Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Reply
- Daniel J. Safer, MD;
- John M. Krager, MD, MPH
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
In Reply. —What follows is a sequential, point-by-point response to concerns about the "subtextual implications" of our study raised by Drs Vatz and Weinberg.
The anti-Ritalin campaign of 1987 through 1989 was fueled primarily by the Church of Scientology.1,2 Dr Barkley3 reported that Church of Scientology "propaganda" claimed that "Ritalin was a dangerous and addictive drug often used as a chemical straitjacket to subdue normally exuberant children because of intolerant educators, parents, and money hungry psychiatrists." Dr Barkley, a child psychologist and behaviorist, concluded that these media statements against Ritalin were "dramatic, exaggerated, and unfounded."3 Bass, a science reporter for the Boston Globe, referring also to the media blitz, noted in 1988 that "in newspapers, television, and radio accounts, Ritalin is often depicted as a dangerous drug being forced on millions of innocent children."2
Most drug-sensitive hyperactive children did not do well when taken off stimulant
