THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Monday, April 1, 1996                  TAG: 9603300005
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   42 lines

USED CAREFULLY, RITALIN HELPS MANY

Dr. Abbot Lee Granoff (``Consult medical doctor about ADHD,'' letter, March 23) says that when a pediatrician or family doctor joins with a licensed counselor to decide if a child has attention-deficit disorder and to decide on medication, it is like the ``partially blind leading the partially blind.'' He feels that a psychiatrist is the only person capable of handling this type of problem.

Pediatricians and family doctors are much more capable than psychiatrists to make a complete evaluation of a child from physical and emotional aspects, because it is something they do every day. They get help from licensed counselors and/or psychologists in evaluating for intelligence, cognitive capacity, learning disability and, most important, evaluating the family unit as a whole. Certainly there is a place for psychiatric evaluation in cases of major bizarre behavior. However, for a child in the first few grades of school who is not learning because of ADD, a learning disorder or anxiety (or a combination of these), the way to go is through a pediatrician or family doctor plus a licensed counselor (either private or with the school).

I have prescribed Ritalin carefully for 40 years. In the first few grades of school, about one child in 20 will have problems with attention and will respond so beautifully to the drug that parents and teachers are thrilled and the child's self-esteem is improved. If there is no response to the drug within a reasonable length of time, the drug is stopped. No child should receive any chemical substance which is not absolutely necessary.

It is a tragedy that Ritalin use has become a major drug problem. I hope its availability can be curbed. But for that occasional little boy or girl who can't focus on his or her work in the first few grades of school and can't seem to learn, it can produce unbelievable results.

HARRY D. COX, M.D.

Portsmouth, March 24, 1996 by CNB