N.Y. court orders use of medicine

By Karen Thomas, USA TODAY

Some public schools are accusing parents of child

abuse when they balk at giving their kids drugs

such as Ritalin, and as judges begin to agree, some

parents are medicating their children for fear of having them hauled away.

It's an emerging twist in the growing debate about diagnosing and medicating

children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit and

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An Albany, N.Y., couple put their

7-year-old son back on Ritalin after a family court ruled that they must

continue medicating him for ADD.

Child protective services visited another New York couple to check out

anonymous allegations of "medical neglect" after they took their son off

Ritalin and other drugs because of side effects, the couple said.

"This is relatively new, but it's happening," says Maryland psychiatrist Peter

Breggin, who is aware of similar cases in Boston. Often, he says, divorced

parents disagree on medicating kids, and judges recently have ruled in favor

of the parent who wants to medicate. The Albany case is the first pitting

educators against parents that progressed to a judge's ruling.

"This is going to be happening more and more," says psychologist Peter

Jensen, who is on the board of Children and Adults With Attention Deficit

Disorder, a parents group that advocates combining drug and behavior

treatments.

As many as 3.8 million schoolchildren are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD,

according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

At least 2 million take Ritalin, a stimulant, for symptoms such as

inattentiveness, impulsivity and sometimes hyperactivity.

Many others are treated with different drugs.

Research shows that medication improves the abilities of ADHD children.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that this is a powerful treatment that can be

lifesaving for some children," Jensen says. "The risk for severe ADHD going

untreated is not trivial."

But should parents be forced to put their children on drugs?