Psychiatrists Say Schools Steer Parents To Over Medicate Kids

New York Times Syndicate
Judy Holland
October 02, 2000

WASHINGTON - Psychiatric leaders warned Congress Friday that too many educators are urging parents of problem children to give them prescription drugs rather than address their real problems at home or school.

Dr. Peter R. Breggin, director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, a nonprofit research group in Bethesda, Md., said school officials are pressing parents to give such children stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate, Dexedrine and Adderall.

"Teachers, school psychologists and administrators commonly make dire threats about their inability to teach children without medicating them,'' Breggin told a panel of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

ADHD Medication Issues : Are Kids Being Over Medicated ?