Ritalin, talking therapies and what I think our kids really need

On the Mumsnet blogger site there was a piece by MP Pat McFadden about the increase in prescribing of ritalin. I wrote about it on my www.specialneedsjungle.com blog, but as it's something I feel so strongly about, I'm reposting it here.
Ritalin, talking therapies and what I think our kids really need…The Health Minister, Simon Burns has said that the chief medical officer and the NHS medical director are planning to write to clinicians to remind them of the full range of NICE guidelines on conditions—including ADHD—that affect children’s mental health. It came in response to an adjournment debate called by MP Pat McFadden on the rise in prescriptions for children of the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin, Equasym etc) used to treat people affected by the symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity. These symptoms affect behaviour and the ability to learn and as well as being found in ADHD, are also co-morbid in young people with autism, Asperger Syndrome and other similar development disorders.

Mr McFadden made a plea for the Minister to carry out a proper, comprehensive review of the use of these drugs involving professionals from the medical, psychology and teaching fields, as well as the families of those who have been prescribed the drugs. He asked the Minister, “Will he commit his Department to carry out a proper research project into the use of the drugs, including the age of the children receiving them? Secondly, in the light of the huge growth in prescriptions, will the Government carry out a proper review of practice in the field, as called for by the Association of Educational Psychologists, before the new guidance comes into effect in 2013?”

Mr Burns said he himself had a family member who was successfully being treated with Ritalin. “Across hospital and primary care, the prescribing of drugs for ADHD increased by around 12.5% between 2007 and 2010, the latest four years for which data are available, and by around 6% in 2010 alone. Prescribing in primary care alone increased by 22% in that four-year period, reflecting a significant shift in prescribing activity from a hospital setting and into primary care. Looking back further, one sees that prescribing in primary care has tripled in the past 10 years.”

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