make it unlawful for any school teachers or counselors to recommend

psychiatric drugs for any child.

 

 

Education officials, teachers, doctors and parents are also

increasingly recognizing the wide range of other causes that can

underlie behavior and learning problems for children. These causes

include food allergies; insufficient or poor nutrition—such as

consuming too much sugar or unnutritious fast foods; chemicals in

the environment such as pesticides or high levels of lead, mercury

or other substances toxic to humans.

 

 

Many schools are showing dramatic results with the academic

approach alone. At one such school, Bennett-Kew Elementary in

Inglewood, California, reading performance was raised from the 3rd

to the 50th percentile in California. They have used phonics

instruction and other proven educational methods to teach children,

with the belief that no child, regardless of his circumstances or

socio-economic background, is impossible to teach. Though 78 percent

of the students in the school were classified as low income, Bennett-

Kew Elementary became one of the highest performers in Los Angeles

County through good teaching.

 

Some schools are doing something right.

 

A growing number of parents and educators are asking whether we

shouldn't stop the drugging, and instead find out what successful

schools are doing—and implement their proven solutions across the

boards.

 

 

* real name withheld at the request of parents for reasons of

pending

legal action

 

http://www.freedommag.org/english/Press/page06.htm

[Guest guest]

Some little kids just bug, you know? My nephew (now in college) used to be

so " hyper " he'd really bug the adults (except for my sister, his mom) with

his constant talking and movement. I am sure this is what the little boy

below was like.

 

My sister just got back from San Carlos, Mexico, where she went on a deep

sea fishing expedition. There was a little boy (maybe 10?) who even bugged

me (watching her video). I asked about him and she said he was awful,

getting in the way of everyone, very loud, etc. He was even in her videos

she took at a restaurant on a different day - he was feeding the birds.

This boy was a home schooled boy. His parents were treating the trip as

educational. No one ever said anything to these parents but those on the

deep sea trip (paid $75 per person) felt it was ruined.

 

What is the solution? Not these drugs, surely. But they are disruptive and

annoying, and the parents need to be able to admit that and possibly teach

the child to save the wildness for home. I think they just get used to them

and tune them out.

 

Deana (parent of 3 thankfully mellow children)

 

 

 

 

 

 

> " Misty L. Trepke <mistytrepke " <mistytrepke

>

>

> Parents, Educators Fight “Legal” Drugs in

>Schools

>Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:50:06 -0000

>

>Hi everyone,

>I search through a lot of groups to find great information for

>us... One of the best I have found is:

>Gettingwell

>I found this article there...

>Comments?

>Misty

>http://www..com

>

>Parents, Educators Fight " Legal " Drugs in Schools

>by Cory Brennan

>

>An increasing number of school boards, public officials and parents

>are challenging intrusive psychiatric programs and widespread

>drugging in schools, and urging a return to academic solutions as

>the first priority.

>

> Robert Parks* is a bright, active boy with a mind and will of his

>own. But in his early school years, he had trouble adjusting to a

>classroom environment. From the day Robert started school in the San

>Fernando Valley in Southern California, his parents received reports

>that their son was running around the classroom, not listening to

>the teacher and altercating with other students.

>

>

> Within a few weeks, a school official asked the Parks to attend

>an " Individualized Educational Program (IEP) " meeting about Robert

>with the school nurse, several mental health workers, the principal

>and teacher. As the parents soon learned, the IEP group had already

>decided that Robert needed psychiatric treatment. Not having

>experienced these same alleged behavior problems with their son at

>home, they disagreed.

>

>

> The school continued to issue reports on Robert. The parents

>investigated, finding logical explanations for their son's behavior.

>A boy he hit had a reputation as a bully. He got upset when his desk

>was moved without his consent. He teased his younger sister. The

>Parks did not consider their son's reactions signs of " mental

>illness, " but rather common childhood behavior they handled at home

>with communication or discipline. To them, the school was looking

>for an easy way to control their son. School officials even

>suggested putting Robert into " special education " while admitting he

>was of at least normal intelligence and was not having problems with

>his schoolwork.

>

>

> When the Parks family moved to a different district, Robert's

>school records, including a psychological profile, followed him to

>his new school where officials were imbued with the idea the boy was

>mentally ill. School officials began pressuring the Parks to put

>their son on psychiatric drugs, while subjecting him to repeated

>psychological evaluations, at times without the parents' knowledge.

>

>

> " They assessed and reassessed him like some kind of lab rat. The

>psychological abuse inflicted on him is beyond belief, " Robert's

>father told Freedom. " For years he was always anxious to go to

>school to learn and make new friends. Now it scares him. He was

>constantly followed with a pad and pen. "

>

>Deteriorating State

>

> When the school principal told the Parks he would call Social

>Services if they refused to put Robert on a drug, they gave in and

>took their son to a psychiatrist. With no medical examination and

>after asking the boy several questions from a book, the

>psychiatrist, according to Robert's father, told them their son

>was " hyper " and prescribed a stimulant drug frequently given for so-

>called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

>

>

> Once on the drug, Robert experienced drastic effects. " He lost

>one forth of his body weight in one month and his sleep patterns

>were disrupted, " his father said.

>

>

> Now, bad behavior reports on Robert poured in. The psychiatrist's

>solution was to increase the drug dosage in spite of the side

>effects. The Parks, alarmed at their son's deteriorating state,

>chose instead to put a stop to the drugging.

>

>

> The school's response was to suspend Robert, and to give the

>parents their only options: continue the psychiatric " treatment " or

>take Robert to a special school located in another town altogether.

>The Parks decided to do neither and instead began to homeschool

>their son. He has been receiving an education ever since without

>incident, free of the psychological and psychiatric meddling and

>drugs that plagued his limited school years.

>

>

> " The efforts of various psychologists and psychiatrists combined

>with the school to deprive my son of the education he deserves, "

>Robert's father said. " They forced him out of school and spread

>vicious rumors around this small town in an effort to keep him out

>of school, church and other community functions.

>

>

> " My son has hurt no one, caused no damage to anything and is

>generally a happy camper who reads two grade levels beyond his own, "

>he said. " I fear the next `diagnosis' will be `acute depression.'

>Nothing could be further from the truth—that is, until they get done

>with him. "

>

>

> Meanwhile Robert does not have the right to be educated in public

>school unless his parents agree to allow the administration of

>powerful drugs—drugs which, by observation and experience, were

>harmful to their son. The Parks can't help but wonder why the public

>schools are in the business of diagnosing children, or why school

>officials feel that drugs are the only way to control students.

>

>

> An isolated instance? Unfortunately not. Approximately six

>million children in the United States are classified

>as " hyperactive " , " attention deficit " or having other behavioral or

>learning " disorders " for which they are being drugged. The Citizens

>Commission on Human Rights, a watchdog organization founded by the

>Church of Scientology in 1969 to investigate and expose psychiatric

>abuse, has received thousands of reports of abuse and harm of

>children through the psychiatric system. Many of these children

>first found their way into the mental health system in our public

>schools.

>

>

> An increasing number of school boards and public officials across

>the United States are challenging the intrusive involvement of

>psychiatry in the education system, and urging a return to academic

>solutions as the first priority for school problems faced by youth.

>Schools as Mental Health Centers

>

>

> One question that looms in many school districts is what the

>parent's role, versus the school's role, should be in determining

>medical or mental health treatment for children. The question

>desperately calls for more public debate and research. Yet many

>public schools in California and across the nation are on the fast

>track to act not only as partners with local mental health centers,

>but as mental health providers by placing such centers on the school

>campus. Additionally, video tapes, assessment tests and brochures

>are sent to schools in increasing volume to " train " teachers and

>administrators how to " recognize mental illness " in their students.

>Diagnostic Fraud

>

>

> Diagnoses of ADHD and other childhood mental health labels,

>including " math disorders " and the catch-all " conduct disorders, "

>continue to skyrocket with younger and younger children being

>drugged for " treatment. " In fact, a study in the Journal of the

>American Medical Association in February of 2000 reported a 200 to

>300 percent increase in antidepressants and stimulants given to

>children age 3 and under.

>

>

> The ADHD diagnosis has been repeatedly debunked, especially since

>a national experts' conference in 1998 resulted in the consensus

>that " ADHD " is bereft of any scientific evidence and not a valid

>diagnosis. As stated in a Report to the National Institutes of

>Health's Consensus Conference on ADHD, " We do not have an

>independent valid test for ADHD, and there are no data to indicate

>that ADHD is due to brain malfunction. Further research to establish

>the validity of the disorder continues to be a problem. "

>

>

> Dr. William Carey, who addressed the consensus conference,

>stated, " What is now most often described as ADHD in the United

>States appears to be a set of normal behavioral variations.... "

>

>

> Diagnostic criteria for ADHD includes such " symptoms " as

>fidgeting, speaking out of turn, interrupting, not being able to lay

>quietly, and losing schoolwork or other items, with scientific

>qualifiers like " often " or " frequently " .

>

>

> Nothing has evolved in more recent years to lend any scientific

>credibility to " ADHD " . Yet despite the lack of evidence validating

>it—or other mental disorders diagnosed in children—schools continue

>to be inundated with information about how to " recognize ADHD " and

>are encouraged to refer children for treatment.

>

>Documented Dangers

>

> As a result of such propaganda, stimulant prescriptions for

>American children to " treat " ADHD have increased several hundred

>percent in the last decade. Now, concern about the fraudulent " ADHD "

>diagnoses and drugging is catching up—including studies that not

>only discredit any efficacy of stimulant drug " treatment " but report

>distressing facts about their physiological effects.

>

>

> That evidence includes a report in the August 22-29, 2001 issue

>of the Journal of the American Medical Association on research

>conducted by Nora Volkow, M.D. Researchers, according to Dr.

>Volkow, " were surprised as hell to find evidence that [Ritalin] is

>more potent than cocaine. We didn't expect this.... The data clearly

>show that the notion that Ritalin is a weak stimulant is completely

>incorrect. " Researchers acknowledged that the long-term effects of

>chemical changes in the brain caused by methylphenidate (the

>chemical name of Ritalin) are unknown, although drug has been used

>on children for several decades.

>

>

> A study released from the University of Buffalo in New York in

>November 2001 said research " suggests that [Ritalin] has the

>potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure

>and function. "

>

>

> Indicators have existed for some time that stimulant use causes

>brain shrinkage, yet " Until now, possible effects on brain

>development... have not been investigated systematically " read a

>report in Doctors for Disaster Prepardness Newsletter of September

>2001.

>

>

> Reports also exist of psychotic symptoms, heart failure and

>stroke related to stimulant use in children.

>

>

> Dangers also include cancer. According to Samuel Epstein, M.D.,

>emeritus professor of environmental medicine at the University of

>Illinois School of Public Health in Chicago, the American Society of

>Pediatrics " ignores clear evidence of Ritalin's cancer risks of

>which parents, teachers and school nurses, besides most

>pediatricians and psychiatrists, still remain uninformed and

>unaware. " Dr. Epstein, according to an October 2001 report of the

>Cancer Prevention Coalition, is especially concerned because of

>the " escalating incidence of childhood cancer, by some 35% over the

>last few decades. "

>

>

> Psychiatric drugs, regardless, are in increasing use on children.

>Many of the " symptoms " for prescribing them—which also include

>shyness, daydreaming, or adolescent discontent—were considered part

>of the normal process of growing up in past generations, subject to

>communication or discipline. Yet today parents find themselves under

>increasing pressure to medicate Johnny for problems ranging from

>difficulties with math to trouble with girls.

>

>National Trend

>

> An aspect of the trend most troubling to parents is that school

>teachers and administrators are diagnosing their children.

>

>

> When Yolanda Guzman's first grade teacher in Los Angeles told her

>parents she needed to be on Ritalin for behavior problems, the

>girl's doctor disagreed. Due to the insistence of the teacher, the

>doctor relented and prescribed the drug, though refused to renew the

>prescription. When the family moved to Rosamond, Yolanda's mental

>health records followed her. The Guzmans were sent to College

>Community Services where a social worker reportedly told them if

>they did not have Yolanda on stimulants, all three of their children

>would be taken away from them. Fearing the threat, Mrs. Guzman took

>Yolanda to a doctor in Los Angeles. He refused to prescribe

>stimulants. Another doctr told the Guzmans that their daughter could

>not be on stimulants as they would react badly with her asthma

>medication. Yet the Guzmans say the director of College Health

>continued to insist Yolanda be on a stimulant. The Guzmans continue

>their battle to keep their daughter off drugs.

>

>

>Similar battles are being fought all across the nation.

>

>

> When some of Danny Grant's teachers at his Sacramento school were

>unhappy with his behavior and study habits, school officials said he

>had ADHD and pressured the parents to get him on a stimulant drug.

>Though they had reservations, the Grants dutifully took their son to

>a doctor who prescribed Ritalin. The doctor told them Danny would

>experience no bad reactions and the drug was not addictive. But

>Danny almost immediately had severe physical and emotional

>reactions, including vomiting, uncontrollable crying, and inability

>to eat or sleep. Alarmed, the parents took him off the drug, not

>telling the school so they would not be pressured to put him back

>on.

>

>

> Michael and Jill Carroll of Albany, New York, told officials at

>their son's school they were going to take their son off Ritalin

>because he was having side effects that concerned them, including

>eating only one meal per day and sleeping only a few hours per night—

>loss of appetite and insomnia being common side effects of

>stimulants. The school's response was to report them to child

>protective services, which promptly placed them on a state-wide list

>of alleged child abusers. The Carrolls risked having their child

>taken away from them if they stopped the drug.

>

>

> The examples go on and on—hundreds of similar cases have been

>reported to chapters of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights

>throughout the United States, as well as to child and family

>advocacy groups. According to the reports of parents and education

>workers, the instances of such pressure and abuse number at least in

>the tens of thousands.

>

>Encouraging Signs

>

> The implications of schools and social services conspiring to

>force parents to drug a child or risk having that child be refused

>an education—or even taken away from them altogether—are alarming

>authorities nationwide.

>

>

> There are some encouraging signs that this alarm is turning into

>action. Since 1999, school boards and legislators in eight states

>have passed resolutions or laws demanding schools return to proven

>academic methods for dealing with learning problems. Connecticut, in

>a unanimous legislative vote in July 2001, was the first state to

>make it unlawful for any school teachers or counselors to recommend

>psychiatric drugs for any child.

>

>

> Education officials, teachers, doctors and parents are also

>increasingly recognizing the wide range of other causes that can

>underlie behavior and learning problems for children. These causes

>include food allergies; insufficient or poor nutrition—such as

>consuming too much sugar or unnutritious fast foods; chemicals in

>the environment such as pesticides or high levels of lead, mercury

>or other substances toxic to humans.

>

>

> Many schools are showing dramatic results with the academic

>approach alone. At one such school, Bennett-Kew Elementary in

>Inglewood, California, reading performance was raised from the 3rd

>to the 50th percentile in California. They have used phonics

>instruction and other proven educational methods to teach children,

>with the belief that no child, regardless of his circumstances or

>socio-economic background, is impossible to teach. Though 78 percent

>of the students in the school were classified as low income, Bennett-

>Kew Elementary became one of the highest performers in Los Angeles

>County through good teaching.

>

>Some schools are doing something right.

>

> A growing number of parents and educators are asking whether we

>shouldn't stop the drugging, and instead find out what successful

>schools are doing—and implement their proven solutions across the

>boards.

>

>

>* real name withheld at the request of parents for reasons of

>pending

>legal action

>

>http://www.freedommag.org/english/Press/page06.htm

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