The Edison Gene by Thom Hartmann

Author:Thom Hartmann
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Health/Parenting
ISBN: 9781594778858
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Company
Published: 2010-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

DO DRUGS HELP OVER THE LONG TERM?

In a particularly interesting twist, recent research shows that children treated with drugs to help them through their schooling have no better outcomes as adults than children who experienced similar difficulties with their schooling but who didn’t receive medication.

This unexpected result even took the drug advocates by surprise. In his e-mail newsletter in June 2002, Dr. Sam Goldstein, who had previously coauthored direct attacks on my positions and been an outspoken advocate of Ritalin therapy (and who has also written or coauthored some excellent recent books on raising resilient children), wrote:

Despite optimism by professionals and researchers years ago that treating ADHD in childhood led to improved outcome in adulthood, current research has not supported this perception. In fact, the research suggests that relieving the symptoms of ADHD may not necessarily contribute to increasing the likelihood of positive outcome in the adult years.

A similar conclusion was reached in a 2001 evaluation of sixty-two different studies on Ritalin completed in the United States. As mentioned earlier in this book, the study, published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association and titled “Long-term Effectiveness of Ritalin Questioned,” found that in American studies, “the quality of the research was poor” and “a publication bias may have suppressed studies questioning the drug’s effectiveness.”18

Goldstein suggests this solution: “By making tasks interesting and payoffs valuable, we have discovered that children with ADHD function dramatically better.” Pointing out the benefits of high-stimulation school environments, he suggests a critical component of “treatment” for children is to help them develop resilience. “Children with such a mindset are empathic. They communicate effectively. They learn to problem solve, develop a social conscience and, most importantly, are self-disciplined.” Thus, Goldstein concludes, we “may assist children with ADHD in developing the internal skills necessary to function more effectively in future life.”

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