Ritalin Absolves Parental and Teacher Responsibility


The application of Ritalin  to hyperactive children is leading to a situation in which social problems are increasingly defined as medical ones…There is a tendency not to look for the solutions to complex social problems in the behavior of individuals in the surrounding environment. Thus the unruly child at school and at home is perceived as in need of medical attention. Peer groups, parents, teachers, and administrators thereby avoid responsibility for aberrant behavior and its ultimate correction. (T. Alexander Smith and “Robert F. Kronick, International Journal of Addictions , 1979)

Even “good” psycho-pharmacology decreases the need to scrutinize the child’s social environment and may permit a poor situation to continue or grow worse. Should dysfunctional family patterns and overcrowded classrooms be tolerated just because Ritalin improves the child’s behavior? Should society use a biological fix to address problems that have roots in social and environmental  factors? If it consistently does, how might society be affected? The rise in the use of stimulants is alarming and signals an urgent need for American society to reevaluate its priorities. (Lawrence H. Diller, pediatrician, The Run on Ritalin: Attention Deficit Disorder and Stimulant Treatment in the 1990’s, Hastings Center Report, 1996)