#rilatin

Feel free to add if I missed some, I just listed up some quick things I could think of right now cause it might help people!

Inspired by Ken Robinson’s speech (topic: education), I dedicate this topic to a true epidemic: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A disorder that seems to have expanded dramatically over the past 10 years. I don’t want to debate whether or not it is a fictitious disease. I am not qualified to do that. I would however like to take this opportunity to summarize what I do know. ADHD is not a medical condition. There is no X-ray, blood test or brain scan to justify the diagnosis of AHDH. ADHD is a neurodevelopment disorder and not a medical or a psychological disorder. The label ADHD was invented by a small committee of health “experts“ from the Big Pharma-backed psychiatric industry, who promote anti-psychotic drugs like Ritalin. These drugs are supposed to reduce ADHD symptoms in order to “normalize” the child’s behavior. Ritalin is an amphetamine, a powerful and mind-altering drug. Selling amphetamine to children is a crime, but giving amphetamine to children with a prescription is called “treatment“. The side effects of ADHD drugs are numerous and may even be irreversible. They can trigger autoimmune disorders, heart conditions or stomach problems, raise blood pressure, cause insomnia, and the list goes on like that.  Considering all the uncertainties about ADHD, there is one thing we do know for sure: powerful profit-grabbing drug companies are benefitting from these practices of drugging children. The rate at which children are diagnosed with ADHD, as well as the existence of the disorder itself, have caused a great deal of controversy. Many critics argue that doctors are too quick to label children with ADHD, while parents are too eager to allow drug treatment on their children because it seems to make the symptoms of ADHD disappear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against labeling children with ADHD if it allows them to get the treatment they may need. But I strongly believe that we must rethink how to treat children whose behaviour has a negative effect on their daily life. The slightest deviation from so-called normal behaviour does not ask for a drug treatment. We try to fix the neurodevelopmental disorder of children by giving them drugs instead of looking at the environment in which they don’t seem to function like (average?) children do.  Are we even looking at all the possible causes of certain behaviour? And is this behaviour really deviant? Has it even occurred to anyone to check the diets of these kids? Could it be possible that our fixation on the standardization of our education system is narrow and unnatural? Are we drugging a large population of our children in order to comply with the narrow view of success? I would like to hear from you! Vero Romero Reina