RITALIN: SHOULD WE DISH OUT THE CHILL PILL TO KIDS?

But is the controversial drug even worth prescribing?

Here, two parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) give their views...
YES

MUM-of-four Lorraine Walker, 48, from Killingworth, North Tyneside has been giving Ritalin to Dale, her 12-year-old son, for the last four years. Dale was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of seven.

IT wasn't an easy decision to put Dale on Ritalin. I spent the best part of a year agonising over it.

I had tried him on all sorts of alternatives, including fish oils and altering his diet, but nothing worked.

Living with ADHD was destroying Dale's development and his disruptive behaviour was having a detrimental effect on family life.

My husband Eric and I had been pushed to breaking point. My son Ryan, who is only a year older than Dale, had to cope with a lot.

We'd had problems with Dale since he was a baby. He'd never sleep and he cried constantly. I'd be up all night with him.

As he got older he became more aggressive. If he saw another child playing with a toy he wanted, he'd just storm over and snatch it, regardless of who he had to push and shove out of the way.

People would say: "Oh, he's just being a boy." Or "It's the terrible twos." But I had three other children, two of them boys, and had never experienced anything like it with them.

When he started school his behaviour became even worse. He couldn't wait in the dinner queue, anyone who accidentally pushed him in the corridor would get a smack in the face.

I went to the doctor for help. After a long, complex process of assessments and tests, Dale was diagnosed with ADHD.

When we got the prescription for Ritalin, it was the most heartwrenching decision I've ever had to make because I was having to resort to giving my child drugs. I felt guilty, a bad mother.

But we had to think about what was best for both Dale and the family as a whole. I started him on a low dose but, as it began to work, we gradually moved up to 20mg three times a day.

Family life changed almost immediately. Dale was a lot calmer, his relationship with Ryan improved, he slept better and settled down at school.

Without medication Dale wouldn't have been able to stay in mainstream education. He plays in a football team and has a really good group of friends. Of course I question whether he could have achieved all that without Ritalin. But the honest answer is I don't think so.

I would emphasise that medication alone isn't a magic wand and needs to be taken with lots of help and support.

Dale was a lot calmer, he slept better and settled down at school

NO

RUTH Dakin*, 10 was diagnosed with ADHD at age three. Her parents, David, 50, a steelworker, and Pauline, 48, a catering assistant from Marton, Middlesbrough, have decided against medication.

WE knew from the start that we didn't want Ruth on any kind of drugs.

We wanted to be fully in control of the situation and once you start introducing things like Ritalin into the equation, you lose some of that control.

Ruth was a very difficult child. She'd run wild. She wouldn't do what she was told, she was always fidgeting, she had poor balance and virtually no concentration. It was classic ADHD.

About six months after she was diagnosed we heard about the Cactus Clinic at Teesside University. They look into a child's diet and try and improve behaviours by cutting out certain groups of food.

After a series of tests we were given a list of foods she could and couldn't have. We had to cut out dairy products, which meant no more chocolate, milk or eggs.

The change in Ruth was unbelievable. Her concentration was much better, she was less disruptive and more obedient. Her speech, which she had been having therapy for, also improved. She mixes with other children well and life is a lot calmer.

Ruth's getting to the age now where she can take charge of her own diet a lot more. She knows what she can and can't have and she's pretty good at sticking to it.

She has soya milk or dairy-free yoghurts as substitutes for the real thing.

She still has to be reminded now and again, but she often checks the ingredients labels herself and lets us know if she's allowed it or not.

Sometimes as a special treat like a birthday we let her have a bit of chocolate cake. But you definitely know when she's had it because she's on the roof!

As she becomes older she should be able to work things back into her diet, but it's going to be trial and error.

I'm really glad we decided to try the alternatives to Ritalin. It might work for a lot of parents but we'd encourage them to explore other avenues as well.

A few changes in Ruth's diet have made the world of difference and we don't have to worry about the side effects of medication.

We just don't know what the long-term effects of Ritalin might be.

*Ruth's name has been changed

We wanted to be in control of the situation.. I'm glad we decided to try alternatives

TRUTH ABOUT ADHD GENERATION

CHILDREN with ADHD have difficulty focusing their attention on a specific task. They can be impulsive and suffer from mood swings and social clumsiness.

ADHD has multiple causes. Factors include changes in parts of the brain that control impulses and concentration (neurobiological factors) and genetic and environmental factors.

ADHD is thought to affect three to seven per cent of school-age children.

CHILDREN from divorced families are twice as likely to be prescribed Ritalin as those from two-parent homes, Canadian scientists found.

PUSHY parents have been accused of giving healthy children Ritalin bought on the internet in the hope that it will boost their exam performance.

AWARENESS of the condition was raised when Desperate Housewife Lynette Scavo (played by Felicity Huffman) took Ritalin to help her cope with work and motherhood.

By Daily Mirror

Published: June 27, 2007