If a parent forced a child to take alcohol, a depressant, in the mistaken belief that he was curing a chemical imbalance in the child’s brain, we would not hesitate to have the child removed from home Yet millions of children are forced to take mind-altering drugs in the equally mistaken belief that depression and other mental illnesses are biologically caused, for which there is not a shred to scientific evidence. (Keither Hoeller, editor in chief, in Review of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry, 1997)
Students who take their medication do become more tractable, completing more repetitive work, such as worksheets with fill-in answers and drills n math problems. In most studies conducted thus far, however, drugs per-se do not make them score better on tests of academic achievement or of higher-level thinking and problem-solving. Some studies have even shown that the level of dosage needed to make teachers approve a child’s behavour is so high that it actually dulls reasoning ability. These findings raise questions, not only about the type of “work” dominating many classrooms, bu also about the real source of the problem. ( Jane M. Healy: Endangered Minds 1991)