No More Ritalin

Ever year in the U.S., over two million children are given the drug Ritalin to combat Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Now, Dr. Mary Ann Block shows why Ritalin may be very dangerous to a child's health--and offers parents safer and more effective alternatives. Using thorough research and actual case histories from her clinic, Dr. Block provides powerful evidence that a drug-free approach works.

In a book as provocative and newsworthy as Listening to Prozac and Driven to Distraction, a physician speaks out on America's epidemic level of diagnoses for attention deficit disorder, and on the drug that has become almost a symbol of our times: Ritalin. In 1997 alone, nearly five million people in the United States were prescribed Ritalin--most of them young children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Use of this drug, which is a stimulant related to amphetamine, has increased by 700 percent since 1990. And this phenomenon appears to be uniquely American: 90 percent of the world's Ritalin is used here. Is this a cause for alarm--or simply the case of an effective treatment meeting a newly discovered need? Important medical advance--or drug of abuse, as some critics claim? Lawrence Diller has written the definitive book about this crucial debate--evenhanded, wide-ranging, and intimate in its knowledge of families, schools, and the pressures of our speeded-up society. As a pediatrician and family therapist, he has evaluated hundreds of children, adolescents, and adults for ADD, and he offers crucial information and treatment options for anyone struggling with this problem. Running on Ritalin also throws a spotlight on some of our most fundamental values and goals. What does Ritalin say about the old conundrums of nature vs. nurture, free will vs. responsibility? Is ADD a disability that entitles us to special treatment? If our best is not good enough, can we find motivation and success in a pill? Is there still a place for childhood in the performance-driven America of the late nineties?

The author of the groundbreaking book "No More Ritalin" reveals the truth about the ADHD diagnosis and helps parents identify and improve their childs true health and learning problems.

Safe and effective holistic treatments proven successful for more than 3,000 patients We spent $373 million on Ritalin and its generic counterparts in 1996; today, some 4 million children are taking the drug daily. Is it any wonder that parents are searching for safe, nontoxic, drug-free alternatives? In Without Ritalin, Dr. Samuel Berne explains the approach with which he has successfully treated more than 3,000 ADD/ADHD-diagnosed patients, including information on detoxification, nutrition, and developmental learning programs and activities.

After observing medical success using biofeedback training to treat epilepsy and other health/behavioural conditions, Doctors Castro and Hill began using neurofeedback (a sophisticated form of brainwave biofeedback) to treat patients diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The results were astonishing. Their book argues that the benefits of neurofeedback training far outweigh those of the symptom-attacking drugs such as ritalin that do not cure ADD.

In this groundbreaking and controversial book, behavioral neurologist Dr. Richard Saul draws on five decades of experience treating thousands of patients labeled with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder—one of the fastest growing and widely diagnosed conditions today—to argue that ADHD is actually a cluster of symptoms stemming from over 20 other conditions and disorders. According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 6.4 million children between the ages of four and seventeen have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. While many skeptics believe that ADHD is a fabrication of drug companies and the medical establishment, the symptoms of attention-deficit and hyperactivity are all too real for millions of individuals who often cannot function without treatment. If ADHD does not exist, then what is causing these debilitating symptoms? Over the course of half a century, physician Richard Saul has worked with thousands of patients demonstrating symptoms of ADHD. Based on his experience, he offers a shocking conclusion: ADHD is not a condition on its own, but rather a symptom complex caused by over twenty separate conditions—from poor eyesight and giftedness to bipolar disorder and depression—each requiring its own specific treatment. Drawing on in-depth scientific research and real-life stories from his numerous patients, ADHD Does not Exist synthesizes Dr. Saul's findings, and offers and clear advice for everyone seeking answers.

Dr. Stein has revised and expanded his original Caregiver's Skill Program into a full-scale workbook, with step-by-step guidelines, checklists, exercises, and resources for parents and teachers.