Father accused of child abuse for taking son off Ritalin

doctorgonzo

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I'd be more than willing to pay this guy's bond.
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ABCNews.com - June 07, 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 spokesperson for New Mexico's Department of Children, Youth and Families told KOAT-TV that they could not comment on the case but confirmed that a social worker had visited the Taylors. 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.

Meanwhile, Chad Taylor remains convinced that he has made the right decision for Daniel. He says his son is acting like himself again, but officials are continuing to monitor Daniel's case.

Taylor told KOAT-TV he is not putting Daniel back on Ritalin, no matter what the consequences for himself may be. "Yeah, I'll go to jail for it," he said. "I'll go as long as I have to go."

more...

http://www.psycport.com/showArticle.cfm?xmlFile=abcnews_2004_06_07_eng-abcnews_us_eng-abcnews_us_061131_1386067780975021760.xml&provider=ABCNews.com

------------------
What luck for rulers that men do not think
-Adolf Hitler

Those who would give up their freedoms for temporary safety; deserve neither freedom nor safety
-Benjamin Franklin

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent-Thomas Jefferson

In a time of universal deceit-telling the truth is a revolutionary act
-George Orwell
 

bwdial

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I agree. Ritalin is not the answer. I didn't hit the links you put up, so this may be duplicate information...but giving young children is, in some cases, like handing them a hit of acid.
Little Johnny's not sitting still because he's interested in what you're saying...he's sitting still because he scared out of his mind.

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"There are few talents more richly rewarded with both wealth and power, in countries around the world, than the ability to convince backward people that their problems are caused by other people who are more advanced."

Thomas Sowell
 

CrimsonNan

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Gonzo:

I have a grandson who has ADD (ADS) and was on Ritalin for several years but is on something else now.

My son explained it to me this way: If you or I were to take Ritalin, we'd be climbing the walls, because WE don't need it. If a person's body doesn't need the medicine, they will have bad a side effect.

Either that boy didn't need it at all, or the doctor needed to adjust the amount he was taking.

I have a low thyroid and I've taken a pill everyday of my life for many years. But if YOU (the other person) took my thyroid pill (assuming you also didn't have a low thyroid) you'd be climbing the walls. Also, my doctor has had to adjust my medication several times during the years I've taken thyroid meds.
I can't speak for how a person feels with ADS or ADD, but without my pill, I would soon feel very tired, but worse that that, sluggish, as though my head wouldn't clear.

[This message has been edited by CrimsonNan (edited 06-09-2004).]
 

Dr. Know

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A child that has been on ritalin has to be removed slowly. This is a fact.

Ritalin actually speed up the brain to help maintain focus, in return it burns up a childs energy so they appear "downed out".

It does work, its not a life time medication for the most part but adults do use it. I even know (I know you want believe this) adults that hit the "Rit" before a Bass tourney to "help them focus on bites"! Crazy but true!

[This message has been edited by Dr. Know (edited 06-09-2004).]
 

CrimsonNan

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Dr. Know:
A child that has been on ritalin has to be removed slowly. This is a fact.

Ritalin actually speed up the brain to help maintain focus, in return it burns up a childs energy so they appear "downed out".

It does work, its not a life time medication for the most part but adults do use it. I even know (I know you want believe this) adults that hit the "Rit" before a Bass tourney to "help them focus on bites"! Crazy but true!

[This message has been edited by Dr. Know (edited 06-09-2004).]
</font>
If someone takes it who doesn't need it, they will have the opposite effect.
 

jdpas29

All-American
Ritalin is a schedule 2 drug. that's the same level cocaine is rated at. this rating refers to the level of risk of addiction.

There is no definitive criteria medical or otherwise used to justify the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD.

Atlanta, GA has a rate of about 5% of all school age children are on Ritalin. do you really think that all those kids are "ADD"??

Ritalin is an addictive drug and has many side effects, not the least of which is deep depression which often leads to a propensity to commit suicide and homicide whether the act is followed through with or not is another matter. any of you that have considered or attempted suicide know how hard it is to make that decision.

One of the earliest manufacturers of Ritalin wrote a paper warning the pharm/med industry of how dangerous Ritalin is. did anyone listen??? (i will find a link to that paper and post it later)

if your children are on Ritalin, you should seriously consider taking them off of this drug. if there is any overdiagnosed and misdiagnosed drug in this country that is doing harm to children on a mass scale, it is Ritalin. this is my personal opinion. i am NOT a medical doctor.
 

BamaLuver

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">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.</font>
That's incredible to me that pre-schoolers are the fastest users of antidepressants.

5 year olds.....
 

NBF_Bama_Cavalry

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I did some research on Ritalin a few years back. One interesting thing I found is that the perps in most, if not all, of the rash of school shootings were on Ritalin or had been.

jdpas is correct that it's a schedule 2 drug, meaning that it's as addictive as cocaine. It's commonly referred to as "Kiddie cocaine" because it also has mostly the same effects as coke.

Also of interest: The United States and Canada are (or at least were) the only countries with a condition called ADD (or ADHD or whatever variant you choose).

In the 1960's there was no such condition, the kids were called rowdy or rambunctious and a rap across the knuckles with a ruler or a lick on the bottom with a paddle in the correct dosage was usually the only medicine that would cure it.
 

CrimsonNan

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In the 1960's there was no such condition, the kids were called rowdy or rambunctious and a rap across the knuckles with a ruler or a lick on the bottom with a paddle in the correct dosage was usually the only medicine that would cure it.

--------------

That's not so. There IS such a condition as ADD/ADS whether YOU believe it or not. And rap on the knuckles or beating their butt doesn't cure it.

I guess the same "treatment" could also cure cancer. Many drugs have side effects but are still used to help a condition.
 

fosterkeats

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Parents medicate their children so they are more manageable, just like medicating the elderly in nursing homes...

This "ADD" scene is a total pharse... get the kids off the computer, quit stuffing them with sugar, and send them out into the world to play...

But this is America, where everyone wants the easy way out, so just dope up all the kids and your parenting will be easier...
 

NBF_Bama_Cavalry

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by CrimsonNan:
[B}
That's not so. There IS such a condition as ADD/ADS whether YOU believe it or not. And rap on the knuckles or beating their butt doesn't cure it.

I guess the same "treatment" could also cure cancer. Many drugs have side effects but are still used to help a condition.[/B]</font>

Whoa! I didn't say there isn't such a condition. There is, because American and Canadian doctors have diagnosed it since the 1980's. There was no such diagnosis in the 1960's, period. There is no such diagnosis in other countries.

If people agree to give their children the equivalent of cocaine, that's between them and the pediatrician. I only pointed out that it wasn't a condition in the 1960's and that it's peculiar to North America.

Didn't mean to offend.
 

jthomas666

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by jdpas29:
There is no definitive criteria medical or otherwise used to justify the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD.

If your children are on Ritalin, you should seriously consider taking them off of this drug. if there is any overdiagnosed and misdiagnosed drug in this country that is doing harm to children on a mass scale, it is Ritalin. this is my personal opinion. i am NOT a medical doctor.</font>
I'm not a doctor either, but one of my best friends is a doctor whose son has Asperger's syndrome, a severe variant of ADHD. So I've been able to see real ADHD up close and personal. There's ADHD, and then there is being a kid.

For about a year, from 2-3, my daughter was almost literally nonstop motion from the time she woke up to the time she went to sleep. I went into her room in the morning, she'd be sound asleep. I'd whisper her name and she'd bounce up, a hug grin on her face, squealing "DADDY!" And then she was off to the races. It was exhausting just to watch her. Someone suggested that she might be ADHD. Please. She's discovering the world, EVERYTHING is new, and she's scared that if she closes her eyes she might miss something.

JD, you are absolutely correct in saying that ADHD is over-diagnosed and Ritalin over prescribed.

It is seen as the easy/quick way to control an unruly child, and is often the first course of treatment instead of the third or fourth. Often school administrators press parents to get such a diagnosis & prescription because it makes managing the child (as opposed to educating the child) easier.

A side effect of the diagnosis is that it gives both students and parents a convenient excuse for poor performance.

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"Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he had read made him mad." -- George Bernard Shaw
 

CrimsonNan

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by NBF_Bama_Cavalry:

Whoa! I didn't say there isn't such a condition. There is, because American and Canadian doctors have diagnosed it since the 1980's. There was no such diagnosis in the 1960's, period. There is no such diagnosis in other countries.

If people agree to give their children the equivalent of cocaine, that's between them and the pediatrician. I only pointed out that it wasn't a condition in the 1960's and that it's peculiar to North America.

Didn't mean to offend.
</font>
But you did since I have a grandson who has that disorder. No doubt there has been such a thing for years (maybe forever) but not diagnosed as that - only called bad children, who just needed to be punished. My son and daughter-in-law have dealt with this problem for many years now, and my grandson has always been under the care of doctors, who know what they're talking about, unlike the people on this board who consider themselves "experts" on it all, as in fosterkeats.

BTW, my grandson is 18 and just graduated from high school with honors. He has a good job and will go to college in the fall. Not bad for someone on "cocaine" - huh?
 

CrimsonNan

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So typical that some of you refuse to pay attention to the other side of the question.

Have none of you read what I said about giving Ritalin to a person whose body doesn't NEED it. Have none of you noticed that I said if you do, it will have the opposite effect on a person whose body doesn't need it. It won't calm them down - it will cause them to climb the walls.

They should be under a doctor's care and if Ritalin DOES affect them in that manner, they should be taken off of it immediately.

But I suppose I should have heeded the advice of my daughter-in-law when she said years ago that she had gotten tired of explaining it to people who refused to listen.
 

Dr. Know

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by fosterkeats:
Parents medicate their children so they are more manageable, just like medicating the elderly in nursing homes...

This "ADD" scene is a total pharse... get the kids off the computer, quit stuffing them with sugar, and send them out into the world to play...

But this is America, where everyone wants the easy way out, so just dope up all the kids and your parenting will be easier...
</font>
Keats, how could you say somthing like that?
 

fosterkeats

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Dr. Know:
Originally posted by fosterkeats:
Parents medicate their children so they are more manageable, just like medicating the elderly in nursing homes...

This "ADD" scene is a total pharse... get the kids off the computer, quit stuffing them with sugar, and send them out into the world to play...

But this is America, where everyone wants the easy way out, so just dope up all the kids and your parenting will be easier...
</font>
Keats, how could you say somthing like that?

I just did... and i forgot to mention the part about parents getting their children diagnosed with "ADD" so they can steal their children's pills and abuse them themselves...

No other country in the world has as many people on unnecessary medication that the US, probably contributed to the pharmaceutical companies spending more money on advertising that research these days...

"Tell your doctor you want Zolof..."

Shouldn't your doctor tell you??? It has reduced MDs to being nothing more than legalized DRUG DEALERS...
 

jthomas666

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<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by fosterkeats:

"Tell your doctor you want Zolof..."
</font>
Don't you just get a kick out of the pharmaceutical commercials that tell you to ask you doctor about WonderDrug, but don't tell you what the drug is for?

(Zoloft does specify its function, but there are several that don't)

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"Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he had read made him mad." -- George Bernard Shaw
 

jdpas29

All-American
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by fosterkeats:

I just did... and i forgot to mention the part about parents getting their children diagnosed with "ADD" so they can steal their children's pills and abuse them themselves...

No other country in the world has as many people on unnecessary medication that the US, probably contributed to the pharmaceutical companies spending more money on advertising that research these days...

"Tell your doctor you want Zolof..."

Shouldn't your doctor tell you??? It has reduced MDs to being nothing more than legalized DRUG DEALERS...
</font>
keats wording may be a little harsh, but he's absolutely right concerning what has happened to the doctor patient relationship in america regarding the prescription and sale of pharmaceuticals.
----- many parents are the opposite of an ADD child. they have no energy and are in poor health and simply don't have the"get up and go" that a young child full of energy and vitality has. so after a while of feeling like you can't keep up, you have to try to slow the kid down.
----- many parents don't properly discipline their children. then, later on in life, their children are "ADD" and are completely "uncontrollable". well, of course they are. the parents never made an effort to control the child in the early years. what makes you think that the child will behave when faced with all of the opportunities/temptations of adolescence.
----- many parents are drug abusers and DO have their children classified as ADD in order to get Ritalin which is often ground up and snorted just like cocaine. this method of abuse is quickly growing in the college environment and in high schools because, as long as you have a prescription, it's "legal".

----- on the other hand, i'm sure that there are children with brain disorders that cause them to be completely disfunctional in a classroom setting or in church. these kids are medicated in what is probably their best interest. although, i would suggest that parents of these types of kids should try every available from of health care, therapy, and psychological counseling before resorting to permanently "medicating" the child. what you do to a young child will inevitably effect their precious young brain, and those changes can NEVER be reversed. the number of children who actually have such a brain disorder are extremely small in relation to the number of Ritalin users under the age of 18. and, like i said earlier, there is no definitive set of criteria used to diagnose an ADD/ADHD child. if you read the list of descriptive qualities an ADD/ADHD child is supposed to exhibit, you would be hard pressed to NOT diagnose all of your children with this "condition". i will try to find that list and post it for you later. i have it somewhere around this heap of literature and paper.


--------- the pharmaceutical industry has promoted drugs over the last 10 years in ways that are considered unethical in many other countries. if someone has a problem and they approach their doctor with a real complaint, he should/can take every step to help the person.
BUT THE TELEVISION ADS FOR DRUGS ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL!!!!
let me say that again........
THE TELEVISION ADS FOR DRUGS ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL!!!!

----- the power of suggestion is undeniable and this presents a conflict of interest in the greatest magnitude! when the health and livelihood of an individual is in question, there should be no attempt by "caregivers" or the MEDIA to sway or persuade the individual to become a user of drugs or other forms of care he/she doesn't actually NEED. i pray that the pharm/med guys will realize the folly of what they are doing in order to avoid the greatest class action suit that mankind has ever seen. it is coming.

----when revenue takes precedence over the health and well-being of the people, health care has been completely lost. ask yourself where we are in relation to this statement.-------
 

doctorgonzo

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I believe all of you have missed the point of why I posted this article. I did not want to start a debate on the worthiness of Ritalin and if it's over prescribed, although I surely believe it is.

The point is that our government could incarcerate this man for not force feeding his son drugs even though he knows it makes him sick. This is truly vile and disgusting. It goes against everything we stand for as free citizens. This is a classic example of how our freedoms are slowly eroding in this country. I say again, Big Brother is not just coming; he is already here.

Imagine one day a policeman shows up at your door and tells you that you are going to jail if you dont shove behavior modifying pills down your child's throat. That isn't the America I know and love.

------------------
What luck for rulers that men do not think
-Adolf Hitler

Those who would give up their freedoms for temporary safety; deserve neither freedom nor safety
-Benjamin Franklin

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent-Thomas Jefferson

In a time of universal deceit-telling the truth is a revolutionary act
-George Orwell
 

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