May 16, 2000

Thank you for joining the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families as we examine the issues and concerns surrounding the use of Ritalin among our children. I appreciate everyone's interest in this topic and I look forward to an informative hearing.

Ritalin is prescribed to help children who have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), commonly called ADD/ADHD. Our witnesses can provide a more thorough explanation, but the symptoms of children with ADD/ADHD can include inattention and restlessness -- which may simply be youthful rambunctiousness -- or it may be that the child is acting out in response to serious stressors like divorce or neglect -- or it may be that the child does have ADD/ADHD. The bottom line is that it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis -- especially among young children -- unless the physician makes a thorough evaluation of all aspects of the childïs life.

That said, according to studies and anecdotal evidence, Ritalin can help some students focus and it can curb their impulses. Keep in mind, however, that Ritalin can help anyone be more attentive - itïs an amphetamine and it is not so dissimilar from speed.

And, just because Ritalin helps some children, it does not mean it is a cure. As a constituent of mine once put it, kids can learn to live with their learning disabilities and they can deal with their emotions if they have help. Kids whose symptoms are banished with drugs only get drugs - not help and not long-term solutions for their problems.

In late February of this year, a news report on the increasing use of Ritalin caught my attention. I was particularly alarmed by the finding that for the years 1991 to 1995, the number of children ages two to four who were prescribed psychotropic drugs, including Ritalin, increased by 50 percent. The researchers commented that these findings were "remarkable" given the lack of research on the drug's effect on children of this very young age, and they found that school age youth also showed increases in the use of Ritalin.

I initiated today's hearing to provide a forum to discuss the issues surrounding the use of Ritalin. Personally, I have many concerns about the use of Ritalin. I hear reports that students are selling Ritalin at school and that schools are reporting thefts of Ritalin under their control during the school day. I also hear that youth find it easy to abuse their own prescribed Ritalin or a friend's Ritalin, such as by snorting it for a better high. As we all know, Ritalin is a Schedule II drug -- regulated by the DEA -- yet it is a drug to which youth have relatively easy access.

Additionally, I am greatly concerned by the lack of research on the long-term effects of Ritalin. We do not know what the long-term effects are for the child who takes Ritalin for ten or twenty years. As the chairman of the Harvard Medical Schoolïs Department of Psychiatry has stated, the period between birth and age four especially is a time of tremendous change and maturation and, at the very least, we need to be very cautious in both the identification of all ADD/ADHD children and their treatment.

Finally, there have been questions raised with respect to these drugs and acts of violence in our classrooms. Some use as evidence the fact that at least one of the gunmen in the recent school shootings was reported to be on a drug like Ritalin. Whatever the answer, we need a serious discussion about whether it can cause violent behavior or, if not, whether these drugs are sufficient to prevent it.

Clearly, the Congress and the public need more information in order to weigh the benefits and harms of prescribing Ritalin and other drugs to our children. As we will likely hear from our witnesses, the decision of whether to use Ritalin is a decision to which the child, parents, teachers, and doctor should all have input. I believe the information discussed this afternoon will assist in this decision.