Ritalin
Is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free, Practical Program
for
Children Diagnosed With ADD or ADHD
by David B. Stein, Ph.D.,
Peter R. Breggin
Reviews
Book Description
How parents, teachers, friends and family
can rescue their children from the widespread and extremely dangerous use
of an amphetamine (speed) called Ritalin to control "normal but inconvenient"
behavior.
Brief Description: Between a quarter to one-third
of all school-aged children in the USA today are diagnosed as suffering
from something called Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit
with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a diagnostic category that didn't even
exist twenty years ago. But the shocker is that approximately two million
of these children are being coerced by teachers, administrators and doctors
into taking Ritalin or a similar type of mood-altering medication.
About the Author
David B. Stein, Ph.D., is a practicing clinical
psychologist in Richmond, Virginia, Professor of Psychology at the University
of Tennessee, and father of two sons who were once placed on Ritalin. In
addition to teaching child psychopathology and behavior modification, he
has conducted courses in psychopharmacology. His professional research
and writings center on the diagnosis and treatment of attentional, behavioral,
and motivational problems in children. He gives regular workshops and trainings
to parent and educational groups on providing constructive, practical alternatives
to Ritalin.
Customer Comments
A reader from Montreal,
Quebec, Canada, July 18, 1999
The most Fantastic book!!
I wasn't able to put this book down, until
I finished it. My husband couldn't believe how firm I became with my son,
no matter how much I wanted to give in so many of the times. My first experience
after reading the book was that it took my son I'd say about 45mins-1hr.
till he finally sat on time out quietly, and finally realized that I wasn't
going to give in even if it took forever. I have been following everything
by the book, and my son now knows, that when I say something, I'm really
going to be firm, and he's not going to get his way. Dr.Stein writes about
Bargaining. Well my son always did that with me. I'd say one thing, and
he would go half way on the idea. Example: " you have 10 mins. left, and
he would say "can I have 12"? Well, to me that was no big deal, but now
my answer is no!! My giving in in his head, only realized that I was giving
in, the time didn't really matter. So, when it was something big he used
to get upset. This book has taught me more than any child psychologist
ever did!!!! I think if one follows all the advice in the book and practices
it, and still has problems with the child that they feel is A.D.D./A.D.H.D.
that only then, should they look into Natural Alternatives, first
looking into imbalances in the body chemistry by going for a hair analysis,
to a reputable place to see if the body's chemistry is out of balance and
full of toxins. The natural answers are out there. This is a FANTASTIC
book for every Parent, and Parent to be!!!!!
A reader, April 19, 1999
A sound approach to treating ADHD without
medication
As a psychologist with twenty years' experience
counseling ADHD children, I found Dr. David Stein's book, "Ritalin Is
Not The Answer," an easy-to-understand, insightful and viable solution
to the controversy surrounding the use of Ritalin with ADHD children.
He first outlines the fallacies of the disease
or chemical imbalance model for ADHD, and then introduces his "Caregivers'
Skills Program," the ultimate goal of which is to enable children to self-monitor
their behavior. To achieve self-monitoring, however, he stresses that medication
must be withdrawn completely so that new skills can be learned independent
of the drugs.
He shifts the focus from the "symptoms" which
imply "disease" to a list of targeted behaviors. The goal is to either
improve or eliminate the targeted behaviors. This approach avoids the prevalent
but disenfranchising tactic of labeling ADHD behaviors as a "brain disease"
and prescribing medication. The parental role in the Program - that of
conveying specific instruction to motivate and empower the child to take
charge of his or her own behavior - re-establishes parents as authority
figures in the child's life.
Dr. Stein claims that his Cargiver's Skills
Program "produces dramatic and positive changes in children by completely
eliminating ADD and ADHD patterns without the use of medication." I believe
that the application of his techniques would not only produce the claimed
results, but also would empower both parents and children thereby enhancing
the parent-child relationship.
This appears to be an effective, easy-to-apply
alternative to medicating our children with Ritalin and other drugs. If
you child has been diagnosed as ADHD, this book offers great hope.
Dr. Lloyd Ross (hollij@worldnet.att.net)
from Montclair, New Jersey, March 27, 1999
An excellent way to Avoid Drugging Your
Child
Dr. Stein’s book offers an easy, direct,
honest procedure for both parents and professionals to use in working with
children who have been diagnosed as having ADD/ADHD. It gives parents some
clear hope of avoiding the use of medications such as Ritalin, that come
with rather dangerous side effects, such as cardiovascular problems, arrhythmias,
constipation, nausea, stomach aches, dry mouth, weight loss, growth retardation,
tics (sometimes permanently), Tourette’s Syndrome, blurred vision, headaches,
insomnia, and about two dozen other side effects, including possible loss
of brain mass and gross brain dysfunction. This refreshing and simple technique
created by Dr. Stein can be used with all children, not just those diagnosed
as ADD/ADHD. In represents what most parents do informally and instinctually.
His program serves as a valuable and simply understood aid to those who
do not have natural parental instincts and to those whose children have
more conflicts and more difficulty relating to parental initiatives. It
teaches parents to parent and teaches children how to comfortably be children.
Of particular interest to me, Dr. Stein talks about children who have been
diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, rather than about children who have a disease
called ADD/ADHD. The very diagnosis ADD/ADHD has been cited by many psychologists,
psychiatrists, neurologists, learning disabilities specialists, and other
professionals as a bogus diagnosis of either relatively normal children
or children with other emotional problems in order for the pharmaceutical
industry to sell more of its drugs that do not treat and specific disability
but merely suppress behaviors. As one psychiatrist put it: "It simply makes
kids sit down and shut up." The recent National Institutes of Health Consensus
Statement (November, 1998) highlights the controversy over the efficacy
of the ADD/ADHD diagnosis and also discusses the overuse of stimulant drugs,
even though ADD/ ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder
of childhood in modern America. Dr. Stein should be congratulated for a
job well done.
Zigzagscar@aol.com from
Sarasota, FL, February 27, 1999
Offers practical advice for creating
mindful children
According to Dr. Stein, a psychopharmocologist
and psychologist, the long-term effects of drugs on so-called ADD and ADHD
children are still largely unknown. Because of drastic changes in society,
parents are overly stressed and children often out of control. Stein offers
a proven, easy-to-follow parenting program that teaches children to think
about their behavior, take responsibility for it, and change it for the
good. Parents and caregivers see positive behavior changes within a couple
of weeks!
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