Ritalin poses child crime risk
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Ritalin poses child crime risk*
The Daily Telegraph
By Kate Sikora
July 26, 2007 12:00am
CHILDREN who use Ritalin for a long period of time could be more at risk
of delinquency and substance abuse, a study has found.
Doctors are suggesting children with attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) should take a break from medication after three years of
use.
An American study - published in the Medical Observer _ has found that
while drugs such as Ritalin can initially help sufferers, the benefit of
prolonged use is in doubt.
Some children stay on medication until they reach 18, but researchers
believe it may not protect them from all the symptoms.
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The US Multimodal Treatment Study of Children revealed the more days of
prescribed medication, the more serious delinquency became.
In a cohort of 500 children with ADHD - followed for 36 months until
they were 12 - researchers found 27 per cent were at a greater risk of
committing crime, compared with 7 per cent among "normative" children.
Substance use also increased to 17 per cent in ADHD children - almost
double the normal rate.
More than 30,000 children in Australia take Ritalin or a similar drug.
Jill Sewell, Associate Professor of the Royal Australian College of
Physicians, said evidence suggested a break from medication was beneficial.
"Evidence shows that there is very clear benefit of taking medication
for 12-18 months, but after three years it is not so clear," she said.
"Often in medications you do have to stop for a period of time to see if
it is still effective."
Belrose mother Leanne Komaromi said she took her son Dominic off Ritalin
after four months.
"It made him a completely different person - it shut him down," she said.
"It was like someone had drawn the blinds on him."
The nine-year-old now uses the Dore program, which relies on exercise to
treat symptoms.