"Gary Null examines the increasingly common practice of prescribing psychotropic drugs for children - including preschoolers as young as age 2 to 4 - who have been diagnosed with ADD, or ADHD.In the absence of any objective medical tests to determine who has ADD or ADHD, doctors rely in part on standardized assessments and the impressions of teachers and guardians while the they administer leave little room for other causes or aggravating factors, such as diet, or environment. Hence, diagnosing a child or adolescent with ADD or ADHD is often the outcome, although no organic basis for either disease has yet to be clinically proven.
Psychiatrists may then prescribe psychotropic drugs for the children without first without making it clear to parents that these medications can have severe side-effects including insomnia, loss of appetite, headaches, psychotic symptoms and even potentially fatal adverse reactions, such as cardiac arrhythmia. And yet, despite these dangers, many school systems actually work with government agencies to force parents to drug their children, threatening those who refuse with the prospect of having their children taken from the home unless they cooperate.
To some, this looks like institutionalized child abuse in the name of mental health, where naturally active and inquisitive children are drugged into submission while the pharmaceutical industry prospers. New York Times bestselling author, Gary Null, Ph.D., an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and syndicated radio host, investigates this potentially tragic."

I think it's wonderful that ICSPP is beginning to show a deep appreciation for holistic medical approaches....
ReplyDeleteThe last post with Gary Kohls, MD, and now this one with Gary Null, Ph.D. are both informative and much-needed for people looking for answers - beyond the failed psychiatric drugs that are (far too often) offered as a first and only option by conventional psychiatry.
Here in Texas, Mary Ann Block, D.O. (Osteopathic physician) has been making great progress with kids who have been diagnosed with "ADHD" -
http://blockcenter.com/blog/about/
She has a YouTube video that's worth watching... Congressional testimony that points not only to the dangers of psychiatric drugs, but also integrative medical approaches that work -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=095sN0xP-UA&feature=related
In my opinion, it's not enough to stand up to the failed system...
We have to begin to discuss options that work.... We need to begin to tell others about them, especially parents.
Counseling can do wonders.... So can nutrition, and other forms of integrative medicine...
Sometimes, counseling is the answer.
Other times, addressing underlying physical condition...
Still others, a combination of both.
Psychiatric drugs are not a long-term answer.
Counseling and integrative medicine is!
Thank you for the post!
Duane Sherry, M.S.
Discover and Recover: Resources for Mental Wellness
discoverandrecover.wordpress.com
Neurofeedback has shown to be another good way to help some of these kids who have been diagnosed with "ADHD" -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/user/othmerk#p/c/7/dYLtM0RrIJU
My best,
Duane
Thank you Duane
ReplyDelete