Fwd: Schools in row over Ritalin

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3093087.stm

 

 

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 17:35:47 -0700

Schools in row over Ritalin

 

 

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Schools in row over Ritalin

BBC News

Thursday, 24 July, 2003

 

Schools are threatening to expel hyperactive children who do not take the

controversial drug Ritalin, the BBC has learnt.

 

Some parents are even being told that their children may be taken into care if

they do not put their children on the drug.

 

The claims come as a survey in Scotland suggests some youngsters are selling

Ritalin to drug dealers or swapping it for CDs and phone cards.

 

Parents' charity Overload Network International said the situation is so bad,

some school secretaries and dinner ladies are having to hand out extra doses to

children.

 

The survey also revealed that some teenage girls have started taking the drug as

a diet pill.

 

Janice Hill of the charity has urged the government to step up controls of the

drug to ensure it is not being abused.

 

Hyperactive treatment

 

Ritalin is prescribed to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD).

 

The symptoms of ADHD range from poor concentration and extreme hyperactivity to

interrupting and intruding on other people and not being able to wait in queues.

 

Studies have suggested the condition may affect one in 20 children. Boys are

three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls.

 

But Ritalin is also a mild stimulant - an amphetamine - that works on the

central nervous system to improve concentration.

 

As a result, it is sometimes used by drug dealers to mix with amphetamine.

 

Nevertheless, studies have suggested the drug is an effective way of treating

ADHD.

 

However, its critics say it can cause serious side-effects in some children,

leaving them robotic, lethargic, depressed, or withdrawn.

 

As a result, many parents are refusing to allow their children to be given the

drug.

 

However, the BBC has learnt that they are being pressured into changing their

minds by schools.

 

The parents of teenager Ashley Aslett were told they would have to remove their

son from his school in Lincoln if he didn't take Ritalin.

 

" They said Ashley was a danger to the school and other children and staff and if

he wasn't to be medicated than he wouldn't be allowed in school, " his father

Simon told the BBC.

 

Ashley hadn't even been diagnosed with ADHD.

 

The school has since lifted its threat to exclude Ashley. However, Ashley

decided against staying.

 

Similar cases

 

Barry Turner, a law lecturer at the University of Lincoln, said the Asletts were

not alone.

 

He told the BBC he had heard of similar cases and even of parents being told

that their children would be put into care if they didn't take Ritalin.

 

" We haven't yet reached the stage it is at in some of the states of the United

States, where parents have actually been prosecuted for child abuse because they

haven't treated their children but we are becoming dangerously close to that

state of affairs, " he said.

 

The Department for Education said schools should not threaten to expel

hyperactive children who do not take Ritalin.

 

" The prescription of Ritalin for a child is a decision to be discussed between

parents and their family doctor or clinic, " said a spokeswoman.

 

" It is not a matter on which schools should pass judgement. "

 

 

 

 

 

 

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