These Are the Stories That Drive Me Mad

From the December 6th Education Week:

Low doses of the drug Ritalin are effective in treating the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in preschool-age children, but young children are especially sensitive to the drug’s side effects and should be closely monitored, says a report published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Ritalin is the most commonly prescribed drug to treat children with ADHD, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, which paid for the study. However, the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved its use for children under the age of 6.

Preschool kids identified with ADHD. Roll that around your head for a bit and see how it sounds to you. I find it horrifying that any pre-school child would be given a drug with powerful side effects based on an ADHD diagnosis, but maybe there is that one kid in a million.....

Also on the ADHD front, schools in Israel are using biofeedback to train kids how to overcome the condition, according to an article from Edutopia magazine. It’s also got the scary stat that in 2004 94% of ADHD drug sales worldwide were here in the United States; the other 6% was in Europe.

The question is, why?