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Talking Back to Ritalin
What Doctors Aren't Telling You About Stimulants and ADHD
Revised Edition
by Peter R. Breggin, M.D.
Perseus Publishing
$16.50/softcover
448 pages
Millions of children are prescribed the stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and Metadate for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the hope of controlling behaviors described as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. The pharmaceutical industry, working with the government and organized psychiatry, claim that these drugs are a safe “treatment” for ADHD. School systems and courts have pressured and even forced parents to give stimulant drugs to their children. But hidden behind the well-oiled public relations machine is a potentially devastating reality. These amphetamines and amphetamine-like drugs can work only by suppressing the child’s natural spontaneity and they can cause innumerable harmful effects.
The original publication of Talking Back to Ritalin helped to raise public awareness about the escalating use of stimulant drugs to control the behavior of children. It was a source book for parents, professionals, media representatives and attorneys who became involved in the growing controversy.
Updated with new scientific information and the latest breaking events in the field, this revised edition of Talking Back to Ritalin provides facts and translates the research findings for parents and doctors alike. As Dr. Peter Breggin explains: “Knowing that a child fits into the diagnosis called ADHD gives us very little useful information about the child’s inner life and about the child’s home and school life…To recognize each child’s needs and to respond to them requires time, effort, patience, wisdom and love.” What’s needed, Breggin asserts, is not a drug but a careful and informed evaluation of each individual child’s needs. An advocate for education, not medication, Dr. Breggin empowers parents to channel distracted, disenchanted and energetic children into powerful and confident members of the family and society.
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