Dad probed for taking son off Ritalin

[Anonymous]

Thank God for homeschooling, with government teachers hounding parents to drug their kids (especially active, squirmy boys) how can any parent be sure they won't be the NEXT parent investigated for child abuse and neglect because they won't (brace yourself) impair their child's brain with Ritalin?

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Living/U ... 607-1.html

[Anonymous]

Any feedback on this case?  Personally, I think the detective and social worker should be investigating the teacher!!!!
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Pills vs. Talking
When It Comes to Mental Illness, Parents Face Dilemmas Over Medication, Talk Therapy

By Bryan Robinson

June 7, 2004 ? When Chad Taylor noticed his son was apparently experiencing serious side effects from Ritalin prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he decided to take the boy off the medication. Now, he says he may be accused of child abuse.

In February, 12-year-old Daniel began displaying some symptoms that his father suspected were related to the use of Ritalin.

"He was losing weight, wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating," Taylor told ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV in New Mexico. "[He] just wasn't Daniel."

So Taylor took Daniel off Ritalin, against his doctor's wishes. And though Taylor noticed Daniel was sleeping better and his appetite had returned, his teachers complained about the return of his disruptive behavior. Daniel seemed unable to sit still and was inattentive. His teachers ultimately learned that he was no longer taking Ritalin.

School officials reported Daniel's parents to New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families.Then a detective and social worker made a home visit.

"The detective told me if I did not medicate my son, I would be arrested for child abuse and neglect," Taylor said.

A spokesman for New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families told KOAT-TV that they could not comment on the case because of state confidentiality laws. John Francis, a detective for the Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety, said that Taylor was not threatened but told KOAT-TV that parents could be charged in situations like his.

"People can be charged with child abuse, child neglect or various other crimes involving a child," he said.

More Kids on Antidepressants

Taylor is among many parents facing a dilemma over whether to medicate children who suffer from mental disorders. A recent study by Express Scripts Inc., a medical benefits management company, found antidepressant use increased 49 percent among consumers younger than 18 between 1998 and 2002. Preschoolers up to age 5, the study found, were the fastest-growing users of prescription antidepressants.
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http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Living/U ... 607-1.html

[Anonymous]

Any doctor that wouldn't immediately revise a child's (or adult's) prescription if the patient was having trouble sleeping is an incompetent idjit.

It's *well* known in psychology and psychiatry that lack of sleep causes other mental health problems, such that insomnia on a stimulant (like Ritalin is) is ample reason to change the dosage or timing or drug until the patient can get good sleep.

Taking the kid off without a doctor's supervision was a bad idea----psychoactive drugs can have their very worst side-effects when you stop them suddenly---some can even send you psychotic or cause other serious problems.

What the dad *should* have done was get a new doctor and get the new doctor's *help* taking the kid off *safely*.

And the other doc not *telling* him that was how to safely take the kid off Ritalin is *further* incompetent idiocy.  (Presuming he didn't---that's what it sounds like from the story, but journalists miss details and we can't be sure.)

Timoclea