ADHD: A profitable diagnosis

More than 1,500 parents, children and educators wearing black and white T-shirts reading, "Psychiatry: Trolling for Patients in a School Near You," protested recently against the increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with "mental disorders" such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which they say has become a "profit-making industry" at the expense of our schools.

The march was organized by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) and joined by members of the National Association of Evangelists and Citizens for Excellence in Education, as well as health care providers, including leading alternative health doctor, Julian Whitaker, M.D. and pediatric neurologist, Dr. Fred Baughman Jr.

With the number of children labeled ADHD having risen alarmingly to 4.4 million, protesters blamed the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for creating one of the most lucrative psychiatric inventions to date, pointing out that ADHD was literally voted into existence by a show of psychiatrists' hands.

It was then placed in the APA's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM)" as a billing code for psychiatrists and today represents an annual $670 million market in the mental health industry.

Dr. Baughman stated: "Twenty five years of research has failed to validate ADHD as a disease, or as anything wrong within the child. ADHD has no biologic/organic or scientific validity whatsoever, it is a total fraud."

Bruce Wiseman, the national president of CCHR, said schools have been turned into a conduit for psychiatrists to label a child with ADHD. "Psychiatrists are trolling for patients in a school near you. Child marketing practices and prospecting feeder-lines have been quietly but thoroughly woven into the fabric of today's education system by psychiatrists and psychologists. In some schools, teachers have been told to conduct questionnaires on children based on the APA's DSM and to refer the answers through to local psychiatric clinics."

Roman and Patricia Weathers, parents who joined the protest, couldn't agree more.

Their son, Michael, was referred through his school to a school psychologist and later psychiatrist because his "learning development" was considered abnormal and required "medication." Mr. Weathers explained: "Within six months, Michael, normally a playful child, was withdrawn and not socializing with the other children. He was then diagnosed with 'social anxiety disorder' and prescribed an antidepressant. He began having wild mood swings and was arguing irrationally. When we wanted to take Michael off the drugs, we were told that he could be dismissed from school."

The parents were also threatened with a charge of medical neglect. The Weathers had Michael tested by a general practitioner who discovered undiagnosed food allergies which were manifesting as irrational behavior. Since being properly treated, he is now interested in sports, communicates well, has a good attention span, is eating and sleeping well and has blossomed.

Protesters blame the prevalence of school violence, the "dumbing down" of students and the lack of values among many youths on psychiatric and psychological interference in our schools.

Wiseman summarized: "Dismantle a tradition of educational accomplishment by introducing a value-neutral system along with a heavy emphasis on diagnosing student problems and behavior as a 'mental disorder,' accompanied by potentially violence-inducing psychiatric drugs, and we have a powder keg waiting for a spark.

He continued: "We cannot as a nation, as legislators, teachers or as parents, continue to play a game of Russian Roulette with our children's lives. Schools must not be a conduit for psychiatrists and others to push their assessments, 'disorders' and treatments which are wreaking so much havoc on the minds of our youth."

SOURCE: "Protesters Claim Psychiatry Targets Children for Profit," Citizens Commission on Human Rights, May 26, 2000.