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November 17, 2005
'Anecdotal but troubling'
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill Wednesday barring schools from requiring hyperactive children to use drug treatments as a condition for attending classes. "Backers say the bill was designed to curb anecdotal but troubling reports of officials telling parents that disruptive kids must begin drug treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in order to stay in school," reports WebMD Medical News:
The bill easily passed 407-12, with one member voting "present," but drew criticism from some lawmakers.
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), who is a psychiatrist, tells WebMD that the measure was "a bad bill."
"Local school boards and districts are the ones who have to deal with these issues, not Congress," he says. ...
The House approved a similar bill in 2003 but the Senate never acted.
One enlightening way to proceed on anything related to ADHD is to spend 10 minutes making use of your favorite Internet search site, then reading what you find with a very critical eye. That's because the truth can be found in the easily gleaned and often frenzied appeals of several well-funded advocacy organizations on all sides of the ADHD Wars. These groups have become expert at exploiting frustrated parents, and then in recent years of politicizing that pain to further their agendas. Schools are convenient but improper targets here. "Anecdotal but troubling" would describe the state of behavior of many in this debate. Especially of Congress.
Posted November 17, 2005 4:02 PM
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