Is Ritalin treatment safe for preschool children?
October 24, 2006 With the release of the first long-term study of the effects of Ritalin on children aged 3 to 5 years, the ADHD debate has heated up again. Supporters of the study — and of Ritalin use in young children — interpret the results as saying this particular drug treatment is safe under certain circumstances; those who decry the use of an amphetamine-like drug in youngsters read the study very differently. First, let’s take a quick look at the diagnosis called ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Various government and private sources say anywhere between 5 and 8 percent of school-age children and up to 3 percent of pre-school children have ADHD. The causes and actual mechanisms of the disorder are not well understood, but researchers believe it has to do with some sort of malfunction in the brain’s communication process. It seems that a neurotransmitter — the chemical means by which signals get delivered between the various parts of the brain — is somehow
