Customer Reviews

No More Ritalin: Treating Adhd Without Drugs

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book surprised me with how much good information was put in such a small package. It presents extensive why ritalin and similar medications are over-prescribed and several important health issues (like food sensitivities, hypoglycemia) that may cause ADD-like symtoms. It also lists commonly prescribed meds, explains what they are, and potential side effects. Plus, the book is well researched, with specific reference notes documenting its statements.

I think that any parent even considering placing a child on medications should take the time to read this very small book, FIRST. Any one in a position to advise parents about this issue, such as teachers or counselors, will find this to be a useful and quick reference to keep on hand.

I had both of my sons on ritalin, but after I read this book I took my kids off the drug. Everyone should know there are alternatives to drug therapy. I am now activily trying to find allergens that can be causing my sons to display add symptoms. I have found that sugar in one of my sons causes his writing and thought pattern to worsen. It is a wonderful book.

If your child's doctor has diagnosed him/her with ADD/ADHD then this book is for you. Dr. Block gives excellent alternatives to the causes of the symptoms that doctors are "diagnosing" as ADD/ADHD. I feel better equipped to find the causes for my son's symptoms rather than putting him on Ritalin as a quick fix. I highly recommend this book to frustated parents everywhere.

This book is a must read to all parents before putting their kids on ritalin. It gave me so many more options other than drugs. We talked to doctors and tried some of the options and it's working without ritalin. Thanks for the info.

Dr. Mary Ann Block has an ax to grind about tradition medicine and especially medication for ADHD. For the first 55 of 127 pages, she grinds this ax ad nauseam. She gives us quarter and, at best, half truths about side-effects, research studies and the sincereity of physicians, psychologists and educators. She is simply singing to the anti-ADHD and anti-medication choir, who, I'm sure, find it an operatic masterpiece.

Finally she gets down to some excellent points and procedures that we all should look at when dealing with ADHD: Hypoglycemia, allergies, asthma, and learning disabilities. She gives some good checklists, especially for hypoglycemia. These things need to be ruled out before going straight to the medicine cabinet. However, she could have brought out these points in a much more positive manner than her needless diatribe.

I enjoyed reading this book and it helped me learn about osteopathy. At times i felt I was reading an info-mercial for osteopathy. The book also gave several other possibilites for having ADHD symptoms. It is very compelling though not super detailed. I would recommend this book to EVERY parent of a child diagnosed with ADHD. I would also highly recommend reading another book that would provide the other side of the argument

My daughter has ADHD and I am totaly against prescribing drugs to anyone, but even more so to young children. Dr. Block's book is a masterpiece and an important tool for ALL parents, even if their child does not have ADHD. Reading it restored my faith that there are doctors out there who care about more than making money. Her extensive research and life's work should serve as an inspiration to us all. She explains everything in very simple terms, that everyone can understand, and then backs it up with an impresive bibliography. Her beleif that we need to desolve the roots of the problem and cure our children, is something that most doctors have seemed to have forgoten. They would rather use drugs to treat only the symptoms, and then prescribe more drugs to treat the side-effects from the first drug. It is about time that someone stands up for our health. I sincerely feel that every doctor should read this book and have copies of it in their waiting room.

James Hardie, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
James@bookfiles.com

In her book, No More Ritalin, Dr. Mary Ann Block provides a compelling look at the level that the medical profession has stooped-to treat the symptom, because it is so easy to use a drug, rather than to look for the cause of the problem. The use of Ritalin to treat the disorder, known as ADHD is called into question. In fact the very concept of ADHD is questioned, and for this reader, the question, is how can we go on treating symptoms rather than the root causes of our problems. Perhaps that is the problem that we face in the United States today-perpetually looking at symptoms versus causes. In taking a fresh look at the education process Dr. Block points out the problem that educators are trying to solve, "How do we get all of the children to fit the same mold, and learn in the same way." When challenged by a youngster, either because their learning style is different, or from nutritional or environmental factors, we jump to the ADHD label, and with the help or acquiescence of the medical community, chemically help the kids to be more submissive, though no more educated. Dr. Block discusses such factors as sugar's impact on behavior. The hypoglycemic/ adrenaline cycle, which can lead to disruptive behavior. Yet we still insist on filling out children with highly sugared cereals that starts that cycle each morning. She also examines and provides convincing evidence of the impacts of food allergies, which can and do disrupt the cognitive ability of children in learning activities. The identification of root causes and the remedies are discussed, but not how to find a physician who will look beyond the symptom and develop a holistic approach to the treatment of each child. The Ritalin excuse is still easy to use. This book is on my Must Read list for any parent who cares enough to want to really help his or her child to learn and develop without the stigma of the ADHD label, and with the God-given abilities with which each child is endowed.

I found this book very helpful. I already was seeing a correlation between possible food sensitivities and my daughter's behavior. Dr. Block's book cemented what I had already suspected and gave me some further "food for thought". I did not find her first pages, recounting her horror story with doctors, irrelevent. As one who has also been mistreated by doctors, I understand! Plus, it gives you an idea of "who is this lady, and if she's a doctor, how is she any different?" She shows how her own experience led her to medical school to help her daughter, and now other children. Her ending words are that every parent shouldn't have to go to medical school to help his/her child!

I appreciate all she shared and wished I lived closer to take my daughter to her center! But I feel she gives enough help to start you on the trail to help yourself and your child. What she shares, I don't believe, are half-truths or distorted---anyone who is considering Ritalin should read this FIRST, and those whose precious children are on it should read it as well. There IS hope! If you have doubts, ask yourself why many (if not all) ADHD diagnoses are made with NO medical examination at all? Why no consideration for learning styles? It's time for parents to take control of their children and not just hand them over (or be coerced!) to be drugged into compliance. I am already seeing improvements in my daughter, even though I've just started making changes!

Great book and easy to read!

I see many ridiculous comments here, such as: "ADD never existed until 1980. Now where had it been hiding for all those thousands of years?" There are many diseases and disorders that are not discovered and/or defined for millenia. There are also diseases/disorders that pop up for what seems to be no reason at all. AIDs wasn't heard of before the 1970s, do you doubt its existence? Of course not, because it is something tangible that you can have a concrete test for. Just because ADD/ADHD has to do with the brain, and brain chemicals does not mean that it does not exist. It is not as easy to explain and it is not as clear cut a diagnosis as many diseases, but it is nonetheless a disease.

Also, I have seen many people who say their child/children have ADD/ADHD, yet I have seen no one here who has ADD/ADHD themself. I do have ADD/ADHD. Ritalin and other medication I have taken for my ADD/ADHD has changed my life. I would not be in the same place I am now if it were not for these medications and the help of a psychiatrist. I realize medication is not for everyone, but it has a very positive, sometimes life-changing effect on others. If you have never experience ADD/ADHD or another brain chemical disorder, you are really in no place to comment on whether other people should be taking medication or not. This decision is up to every individual and every family, there is no perfect answer that fits everyone. Not Ritalin, not therapy, not anything in "No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without Drugs."