ADHD AND THE DRUGGING OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN

ADHD and the Drugging of America's Children

Paul Tautges

Suppose for a moment that some prophet had come out of the wilderness in 1958 and predicted that within a generation one-fifth of the children enrolled in our schools would be doped into docility.  The prophet would, of course, have been laughed back to his cave.  Yet the spiritual nature of our disease is such that when these things do come to pass, precisely because they have come to pass, it is impossible to see them.  Before they happen we cannot see them because they have not yet happened.  After they happen, we cannot see them because we let them happen, and seeing would now require repentance. [1]

The rise of ADD and the dangers of Ritalin

How did this sad state come to be?  How did millions of children so quickly get labeled with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and drugged into compliance?  Christian educator, Douglas Wilson, explains some of the history which has brought us to this pathetic state. 

In the nineteenth century, our nation established a socialistic system of education, telling parents that they did not have to exercise the same degree of responsibility for their children that they used to.  Lo, and behold, over time parents began to relinquish more and more of their parental duties, assuming 'they' out there somewhere would pick up the slack.  Children became increasingly unloved, uncared for, and undisciplined.  As the resultant lack of self-control became more evident in schoolchildren, people began to look for alternative means of keeping order.  One of the means our modern technocratic society discovered was the ability to hit kids on the head with a chemical rock.  As a whole, the government school system has said yes to drugs, and students by the thousands found themselves on Ritalin, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, or other related drugs.  In many government school systems, such drugs are actively promoted by the administration as a means of keeping order in the classroom…

Despite decades of official warnings and supporting research confirming the similarities of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and cocaine, tens of millions of children in the United States have been prescribed this psychotropic drug for a widely accepted yet scientifically unproved mental condition: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  Now recently concluded study at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) not only confirms the similarities of cocaine and Ritalin, but finds that Ritalin is more potent than cocaine in its effect on the dopamine system, which many doctors believe is one of the areas of the brain most affected by drugs such as Ritalin and cocaine.[2]

In a civil action suit prompted by the suicide of Jennifer Reynolds, psycho pharmacologist, Peter R. Breggin, M.D., signed a sworn affidavit[3] in which he affirmed that though the manufacturer of Ritalin calls the drug a 'mild' stimulant, it "is among the very most powerful stimulants, comparable to amphetamine and methamphetamine, and even cocaine" (p.3);  "Ritalin is among the most dangerously addictive and abuse prone drugs used in medicine" (p.3); and "Among pre-teens, Ritalin abuse now equals cocaine as a cause of admissions to emergency rooms" (p.4).  However, the labeling of the drug leads the consumer to believe it will do him good.  Dr. Breggin testified further,

By using the concept of 'attention deficit' and 'distractibility' (as well as other similar concepts), the label implies that Ritalin will help children improve their academic and scholastic achievement.  In fact, the evidence is contrary to this; Ritalin often impairs higher cognitive abilities.  The label should contain a statement that there is no evidence for improvement in academic or scholastic performance, or learning, and that to the contrary, Ritalin may impair higher level learning.  Indeed, the label should also mention that there's no evidence for improvement in a child's psychological or social life, and may in fact impair it (p. 6).

Over a decade earlier, Dr. Breggin authored a book entitled, Toxic Psychiatry, in which he gave a brief history of the label, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Hyperactivity (HA) is the most frequent justification for drugging children.  The difficult-to-control male child is certainly not a new phenomenon, but attempts to give him a medical diagnosis are the product of modern psychology and psychiatry.  At first, psychiatrists called hyperactivity a brain disease.  When no brain disease could be found, they changed it to 'minimal brain disease' (MBD).  When no minimal brain disease could be found, the profession transformed the concept into 'minimal brain dysfunction.'  When no minimal brain dysfunction could be demonstrated, the label became attention deficit disorder.  Now it's just assumed to be a real disease, regardless of the failure to prove it.  Biochemical imbalance is the code word, but there's no more evidence for that than there is for brain disease.[4]

Does anyone really need Ritalin?

Most people are shocked to learn there is no scientific proof that such a thing as chemical imbalance exists.  However, the average person has swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker.  We have been duped into believing drug-dispensing psychoanalysts are treating a medical problem when in reality no such condition has yet been proven.  In his book, Blame It On the Brain?, Ed Welch, writes, "We know that Ritalin affects a number of areas in the brain, but its mode of action is uncertain.  One thing, however, is clear.  Ritalin does not treat any known chemical deficiency in a child's brain.  No one needs Ritalin." [5]  When one reads over the list of symptoms of this so-called attention disorder, he is forced to ask, Are any of these symptoms not the result of laziness or lack of self-discipline? 

For years, it has seemed to me that a sensible and fair conclusion is the vast majority of children stuck with the labels ADD or ADHD really just lack self-control.  They are easily distracted not because of some so-called chemical imbalance, but because they have a discipline deficiency; they are prone to leave tasks undone not because of some imaginary brain dysfunction, but because they have not learned to be responsible individuals.  The need is not chemical control, but learning to discipline the mind and body God gave them. 

I could not agree more wholeheartedly with what Robert Smith, physician and biblical counselor, has written in The Christian Counselor's Medical Desk Reference,

The diagnosis of ADHD, as in most psychiatric problems, is not based on changes in the body but on behavior.  Even though it is vigorously defended as a disease, there is no proof of any physical abnormality in the body.  The medications do not correct any known deficiency or physical abnormality.  Medication is not a cure.  When there is improvement in behavior, which appears to be a direct result of medication, this gives the impression the problem is solved.  If the behavior does not improve or gets worse, the dosage is increased.  When this fails, a different medication is considered.  However, the medication does not deal with the cause of the problem.  It does not help the child learn self-control.  The underlying thinking and motives of the child are never addressed.  It is easier to put a child on a medication than to take the time to nurture and help build character in him.[6]

Tragically, our current epidemic is another example of psychological counseling's denial of the biblical premise that human behavior is the product of the heart; that the root of most mental problems is not physiological at all, but spiritual; that God's solution is regeneration by the Holy Spirit and renewal of the mind and heart by meditating on and obeying God's Word.  That is where "mental health" begins.  But these are core truths the psychiatric industry will never affirm.  Unfortunately, there are millions of reasons for them to quickly label people and dispense drugs that will merely feed sinful behavior-they're called dollars.

God's answer to ADD

God's answer for an easily distracted, wandering mind is not chemical discipline, but Holy Spirit-produced self-control.  By willing submission to the Word of God, bad habits are gradually replaced with godly ones, resulting in a transformed, disciplined life.  Ed Welch, hits the nail on the head, "With many children labeled ADD, the arena of the heart is ignored.  Yet isn't it possible that some of what we call ADD is sinful self-indulgence and laziness?  Is it possible that a prominent cause of the behaviors is a heart that demands its own way?" [7]  Here is a significant place where genuine biblical counseling parts company with humanistic psychology.  The former believes God specializes in transforming behavior by changing sinful hearts, while the latter swipes hope from people by neatly placing them into little psychological pigeon holes.  "The greatest tragedy of this approach is that it communicates that the Bible has no answers for this problem.  Apparently the Holy Spirit cannot do what Ritalin allegedly can.  Personal responsibility of both parent and child are negated.  Biblical doctrines of God, man, sin, and changing behavior are ignored."[8]  David Powlison skillfully articulates how this approach produces people who then view life merely through biological glasses (people are dysfunctional bodies), instead of spiritual glasses (people are God's image-bearers, both body and soul).

Psychologized people seek to explain and fix life through some interpretation of human life that excludes God, sin, Christ, sanctification, and the rest of truth.  But it is time to update our language a bit.  Currently, the biopsychologizing of human life is having a huge effect, both in the culture and the church.  We minister to an increasing number of biopsychologized people who think about themselves, their spouses, or their children as bodies run amok.[9]

As a biblical counselor who is clearly not a medical doctor, I am careful to never instruct anyone to simply stop taking their prescribed medications without the cooperation of a discerning physician. Ritalin and its cousins are seriously addictive and withdrawal is very real.  However, over the years, by God's grace, I have had the privilege of witnessing several individuals in our church gradually weaned and totally freed from their medicated states by using God's Word to help them see the root problems in their hearts and by encouraging them to apply that same Word to their lives.  This kind of hope, a psychiatrist can never give.

A call for biblical ADD - Active Discipline Development

How then can parents prevent their children from being carelessly labeled and medicated?  This is a very doable task for those who desire to follow God's Word rather than the prevailing winds of sin-cursed psychology, but it will require patience and persistence over the long haul.

            1)  Teach & enforce boundaries at a very early age.

The book of Proverbs stresses the importance of taking advantage of the early years to instill discipline into children.

Discipline your son while there is hope... (19:18)

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old

(assuming the discipline took place when he was young) he will not depart from it (22:6).

The sooner a child learns there are behavioral boundaries in life, the sooner he will understand the principle of authority and how to be attentive and submissive to it.  Children are happiest when they know their boundaries because they can simply be children without having to worry about playing the role of the parent as well.  One thing we have done to aid in this is to use an existing visual boundary (such as a crack in the driveway or sidewalk) to mark the line which they cannot cross when playing outside.  Violation of this boundary results in discipline.  Having established these limits at a young age, we are able to be more at ease knowing our children are not playing in the street.  When teaching boundaries, be sure to:

·        Call the child by name (so that he cannot say, "I thought you were talking to Joey").  It also shows more respect than, "Hey, kid!"

·        Get and keep eye contact throughout your instructions.  This teaches attentiveness and respect for the authority figure who is speaking.

·        Speak in the form of commands, not questions.  Some parents say to their 3 year old, "Billy, do you think it is time to go to bed?", as if they expect him to reply, "in light of my age and tomorrow's agenda, I think it is wise for me to go to bed now."  Don't be a lazy parent by letting your children make up your mind.

·        Get a verbal response of understanding, such as, "yes, sir" or "yes, ma'am.  This helps the child to begin to understand the principle of accountability, which teaches responsibility.

            2)  Model obedience to boundaries in your own life.

God's Word stresses the importance of parental example.

A righteous man who walks in integrity--how blessed are his sons after him (Proverbs 20:7).

Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways (Proverbs 23:26).

Example is the most powerful tool in child training.  Living a self-controlled, disciplined life yourself will go a long way toward producing responsible, self-controlled children.

            3)  Verbally correct & physically discipline.

The "rod" is used seven times in Proverbs in reference to physical discipline, otherwise known as corporal punishment.  This stresses the importance of using a neutral object for spanking.  A parent should refrain from using his hand to discipline his children.  Children must have the security of knowing that his parents' hands are for expressing affection.  I cringe inside when I see a child duck or back away when his father or mother reaches out to touch him.  In our home, we use a small, flat piece of wood that we call, "the wisdom paddle."  Written on one side is "Proverbs 13:24."  They find security in knowing that if daddy does not spank them, God will spank daddy. 

Prior to discipline, the child must understand the reason for the spanking, and enough pain (not damage) must be inflicted by the rod to discourage future disobedience.  This is God's method of developing obedience and self-control; necessary character qualities in the life that pleases Him.  When I first developed The 7 Laws of Spanking (available free at www.sermonaudio.com/ibcsheboygan), my wife posted them inside a cabinet door in the bathroom as a reminder to not simply rush through this important process.

            4)  Reaffirm your love through affection.

Always be sure each discipline session concludes with plenty of affection and, "I love you's."  The purpose of all discipline is to restore the close relationship broken by the act(s) of sin.  This is why you should never spank a child and send him to his room.  Instead, send him to his room and then go and spank him.  At the end of every discipline session, your child must be sure of your love.  I often ask my children after a spanking, "Why does daddy spank you?   And they always answer, "because you love me."  This will provide your child with great security.

Conclusion

Though our children's hearts are held bound by the foolishness of sin, we have the privilege of being involved in the process of breaking those chains and imparting God's gifts of self-control and wisdom through the sometimes exhausting process of faithful discipline.  By doing so, we will train them to see all of life through biblical glasses and protect them from being held captive by the vain philosophies of men.  All the while, pointing them to Jesus, our Great Physician, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Healer, our Lord, and our Friend.

(THIS ARTICLE IS A CHAPTER EXCERPT from Delight in the WORD: Biblical Counsel for Everyday Issues, available through all major bookstores as well as www.amazon.com and www.christianbook.com and other online sources.)

By Paul Tautges Click here for bio and archived articles

Let me be a witness Posted On: 04/07/08 01:41:11 AM Age 39, MO My oldest child was diagnosed and labeled ADHD. What I experienced before medication was a screeming, biting, angry and active child. I jumped right into the trap of trusting doctors and Public school. I gave my child ritalin. She responded well most of the time to the medication. She was physically still and BLANK. What I witnessed was a drugging of a demon within. I was not a Christian at the time however it took this diagnosis to bring me to God and know that I am not in control and that I can not cope without his hand on all our family. Paul you are so right that it is a condition of the heart. We are brought into this world lost souls, Satans insturments and play toys until the Holy Spirit calls us and we hear. My child was not healed on the medication. She continued being angry, agressive, and self-destructive if the medication wore off. Then we heard the Holy Spirit while visiting my mother at her church service. Something lit up in both of us. HOPE. We had many obsticles that could have kept us from seeking God at a Sunday service such as flat tires, lost shoes, laundry, toys, tv, nice weather, bad weather...you name it. Until I stood up and said out loud "Satan just back off! I am going to church today! We need Jesus and I have his protection!" At that moment I believed that Jesus was the answer to heal me and my child. After this me and my daughter were encouragers to each other. On her bad days I drug her to church. On my bad days she gave me puppy dog eyes. She was still on medication at this time. As she got older she got thinner and sick looking. She was calmer but not smarter. She was not progressing in her schoolwork. The school told me possibly she had reached her learning potential. Frustrated and angry that after all the medication, she was still not learning any better on it than without it, I pitched the medicine over the summer break and we dealt with her anger, frustrations, and out of control behavior until it finally began to subside. I seen the word of God penatrating her. We were no longer drugging the demon we were sharing Jesus with it. It did not like it and we no longer are visited by tantrums and anger. We have seen lots of improvement since she has been OFF ritalin. The demon always is seeking her out by way of music, influence of friends, the need for attention, fame, popularity, and beauty. I have to pray often and trust the Lord to work in her. I am responsible as a mother to be the heavy and explain to her that some things she gets involved in are harmful to her and that she needs to seek Gods will. She is a teenager now and does not always listen to me. I hope that I can be just annoying enough that she will at least remember me pointing out the harmful things and teaching God's word that it seeds somewhere within. She is young and I do not know if she has truly claimed Jesus as her Saviour. She may invite her enemy back unknowingly and I pray that she remembers me claiming that she was restored by the Word of God so she remembers just what kind of medicine she needs to take...The Bible. Agree and Dissagree Posted On: 04/07/08 12:27:58 AM Age 39, MO I agree with "A little Excercise" however I disagree that it is the fault of living in apartments and not having lawns to maintain. We have a house and land in a subdivision. However we are miles away from where Shawn Hornbeck had been abducted. As parents we have to protect our children from the evil that is lurking and seeking them out. It is not safe for children to walk anywhere alone after getting off a bus. Ben Owensby was taken right after he got off the bus in a secluded area on the way to his house. Kids can't run free in the fields, Hike in the woods, Hide and Seek in the subdivisions, walk the streets in the city. We have been set-up to only be able to excercise in a corporate fashion. In todays world our excercise experience has to rely on getting schedules to coordinate. So we find ourselves rapidly getting ill because of the difficulty of coordinating schedules and the commitment that would take. We need to turn off the TV, chuck the evening plans and make our families priority by excercising our bodies and excercising our minds. For example: As a mother I need to get off the computer and meet the kids at the bus and walk them back home. As a family we need to play games that require competition, affection, attention, sharing, waiting, education, endurance, and etc. As friends we need to get together and play vollyball, basketball, kickball, baseball, king of the hill, hike the woods...outside not on video games. As a community we need to pray for and support each other to accomplish these goals. Goodness Posted On: 04/06/08 01:41:14 PM Age 29, TX I am sorry to hear about your problems, Mr. Smith. However, you ask a very pertinent question: "And so what if isn't proven?" How careless an attitude to have, when dealing with the lifelong health and well-being of one's children! A child diagnosed ADHD is stigmatized for life, considered "disabled"--as in, NOT capable of controlling himself. What kind of thing is that to do to someone, sir? To eradicate all hope in that person that he can be free of his problems, so that he must rely on the pharmaceutical industry for his entire life?...As a mother of two, and diagnosed myself with "ADHD," I simply cannot understand how people can be so callous in speaking of the potential damage, both mental and physical, dealt to children who are misdiagnosed and victims of malpractice. I deal with it without chemical crutches, sir, and I suspect you could, as well.--Mrs. Pilgrim Unfortunately... Posted On: 04/06/08 01:33:14 PM Age 29, TX ...It is impossible to prove a negative. However, where is the scientific, medical evidence that ADD or ADHD is physical, after all? Let it not be forgotten that medicine has always been considered an art, and only recently a science.--Mrs. Pilgrim Are you sure? Posted On: 04/04/08 09:16:17 AM Age 41, LA I agree with so much of what you write about the drugs being prescribed and their abuse. I believe the drugs are hurting our kids, that the precription drug industry is making a lot a money, and that ultimately greed and profits are the driving factors. But are you so sure that there is no real ADD/ADHD disorder related to the brain? Where is your scientific proof. I am married (age 41) and have 3 kids. I became a follower of Jesus in college, and my husband & I have raised our kids in a loving, supportive, disciplined home. I am a stay home mom. I used to believe like you did, that maybe the rise in ADHD was only due to the lack of parenting and discipline, but until we were personally affected, I did not fully understand. You see, we live in a fallen world, where the prince of this earth still roams. My kids have been exposed to more toxins than I ever was growing up. The immunization shots are very toxic and are a huge hit to the immune system (they get so many more shots that I ever got) The processed foods we eat are full of preservatives and GMO ingredients. My family has taken a drastic change in the way we eat now. We even have our own milk cow, eggs, vegetable garden, and fruit trees. My youngest son had autism and has mostly recovered. My middle son struggles with hyperactivity. My oldest has struggled with focus and now has anorexia. You could probably judge us and say we must not be good parents, but we know we have loved our kids. We have been there for them to provide a stable and secure homelife. We are doing all we can nutritionally to help them, and we are praying for God's hand to heal them. We pray that "though we drink deadly poison, it will not harm us" (Mark 16:18). ADD/ADHD is real...it is a result of this fallen, toxic world. Autism is real...at one time, doctors said it was the parents fault because they did not give their children enough love. A good resource is 'Gut and Psychology Syndome' by Dr. Natasha Campbell- McBride MD. Doesn't teach self-discipline Posted On: 04/03/08 05:36:51 PM Age 29, AL I was diagnosed with ADD at age 13. I was given medication which I on and off took until my 20’s. I have taken numerous drugs and they all do the same in the end. They make decisions for the person never allowing them to learn discipline for themselves. A person that is changed by taking medication does do anything to change his behavior the medication does it. When I was on my medication I did my school work. I did not do it because I learned self-discipline the medication provided the desire to do it. I was just following my feelings like before, but now my feelings were in agreement with what others wanted me to do. Then because I was performing so well my parents decided to try me without the medication. When I quit taking the medication I just followed my feelings like on the medication, but now my feelings did not agree with what others wanted me to do. I was not getting my school work done and was acting up. I was actually worse than before because the medicine had been acting as my self-discipline for so long that the little bit of discipline that I had was gone. So my parents rushed to get me back on my medication. I have seen this repeated many times in the stories I now hear from parents. Take a kid off his medication and he is worse. It is because he is not learning any self-discipline while on medication he is relying completely on the medication. I realized this in college and had to get off the drugs. It was tuff learning to discipline myself in my late teens while trying to go through college. It would have been much easier to take the falls while I was at home and the consequence weren’t as severe. Medicating a child because of ADD is a crutch that hinders the self development. I pray for any person given medication to modify behavior. The ADHD Drug Atrocity Posted On: 04/03/08 05:29:02 PM Age 42, AZ Dear Paul, I appreciated your article on ADHD, a lot of truth therin. I too am passionate about the fight against these drugs, and if you'll see my website, you will have no wonder why. Our lives have been personally affected by tragedy through this socery. And I will fight it until I can fight no more. I would appreciate any help you can offer to market the site to parents who are ignorant of the true potential risks, they are not being told about by doctors, nor the FDA. As for Dan and others like him, I'm truly very sorry for your difficulties. I just have a question for you though. Dan, did you have these difficulties prior to 1988-89, and if so, what did you call them at that time? Because you see sir, thats the whole point, before 1988-89 they were just difficulties, things you struggled with. No one denies you that right to say you struggle, and continue to. What I have a problem with is the "label" and attachment of it to millions of children under a guise of evil, profit, and greed. And these kids will surely pay, possibly with their very lives. There is a true spirit moving to drug the masses, and I think this is only the beginning. These children have no voice, but with our help, they will have one. www.adhddrugatrocity.com GOD CREATED PARADISE - MAN MADE A MESS OF IT Posted On: 04/03/08 11:43:44 AM Age 64, OH I think you are much improved in your articles. You are writing about what you know and staying away from what you do not know. You are correct and in fact most in the medical field have become drug dealers for profit. But there are many other reasons for the behavior of the youth and even the adults. SLEEP - It has been proven that if a adult person is deprived of sleep by getting a few hours too little sleep; they show symptoms of bi-polar disorder after only a few days. Most people in this nation do not get enough sleep and so we have become a nation of mentally ill people. A person needs 8 or 9 hours a day. Parents simply leave children stay up way too late. NUTRITION - Almost all the food in the supermarket has so many chemicals and toxins in them that they cause many diseases. The food is sprayed with synthetic toxins and then chemicals are added that are not even food, then the food is so refined that most of the God given nutrition is destroyed. I started to buy organically grown food that was whole and not refined and my health has improved so much that I feel 20 years younger. EXERCISE - People sit around the house and leave their children do the same, and then wonder why they have all kind of diseases. If you do not use your body you will lose your body. I am 64 and still RUN many miles every day. This keeps me healthy. Take a car and leave it set for a year and see how hard it is to even get it running again. Nothing is worse on a car than leaving it set. The same is true of our bodies. When my youngest son started to get fat, I took him out into the woods to run every day. It was slow for me because he was young and not as strong as me. But it was only a few years before he was faster than me. My son ending up winning the Christian school state championship for the 2 mile, 1 mile, 800 meter. He set school records in public junior high and the Christian High school for 5 different events. He went to a public high school his senior year and his team was state cross country champs. If I would have stayed on the couch, we would have both gotten fat instead. I got all these things from the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Any person who follows Jesus Christ has everything and lacks not one thing. Lou Ritalin Posted On: 04/03/08 10:34:17 AM Age 47, TX Very good article on this subject. It is amazing how many parents, even supposed Christian parents, eagerly jump onto the bandwagon of "drug the kids" based on the recommendations from their public school teachers. The future ramifications of this fiasco will continue on for these kids as they go into adulthood. Many will "need" continued medications to deal with everyday issues that come up. ignorance Posted On: 04/03/08 10:25:02 AM Age 21, MN The same set of symptoms associated with ADD/ADHD has been around for 120 years now. And by the by, Ritalin isn't used as much anymore, and the medicines that i know of are much better at being effective for only those who struggle with ADD. Just about every major drug has been abused and misused in the past, so why single out ritalin? Plus, you seem to know very little about the disorder. I have ADD, and i exhibit every possible symptom of it. t has drastically effected my life and how i go about my daily activities. You can be naive and think that its all family problems or poor discipline problems, but i exhibited these problems in every setting i was ever in as a child, and still do. And so what if isn't proven? There are children, such as myself, in which it is so ridiculously obvious that ADD is real: all the same symptoms, manifestations, and solutions as well....they are all present with me. Autism isn't a proven mental disorder, but you aren't questioning that! Do you reserach. Interview some people with the disorder and then see how you feel about it. -Dan Smith