Customer Reviews

101 Reasons to Avoid Ritalin Like the Plague

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101 Reasons to Avoid Ritalin... is the best book out there on Ritalin (and other drugs prescribed to change kids' behavior). The book is very, very accessible, while at the same time presenting the results of lots and lots of research on the side effects and social effects of putting your child on drugs. Other books on Ritalin are either too dense with statistics and so are hard to read through, or they come across like a one-sided rant and don't have much actual information.
This book explains why doctors, teachers and other child care professionals DON'T KNOW the many damaging effects of Ritalin (etc.) It is hard to believe, but absolutely true that doctors prescribe these drugs without knowing their side effects.
We took our son into a doctor for "Restless Leg Syndrome" and the doctor wrote us a prescription for Paxil. Before getting the prescription filled, we looked up Paxil online. The doctor didn't tell us any of the many, many side effects, or that Paxil is banned for use with kids in lots of counties. YIKES! We tossed out the prescription and did things to work with our son's behavior (he's better now).
101 reasons to avoid Ritalin... also directs you to web sites, research and other books on Ritalin, so you can find out more detailed information. If you are wrestling with the decision to give your child Ritalin you must read this book!

I am a professional, a therapist and consultant who works with children and their families. I am faced daily with the mother, father who agonizes over what to do when school appears to be pushing for a medication intervention, some doctors are offering one form of medication or another, and they feel if they do not go along - they are dooming their child to academic failure and social isolation. I believe that this book offers information that is not otherwise widely available to parents, who ultimately make the decisons. I feel that after reading this book, parents are in a much more empowered position to make an informed decision and are aware that enviromental factors (including the parents, teachers, school programs) hold many of the answers to working with intense children.

Interestingly enough, I dont have ADHD or have a family member who does but do enjoy reading books about pertinent health topics. This book is chock full of information on the topic. I do however feel that some of the reasons were a little too repetitive and that this book could have been shortened. The last part of the book where the author himself experiments with taking ritalin is very interesting and in fact I think they should have started the book off with that experiment rather then ending with it. I like that the author doesnt just complain about the medication given to intense children but rather has a non medical solution that he feels works supported with evidence of school districts that tried the approach with successful results.

Overall the book is good and informative but drags on a little. Since I am not personally invested in ADHD its probably not as enthralling to me as it would be to a parent of a child with the disorder. If you are personally invested in this disorder I highly recommend reading the book.

I'm glad that there are doctors out there who recognize how dangerous Ritalin is. I was a happy kid with a loving family and a lot of energy. I was given Ritalin at the age of 6 (now 25). I developed OCD symptoms right away (which of course they dismissed as another disorder), and over time it gave me major depression (if you overstimulate the dopamine system with a chemical for a long period of time that's what will happen). I have recently learned that Ritalin uses the same mechanism as cocaine. They may not be the same drug but they act on the brain in the same way so the impact of long-term use will be similar. I started getting some feelings of depression in 4th grade (after 3 years on the drug) and by the time I was 15 I was so depressed that I didn't want to get out of bed, and unfortunately I've tried a ton of SSRI's and none of them work on me because it's my dopamine system that has been screwed up by Ritalin. I can't even work now because of the depression so it doesn't really matter whether I did well in school or not. The bottom line is, even if ADD / ADHD is real, do you want your kid to have ADD / ADHD, OCD, and depression, or just ADD / ADHD. In the end this drug creates more problems than it solves. Please look for alternatives to prescription stimulants for your child.

Oh, and if you don't believe me that Ritalin causes depression, take a look at the research that was done on rats at Harvard's McLean Hospital. It also causes brain atrophy. Information on that study below...

Nasrallah, H., J. Loney,S. Olson, M. Mccalley-whitters, J. Kramer,C. Jacoby. 1986.
Cortical atrophy in young adults with a history of hyperactivity in childhood. Psychiatry
Research. 17: 241-246

Some things in this book are true. Parents of ADHD kids are not told all of the potential risks of medication. If your child has an underlying mental health condition, ADHD meds can make your child worse. Some doctors do not use detailed screening questionnaires and the correct follow up procedures to eliminate these conditions. Sometimes teachers and school personnel push you to give your child AD/HD meds because they are unwilling to do the harder work of accommodating your child's learning style or using behavior training methods.

I was sad to see all the myths associated with ADHD meds in this book. Using ADHD meds will not teach your child that there is something wrong with their brains. They already know they are different. Children who take ADHD meds are less likely to self medicate with illegal drugs or alcohol. Parents do not give their children ADHD meds to make their lives easier, but to hopefully improve the lives of their children. I have seen many children on ADHD meds blossom and learn neccessary life skills. Any responsible parent knows successful ADHD management with or without meds must include behavior management and skills training/counseling/coaching.

The author frequently refers to his book: The Difficult Child and his training methods: Nurtured Heart Approach/Transforming The Difficult Child. While reading this book, I felt the author was trying to sell me on his methodology rather than to present an honest picture of ADHD meds. I would not recommend this book to parents who are looking for answers to help their struggling children.

This is a must read book for any parent who has a child that is either on medications or contemplating putting their child on medications for behavior issues. This book will challenge your thoughts and beliefs about all areas of medication intervention for children. Very informative. Healthcare providers should read this as well.

This book is excellent. the author has done a great job pulling together so much valuable information. I must disagree with one of the other reviewers, and recommend this book to any parent who wants answers regarding ADHD.

So, as an adult with ADHD Innattenive type, I find some of the information in this book useful, but as a mental health professional, I find the alarmist tone of the book appauling. There is an undertone of judgement aimed at parents who choose the medical option to treating their children. That somehow I am bad, evil and a poor parent. That's not really helpful.

As a parent of a child with ADHD Innattentive type, I choose medication along with counseling, diet modification and working with the benefits of ADHD to help my child manage her symptoms. She is a TAG student and remarkably sharp.

Yes, there are risks with any medication, even pain relievers. A certain number of people have adverse reactions to nearly any substance we put into our bodies. It is even more distressing when while attempting to help our children, sometimes the end result is disasterous.

To profit from fear mongering is reprehensible. This book borders on that. To present an evenhanded informational book, however, does not sell well.

I am completely blown away by the truth and information in this book. I had no idea the impact that ritalin was having on our children. This book gives a clear understanding of the problem and offers a solution!! It has inspired me to really believe in myself and my family that we can do it without drugs!! I'm grateful to you, Howard Glasser, for giving me the incentive to take charge of my situation and the right tools to actually be successful!! AMAZINGLY DONE!

They say don't judge the book by the cover. In this case the cover is enough. A phenomenally ignorant person (M.A. in what?) wrote a ludicrously inaccurate book.

Let me address only the lies displayed on the back cover before even starting to rip apart the rest of this tendentious drivel
1. Ritalin is NOT a narcotic, it's a CNS stimulant. If you venture to write a book on the subject, read one first.
2. Ritalin is not chemically equivalent to cocaine because methylphenidate is an entirely different chemical.
3. There are NO reported deaths attributed to Ritalin and, in fact, the lethal dose of the medication had not been established because none of the experimental animals died from the overdose.
4. taking Ritalin REDUCES the risk of drug abuse in later years as multiple studies demonstrated.
5. NO ONE EVER developed OCD from use of Ritalin - it's a LIE. The author is not familiar with phenomenology of OCD and confuses overfocusing (a legitimate but no common side effect of high doses of the medication) with obsessions.

Half-educated ideologues can write books, there is no law preventing it, but there is also no law that forces anyone to buy and read this garbage.