Childhood ADHD and the Prescription Drug Rush
ADHD Diagnoses in Children Spurred a Medication Boom
Doctors, especially psychiatrists, have been changing their view of children's problems since the 1970s. Before then, based on the Freudian model, Johnny's problems were considered the result of inner conflicts generated primarily by his relationship with his mother. But in 1980, with the publication of DSM-III, a new concept---for most psychiatric conditions, including ADHD---was announced. The diagnosis of ADHD and the use of drugs like Ritalin rose at rates never before seen in this country---or anywhere else, for that matter. The year 1991 marked a veritable sea change---a social movement began that changed the way our society views children's misbehavior and underperformance.
Daily Blog
Bitter Pill
Ritalin and the Growing Influence of Big Pharma
Researchers and practitioners alike have long been concerned that Ritalin use in childhood could lead to later drug abuse. But when a University of California researcher published a study that seemed to confirm those concerns, she set of a firestorm in the world of ADHD treatment.
Magazine Article
Running on Ritalin
Is It the Drug of Choice or the Drug of Convenience?
It's midday at an elementary school in a comfortable American suburb. The lunch bell has just rung, and the kids are noisily pouring out of classrooms to enjoy a brief recess in the schoolyard before mealtime. Inside, next door to the principal's office, the school secretary is arranging bottles of medication on a tray.
Magazine Article
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Childhood ADHD and the Prescription Drug Rush
ADHD Diagnoses in Children Spurred a Medication Boom
Doctors, especially psychiatrists, have been changing their view of children's problems since the 1970s. Before then, based on the Freudian model, Johnny's problems were considered the result of inner conflicts generated primarily by his relationship with his mother. But in 1980, with the publication of DSM-III, a new concept---for most psychiatric conditions, including ADHD---was announced. The diagnosis of ADHD and the use of drugs like Ritalin rose at rates never before seen in this country---or anywhere else, for that matter. The year 1991 marked a veritable sea change---a social movement began that changed the way our society views children's misbehavior and underperformance.
Daily Blog
Page 1 of 1
Bitter Pill
Ritalin and the Growing Influence of Big Pharma
Researchers and practitioners alike have long been concerned that Ritalin use in childhood could lead to later drug abuse. But when a University of California researcher published a study that seemed to confirm those concerns, she set of a firestorm in the world of ADHD treatment.
Magazine Article
Running on Ritalin
Is It the Drug of Choice or the Drug of Convenience?
It's midday at an elementary school in a comfortable American suburb. The lunch bell has just rung, and the kids are noisily pouring out of classrooms to enjoy a brief recess in the schoolyard before mealtime. Inside, next door to the principal's office, the school secretary is arranging bottles of medication on a tray.
Magazine Article
Page 1 of 1 (3 Items)
Lawrence Diller, M.D., is a behavioral/developmental pediatrician and family therapist. He has evaluated and treated more than 3,000 children and their families over the past 30 years. His book Running on Ritalin: A Physician Reflects on Children, Society and Performance in a Pill, published in 1998, was featured in a Time magazine cover story on Ritalin. He has also written Should I Medicate My Child? Sane Solutions for Troubled Kids With - And Without - Medication (2002) and The Last Normal Child: Essays on the Intersection of Kids, Culture and Psychiatric Drugs (2006).
Dr. Diller has appeared many times on television and radio nationwide, including Nightline, PBS News Hour, Good Morning America, CBS Early Morning, The Today Show, Frontline and NPR's Fresh Air. His two-part series "Kids on Drugs", featured in the online magazine Salon.com won the Society of Professional Journalist's "Excellence in Journalism" award in 2000. He provided expert testimony on Ritalin before a U.S. Congressional Committee in May 2000 and the President's Council on Bioethics in December 2002. Dr. Diller's next book, Remembering Ritalin: Generation Rx Reflects on Their Lives and Psychiatric Drugs, is scheduled for publication in Spring 2011.
Dr. Diller has appeared many times on television and radio nationwide, including Nightline, PBS News Hour, Good Morning America, CBS Early Morning, The Today Show, Frontline and NPR's Fresh Air. His two-part series "Kids on Drugs", featured in the online magazine Salon.com won the Society of Professional Journalist's "Excellence in Journalism" award in 2000. He provided expert testimony on Ritalin before a U.S. Congressional Committee in May 2000 and the President's Council on Bioethics in December 2002. Dr. Diller's next book, Remembering Ritalin: Generation Rx Reflects on Their Lives and Psychiatric Drugs, is scheduled for publication in Spring 2011.
