Three states have barred teachers and other school staffers from recommending that a student be put on Ritalin or any other psychoactive drug – and New York may be joining them.
State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) – concerned about the growing use of Ritalin to control hyperactive, disruptive and distracted students at the behest of educators – proposed such a bill last year and hopes to get it passed in the next legislative session.
“Under my legislation, schools will not be able to scare parents into administering pyschotropic drugs to their children,” Ortiz told The Post.
“There are times when a behavioral problem is simply just that, and not a medical one,” he noted, adding, “Today’s society tends to turn to medical miracle pills all too quickly before examining other areas.”
The bills – similar to laws in Connecticut, Texas and Virginia – were proposed at the urging of parent activists who believe that teachers, guidance counselors and other school staffers often push Ritalin to solve their classroom problems.
Lenny Winkler, a Connecticut state representative who trained as a nurse, explained her support for her state’s unanimously-passed bill in an interview last year:
“If a child is appropriately diagnosed with ADHD [Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], the child would definitely benefit from medication, and I’m not opposed to that at all.
“But I am opposed to somebody making the recommendation to a parent [that] their child needs this drug and the physician sits down and writes [a prescription] without doing the necessary work on the child.”
Those who oppose the legislation contend that it’s negligent for an educator to refrain from helping a child who has a biologically based disease that could, if left untreated, lead to failure, accidents, and other problems.
RITALIN: THE FACTS
GENERIC NAME: Methylphenidate
OTHER BRAND NAMES: Concerta, Metadate CD and Adderall.
CATEGORY: Central-nervous-system stimulant; similar to but more potent than caffeine, but less potent than amphetamines.
USE: Taken by an estimated 1 million school-age children nationwide, predominantly boys, to treat abnormal hyperactivity and “focus” those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the nation’s most common behavioral affliction.
WARNINGS: Should not be given to children under 6.
SIDE EFFECTS: Can cause heightened anxiety, tension, agitation, weight loss, insomnia, tics, increased heart rate and blood pressure, stomachaches and headaches.
ABUSE: Drug is widely abused by people for whom it hasn’t been prescribed. They take it orally or snort it for cocaine-like highs, appetite suppression, wakefulness and increased focus.