Bureau Recommends: Is Ritalin just a ‘quick fix’ for troublesome children?
A special investigation by Sue Reid of the Daily Mail looks at the rise in prescriptions of Ritalin to children in the UK, and the possible effects on the young.
The drug, categorized as a class B, is prescribed to 661,000 children in the UK each year for the behavioural condition Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The article examines the case of 10 year old Harry Hucknall who hanged himself in his bedroom after being prescribed two ‘mind-altering drugs’ – Ritalin and Prozac- by his psychiatrist to cure his boisterous behaviour and low spirits.
The piece quotes doctors who claim children as young as 15 months are being given the ‘medicine’ despite little being known about its affect on young, developing brains.
It also questions whether monetary benefits could encourage parents to go along with doctor’s diagnoses, with each affected child getting up to £600 a month in disability benefit.
