THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603230025
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
The March 7 article on Ritalin and the March 17 letter to the editor regarding the use and abuse of Ritalin both miss the point.
Ritalin, Dexedrine and Cylert, all stimulants, are very useful and lifesaving medications for children and adults who are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (AD/HD). They will rebalance brain chemistry to normal and allow those afflicted to live normal lives.
However, these medications are very overprescribed, leading to their misuse and abuse. It is often the parent, teacher, school counselor, licensed counselor, social worker or psychologist who makes the diagnosis. In only a minority of cases is a psychiatrist consulted.
A psychiatrist is the only medical doctor in the mental-health field. A social worker plus a pediatrician or family doctor is a case of the partially blind leading the partially blind. This is an accident waiting to happen, and often does, as in the case of the overuse and misuse of Ritalin.
The diagnosis and treatment of mental illness should be left to those who have proper training for it.
Many things can masquerade as AD/HD. The DSM-IV, a psychiatric text written by M.D.s for M.D.s, states that depression, anxiety, substance abuse, medical and many other conditions must be ruled out before a diagnosis of AD/HD is made.
The public must become more-educated consumers in this era of deregulation. It would be helpful for your newspaper to be accurate in its reporting so that misinformation and myths about mental illness and those who treat it are not perpetuated.
ABBOT LEE GRANOFF, M.D.
Virginia Beach, March 20, 1996 by CNB