From: Rick Smith <smith@sctc.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 11:44:15 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
Message-ID: <199607082232.RAA19604@shade.sctc.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Tim writes about Ritalin:

>I've been over visiting my friend to see some of this. The Ritalin-sodden
>kid arrives like a zombie. When the Ritalin wears off, he's rambunctuous,
>but all kids are. My friend Paul has had to discipline him a bit to keep
>him from--as the psychobabbles would say--"acting out." This discipline
>sets him straight, but it's not something his New Age "supermom" would ever
>think of doing. Hence the kid throws temper tantrums, acts out, calls her
>"You fucking asshole" (remember, he's only 8 or so), and so on. So she
>cranks up his dose of Ritalin and he's zoned out for a while. Frankly, I
>think telling the kid that if throws a tantrum he'll get punished for it is
>a whole lot more normal--ever notice that a dog smacks her puppies when
>they get out of line, or that a cat swats her kittens the same way? It
>establishes the rules of the game.

It sounds to me like the mom is abusing the drug -- Ritalin is tricky
stuff and you can really mess up a kid by overdosing.  That's child
abuse, IMHO, not some benigh paddling.

Alex, our 8 year old son, uses Ritalin. He doesn't need Ritalin to
concentrate. He can get caught up in a building project for hours and
create a masterpiece. He can focus so thoroughly you can't pry him
loose.

What Alex *can't* do is get comfortably through a day of grammar
school. I sympathise -- I was the same way when I was that age. I had
a tough time and I saw Alex having problems similar to mine.  So I
sic'ed the educational establishment on the problem. Alex ended up
with a Ritalin prescription. At least for now. And it's been pretty
effective. With Ritalin he finds it much easier to concentrate on
drivel, an important skill to make it through school, or sports.

The problem is that Ritalin isn't some useful, generically wholesome
substance like milk or peanut butter -- you risk more than "acting
out" if you're not incredibly careful. Sleep disorders at least.  But
I don't like the downside of doing nothing, so we're trying it out.

I've *never* seen Alex zoned out on Ritalin.

Rick.