Ritalin Is Not The Answer: A Drug-Free, Practical Program for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD (Paperback)

~ (Author) "In this chapter I hope to open your eyes with some though-provoking scenarios..." (more)
Key Phrases: Skills Program, Returned Today, Annie Sullivan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

My faith in my profession is almost renewed! Stein not only flies in the face of conventional psychological ''wisdom'' where ADD/ADHD is concerned, but he has written a book that is completely devoid of psychobabble. Even if you don't have a child with attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, buy ''Ritalin Is Not the Answer". Thank you, Dr. Stein, for bringing a thousand rays of sunshine to America's children." (John Rosemond, Family Psychologist and Nationally Syndicated Columnist)

"This book should be read by every physician before prescribing Ritalin and is an absolute must for any parent of a child diagnosed as having ADD and ADHD." (John W. Verheul, diplomate, American Academy of Family Practice)

"Stein has years of experience at successfully treating hyperactive children without the use of drugs. Any parent who thinks his or her child may have an attention disorder (ADD or ADHD) should read this clear and practical book before seeking treatment." (Edward D. Smith, professor of psychology, Longwood College)

"At last! A book that views ADHD children as capable of learning . . . . This book not only debunks the idea that ADHD children are diseased, but it gives parents a practical step-by-step program for helping these children learn to control their own thinking and behavior." (Thomas G. Moeller, professor of psychology, Mary Washington College)

"Stein has presented an excellent guide to parenting skills that EVERY parent needs. All children, with or without ADD/ADHD, their parents and teachers will benefit from the Caregivers Skill Program." (Patty Whitfield, associate professor of special education, Longwood College)

Product Description

At Last! A Healthy, Drug-Free Alternative to Ritalin

Nearly one-tenth of all school-aged children in the United States are being coerced into taking mood-altering drugs with side effects that include insomnia, tearfulness, rebound irritability, personality change, nervousness, anorexia, nausea, dizziness, headaches, heart palpitations, and cardiac arrhythmia. These are the children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ritalin Is Not the Answer confronts and challenges what has become common practice and teaches parents and educators a healthy, comprehensive behavioral program that really works as an alternative to the epidemic use of medication-without teaching children to use drugs in order to handle their behavioral and emotional problems.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (January 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787945145
• ISBN-13: 978-0787945145
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,370 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars BEWARE! This book will OUTRAGE good parents., August 1, 2003

By A Customer

If you have poor parenting skills, if your child displays only mild behavior problems, if you are seriously questioning your child's ADD/ADHD diagnosis, suspecting he/she has fallen victim to the trend of over-diagnosing this disorder, then this book may provide some direction in helping curb problem behaviors. For the rest of us who have children with serious ADD/ADHD problems, those who have been searching for and trying numerous behavioral approaches for years to no avail, and those who have already forged excellent parenting skills, do not buy this book!

In Dr. Stein's book, "Ritalin is Not the Answer", he purports that there is no such thing as ADD/ADHD and he has chosen to rename it "IA/HM" (inattentive/highly misbehaving). He maintains that there is no biological or neurological basis for ADD/ADHD, but rather the symptoms are the by-products of our modern culture -- TV, video games, a stressful lifestyle, traffic jams, and specifically and particularly -- ineffective and neglectful parenting! He believes that parents are guilty of actually creating the syndrome in their child. He makes absurd, sweeping generalizations such as, "children who come from homes where education is valued do not end up diagnosed as ADD/ADHD", and "I doubt very much that children who's parents spend sufficient quiet time each evening talking with them will ever show IA/HM symptoms".

If you can control your outrage at these inflammatory and damaging statements and proceed to finish the book, you will find it to read like a simplistic "Parenting 101" manual. Dr. Stein talks about how through his book you will "begin to learn how to parent your child". His assumption is that if you have a child with problems of this nature, you lack even the most basic parenting skills. His belives that ADD/ADHD can be erased through judicious use of both positive and negative reinforcements. He employs immediate time-outs at even the smallest hint of misbehavior, believing this will force the child to remember how to behave on his own rather than making them reliant on caregivers for prompts or reminders. While his behavioral approaches are reasonably sound, employing firm limits, consistent and predictable consequences, and generous use of positive social reinforcement for correct behavior, there is nothing new in this book that has not been presented by other authors in one form or another. I suspect that most parents looking for a book on this subject have already mastered these techniques and more, but still have not been able to make a significant impact in correcting their child's problems. While every child -- ADD/ADHD or otherwise -- needs a solid parenting and discipline plan, this book is likely to only work for children who are either not truly ADD/ADHD, those who's problems are relatively mild, or for parents who do indeed need to develop a basic foundation for parenting their child.

In this book, Dr. Stein presents numerous case studies where after just a few weeks (or even a matter of days!) of employing his methods, the child's problems vanished completely and they suddenly became a shining example of the happy, accomplished, and well-adjusted child. His book is filled with so many of these simplistic stories of miraculous, instantaneous recovery that it becomes laughable. While his 'magic bullet' claims may sell books by the score, beware. If something is too good to be true, it no doubt is.

65 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A sound approach to treating ADH D without medication, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

As a psychologist with twenty years' experience counseling ADHD children, I found Dr. David Stein's book, "Ritalin Is Not The Answer," an easy-to-understand, insightful and viable solution to the controversy surrounding the use of Ritalin with ADHD children.

He first outlines the fallicies of the disease or chemical imbalance model for ADHD, and then introduces his "Caregivers' Skills Program," the ultimate goal of which is to enable children to self-monitor their behavior. To achieve self-monitoring, however, he stresses that medication must be withdrawn completely so that new skills can be learned independent of the drugs.

He shifts the focus from the "symptoms" which imply "disease" to a list of targeted behaviors. The goal is to either improve or eiminate the targeted behaviors. This approach avoids the prevalent but disenfranchising tactic of labeling ADHD behaviors as a "brain disease" and prescribing medication. The parental role in the Program--that of conveying specific instruction to motivate and empower the child to take charge of his or her own behavior--re-establishes parents as authority figures in the chld's life.

Dr. Stein clims that his Cargiver's Skills Program "produces dramatic and positve changes in children by completely eliminating ADD and ADHD patterns without the use of medication." I believe that the application of his techniques would not only produce the claimed results, but also would empower both parents and children thereby enhancing the parent-child relationship.

This appears to be an effective, easy-to-apply alternative to medicating our children with Ritalin and other drugs. If you child has been diagnosed as ADHD, this book offers great hope.

Ty C. Colbert, Ph.D.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lop-sided book, April 17, 2002

By	Carolyn Gwaltney (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We all realize there are children on medication for ADHD/ADD who shouldn't be. This is not a revelation. This book rehashes the same old song! Treating ADHD is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Our children are made of mind, body and spirit and all these areas must be addressed in treating inattention and hyperactivity. Behavior modification and dietary changes help train the body, loving discipling and religious training helps the spirit, but it may take meds to help the mind be able to concentrate long enough make permanent changes in behavior and attitude. Why would we deny giving our children a chance to succeed? A major problem in ADHD children is low self esteem because they see themselves as failures. Meds may be the one final key to helping them unlock their successes.

I agree with other reviewers that careful monitoring by parents and doctors will assure the right medicine and the correct dose to keep a child healthy and free from side-effects.

A much better book is Healing ADD by Daniel Amen.