Tuesday, May 06, 2003

Psychiatric Treatment of Schoolchildren The Education Reform Subcommittee will hold a hearing today on The Use of Medication in our Nation's Schools and HR1170, the Child Medication Safety Act of 2003. Speaking at that hearing will be Utah Rep. Katherine Bryson. Bryson has been interested in limiting the psychiatric treatment of children. In the 2003 Utah Legislative session, she introduced a bill (passed by the House) which would, among other things, make it a felony to give psychiatric treatment, nonvocational mental health counseling, case-finding testing, psychoanalysis, drugs, electroconvulsive treatment, lobotomy, or surgery to any individual for the purpose of changing his concept of, belief about, or faith in God. The bill would also have prohibited anyone from giving electroconvulsive treatment to a person without the written consen fo the person... US House Bill 1107 would prohibit school children from being required to obtain a prescription for a controlled substance as a condition of attending school or receiving services. Also speaking at the hearing will be William Carey, MD, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Carey opposes the widespread prevalance of ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder) diagnoses and the consequent prescriptions for Ritalin (methylphenidate). The concern about altering someone's religious faith may be based upon the belief of some that psychiatrists see religion as a form of mental disorder. One organization making that claim is the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights, an anti-psychiatry arm of Scientology. Dr. Peter Breggin and his International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology is a highly visible opponent of ADHD diagnoses, as well as other psychiatric techniques. ADHD diagnoses and the prescription of Ritalin is generally supported by reports from the National Institute of Health. (See, for example, http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/sept98/nida-29.htm. [HR1107] [Utah HB109S] [Psychiatry and Religion (CCHR)] [ICSPP] [Criteria for ADHD diagnoses - DMS-IV] 10:21:05 AM