Our society today is geared towards the quick fix. With the barrage of drug commercials there is a pill for every symptom. If you can’t sit still pop a pill. Big Pharma’s partnership with government agencies including public education is responsible for the drastic increase of children being put on dangerous drugs.

It’s been 25 years since my last opinion piece covering ADHD, ADD and prescription medications like Ritalin and Adderall. I thought I would never write another piece on this specific issue, but things have evolved since 1999. When I learned Illinois Governor Pritzker signed into law a new bill making it mandatory for yearly psychological exams on schoolchildren starting in 3rd grade, I had to write again on this issue.

These yearly psych exams will increase the number of children labelled with learning and behavior disorders and a magic pill will be prescribed to solve it. That magic pill is called Methylphenidate with brand names like Ritalin and Adderall. According to dea.gov, Ritalin and Adderall are classified as Schedule 2 drugs. “Schedule II drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous. Some examples of Schedule II drugs are: Vicodin, cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin), fentanyl, Dexedrine, Adderall, and Ritalin,” Opium and a host of other schedule 2 drugs are on the extended list. [1]

Yep, Ritalin and Adderall rank right up there with cocaine, opium, oxycodone and fentanyl. Ironically, they call our public schools “drug free” zones. Because of these drugs addictive nature Big Pharma is counting on lifetime customers. Cha-ching $$$!

Methylphenidate drugs like Ritalin and Adderall are not only very addictive but can have serious cardiovascular side effects, especially with long-term use. Chronic stimulant use may stress the heart, potentially leading to issues like cardiomyopathy or arrhythmias, increased heart rate and high blood pressure. In an article I read back in 1999 a Medical Examiner said that he autopsied a 14-year-old who had been on Ritalin since the age of six. The 14-yr old had died of a heart attack. The ME said he had the damaged heart of a cocaine addict. [2]

Drugs.com advises that if you are on a Methylphenidate drug “Call your doctor at once if you have:

* signs of heart problems – chest pain, trouble breathing, feeling like you might pass out;

* signs of psychosis – hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not real), new behavior problems, aggression, hostility, paranoia;

* signs of circulation problems – numbness, pain, cold feeling, unexplained wounds, or skin color changes (pale, red, or blue appearance) in your fingers or toes;

* COMMON methylphenidate side effects may include sweating, increased blood pressure; mood changes, anxiety, feeling nervous or irritable, trouble sleeping;

* fast heart rate, pounding heartbeats or fluttering in your chest;

* loss of appetite, weight loss;

* dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, indigestion; or

* headache, dizziness. [3]

Back in the 1990’s when I was on the Colorado State Board of Education the United States ranked first in the world for labelling school children with ADD and ADHD learning disorders and had the most children on Ritalin. Some schools were bullying parents to put their child on a drug, or the child would not be allowed to attend school. Drug companies gave schools handouts on how to identify, label and drug the children. I received so many complaints from parents that I introduced a resolution to the Colorado State Board of Education which sparked criticism from Big Pharma and their complicit news media buddies.

First a little history on how my quest for truth on this specific issue began… July 4th, 1994, Idaho Springs, Colorado Independence Day Parade… I was walking in a parade holding the hand of my neighbor’s six-year-old son. Parents and children that supported my run for a seat on the State Board of Education were walking with us handing out campaign literature. As we walked this precocious child chatted up a storm with me. I was mesmerized because this child was smarter than many adults. After the parade when I dropped him off with his mom, I asked her, “Do you know that you have a little Einstein on your hands.” She replied, “That is not what his teacher is telling me. His teacher said that he is failing, and he is disrupting the class. He interrupts her while she is teaching, and he needs to be put on Ritalin.” I looked at her and replied, “I don’t think he needs a drug. He is a little genius and I think he is ‘bored to tears’ and needs to be challenged. See if you can bump him up a couple grades. Be sure he gets a lot of exercise to have an outlet for all his energy.” Well, the parents took the school’s advice and he was put on Ritalin. Years later I bumped into him as a young adult. He told me he hated Ritalin and he refused to take it anymore in middle school. He said it made him feel dull, foggy, not himself. He is now a successful adult with a good job.

Children are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD using a list of behaviors from the DSM-4 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ) There is no blood test or brain scan for these learning disorders. A few example from the list are:

Inattention/ADD qualifiers:

Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or with other activities…has trouble holding attention on tasks or play activities…. does not seem to listen when spoken to directly… does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (e.g., loses focus, side-tracked)… has trouble organizing tasks and activities….avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework), loses things necessary for tasks and activities (e.g. school materials, pencils, books, tools, wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, mobile telephones), easily distracted, forgetful in daily activities.

Hyperactivity Impulsivity/ADHD qualifiers:

Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in seat… leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected….runs about or climbs in situations where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may be limited to feeling restless)…unable to play or take part in leisure activities quietly…often “on the go” acting as if “driven by a motor.”… talks excessively… blurts out an answer before a question has been completed…. has trouble waiting their turn… interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games). [4]

Sounds to me like many children fit those parameters. (cha-ching) It is a list of common childhood behaviors. We need to be taught to sit still and not interrupt. A pill won’t teach us that. The drug dulls the active children who think, act and learn outside the box into compliance.

Our little neighborhood genius was probably blurting out the answers before a question was completed. The teacher did not like that! He was an active little boy, a chatterbox, and loved to share what he had learned, which fits other parameters in their diagnostic list. He obviously did not fit “their” mold for so-called “normal” behavior. Back in my day when kids could not sit still we said they had “ants in their pants.” He did not have a mental disease that needed to be cured with a dangerous and addictive drug.

Can’t Sit Still Pop a Pill (Part 2)

What is normal? Here is a little about Einstein:

“Einstein was slow in learning how to speak. His parents even consulted a doctor. He also had a cheeky rebelliousness toward authority, which led one headmaster to expel him and another to amuse history by saying that he would never amount to much. But these traits helped make him a genius. His cocky contempt for authority led him to question conventional wisdom. His slow verbal development made him curious about ordinary things — such as space and time — that most adults take for granted. His father gave him a compass at age five, and he puzzled over the nature of a magnetic field for the rest of his life. And he tended to think in pictures rather than words.” [5]

They would have labelled Einstein ADHD and drugged him in today’s culture which could have stifled all his creative endeavors. Children have different learning styles. A pill is only going to thwart their personality and creativity.

Boys are diagnosed with ADHD at significantly higher rates than girls. Data from CDC and other health studies indicate that boys are diagnosed with ADHD about 2-3 times more often than girls. For example, a 2020 CDC report found that 12.9% of boys aged 3-17 in the U.S. were diagnosed with ADHD compared to 5.6% of girls in the same age group. This reminds me of the old nursery rhyme:

What are little boys made of?

Snakes and snails

And puppy-dogs’ tails,

That’s what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice

And everything nice,

That’s what little girls are made of.

Of course, this nursery rhyme would now be considered sexist by DEI standards! They want boys to act like girls.

“The American Psychological Association designated traditional masculinity a de facto mental illness in 2019, stating its “stoicism” and similar traits are “on the whole, harmful.” So only snowflakes are mentally healthy nowadays?” [6]

Many parents were told that their child had a brain disorder or chemical imbalance that needed medication. Dr. Fred A. Baughman Jr., MD, an adult and child neurologist, stated, “They made a list of the most common symptoms of emotional discomfiture of children and in a stroke that could not be more devoid of science or Hippocratic motive-termed them ” diseases”/ “chemical imbalances” each needing/requiring a “chemical balancer”- a pill.”

With no proof that ADHD is a disease with a confirmatory, physical abnormality, the ADHD “epidemic,” has grown from 150,000 in 1970, to five million in 1997.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Ritalin production, in the US, rose 700%, between 1990 and 1997. [7]

In 2006, Dr. Baughman wrote and published the groundbreaking book, “The ADHD Fraud: How Psychiatry Makes Patients Out of Normal Children.” For this he won the Upton Sinclair Award, presented by the New York University School of Medicine for exposing Big Pharma’s illicit efforts to medicate children ”

In 2003 Congressional hearings it was said that 17% of the nation’s school children, 8.8 million, were labeled and drugged by psychiatry. In 2010 it was 20%; one in five; over 10 million!

Cha ching$$

After I won the seat on the Colorado State Board of Education, I received many complaints from parents who were being bullied to put their child on a drug for ADD or ADHD or their child would not be allowed to come to school. The school would give the parent the name of a physician or psychiatrist that would prescribe the drugs. I was outraged at what I was hearing. One parent said her child was a straight A student until recently. They were going through a divorce and his grades plummeted. She did not want to drug him and asked me if I would go with her for moral support to the meeting at the school. Her soon-to-be ex would not go with her. At the meeting there were two teachers, the school counselor and the school principal. It would have been four “authoritative figureheads” ganged up against one soon to be single mom at the meeting if I was not there. I told them that since her son was not harming anyone or a threat to the class it was illegal to deny him schooling for not taking the drug. He was just sad and had a hard time paying attention because his parents were divorcing. A drug was not going to bring his parents back together and solve his problem. The school officials were not happy that I was there and told me so, but they backed off the Ritalin push after the meeting. For more examples of parents being pressured you can read my testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing entitled “Behavioral Drugs in Schools: Questions and Concerns”

I have been a member of the Colorado State Board of Education for the last six years. One of my platforms when I ran for office was to empower parents in their right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

Over the years I was contacted by a number of parents who had been pressured to put their children on various psychotropic drugs for a variety of so-called learning disorders, the most common of which was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In some cases they were told their child would not be allowed to attend school if he did not begin taking psychotropic drugs.

One parent who was given the option of placing her son on a stimulant drug or removing him from school elected to home school her son. She told me that it just didn’t make sense that a straight A student would be labeled “learning disabled.” A Douglas County parent I spoke with said she was told her son had ADHD. What she was being told about the behavior her son supposedly exhibited and what she observed were not consistent. She investigated the matter and the school’s special education director eventually admitted that she had coaxed the teacher to answer the questions of the checklist used to determine if the child had ADHD in a certain manner so her son “would get the help he needed.” This infuriated her so badly she removed her son from the school.

A Jefferson County parent who contacted me said he at first complied with the school’s direction to have his son take a stimulant drug. The drug caused his son to become violent, he began taking steak knives out of the kitchen and stabbing his stuffed animals. When the parent took him off the drug, the principal of the school began pressuring him to resume the stimulant — so much pressure that the matter is now in court and the father could forfeit parental rights if he disagrees with the decision of the court on whether or not to place his child on Ritalin. Many more examples exist.

When I investigated the issue I realized that the so-called psychiatric learning disorders are an effort to “medicalize” failures in instruction and discipline at the expense of the child’s well being and the rights of the parent. Some of the learning disorders listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) illustrate this point.

For example, the fourth edition lists number “315.1, Mathematics Disorder.” The diagnostic criteria for this is “Mathematical ability, as measured by individually administered standardized tests, is substantially below that expected given the person’s chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education.” Likewise, the diagnostic criteria for “315.2, Disorder of Written Expression” labels the child with this disorder if he scores low on written tests.

The label of ADHD is assigned if the child exhibits such symptoms as not listening when spoken to, is forgetful, fails to finish homework, fidgets, talks excessively, etc. — the typical behavior of a normal child. Parents of children said to have these disorders are generally told that it is a neurological disorder or a chemical imbalance in the brain. Yet, at a Consensus Development Panel conducted by the National Institutes of Health on ADHD in November 1998, it was reported that “We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there are no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction. Further research to establish the validity of the disorder continues to be a problem. This is not unique to ADHD, but applies as well to most psychiatric disorders…”

Educators are not allowed by law to practice medicine. Yet, the adjudication a child has one of these “disorders” and should be placed on “medication” and into special education is often done by a team which includes the parent, a teacher, a social worker, a special education teacher and the principal. The above factors led me to introduce a resolution before the Colorado State Board of Education entitled “Promoting the use of academic solutions to resolve problems with behavior, attention and learning.” It reminded educators that their role was to teach and urged them to refrain from advising parents on medical matters. This was passed by a vote of 6 to 1 by the Board in November 1999.

Unfortunately, financial incentives exist for schools to label children with learning disorders. Understanding these incentives requires a brief review of the laws that affect special education.

The legislation which is now the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was originally the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975. The intent of this legislation was to ensure that children with actual physical handicaps — sight impairment, hearing loss, etc. — were given the public education they are entitled to.

This law was reauthorized in 1990 and the name changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. There were few procedural changes but the term “handicapped” was changed to “disabilities.” The following year a memo was issued by the US Dept. of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services which stated a child could qualify for special education if he was determined to have ADHD.

At this time, the IDEA legislation provided schools with an additional $400 per year for each child in special education. There followed a dramatic spike in the amount of methylphenidate consumed in the US. According to the DEA, the production and use of methylphenidate increased almost 6 fold between 1990 and 1995.

In IDEA as passed in 1999, the impairment category of “emotional disturbance.” is defined in part to say the child has “An inability to learn that can not be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.” There is no mention of the fact that this may be due to a failure to instruct properly.

In December 1999, the Los Angeles Times reported that tens of thousands of California’s special education students were placed there not because they have a serious mental or emotional handicap, but because they were never taught to read properly. Reid Lyon, head of the federal government’s research efforts into reading and writing told the Times, “It’s where children who weren’t taught well go in many cases.”

The intent of the original law, the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, was to ensure those with physical disabilities received a free and appropriate public education. These children are now being shortchanged because such a large percentage of special education funds are being diverted to vague psychiatric diagnoses. In 1998, 51.1 percent of special education children were in the category of “specific learning disabilities.” These are the psychiatric diagnoses such as Mathematics Disorder, Disorder of Written expression and ADHD. Other disability categories also include psychiatric diagnoses.

IDEA legislation also contains a “child find” provision which requires states to actively seek out any children who may qualify for special education in order to receive federal special education funds. The child find program starts at birth in Colorado. This, of course, serves to push up the numbers of children labeled with ADHD.

The so-called learning disorders have, sadly, become a way for financially strapped schools to make ends meet. In many states, schools have become authorized Medicaid providers and funds can be collected in behalf of a child labeled with one of the learning or behavior disorders. This can be such a lucrative cash cow that in a letter dated October 8, 1996, the Illinois State Board of Education strongly encouraged the superintendent of one of its districts to participate in Medicaid incentives. The letter stated that Illinois had received $72,500,000 in federal Medicaid money in 1996 and that Medicaid dollars have been used for a variety of non-medical purposes and that “the potential for the dollars is limitless.”

To assist schools in identifying children to label with “learning disorders,” a number of checklists are made available to schools through the ERIC (Educational Resource and Information Center) database, which is a federal clearing house for educational materials. Yet, despite the expense created by such actions, these children are not receiving the education they are entitled to. Though the standards set for special education children are often lower, their graduation rate in the 1995 -1996 year was only 28.9 percent!

To the degree educators are expected to diagnose children, they are being distracted from their main duty which is to provide our children a quality education. Our schools are the only institution entrusted to attend to the academic needs of our children and their mission must not be diluted. I urge this committee to do everything in its power to get schools out of the business of labeling children and back to the job of teaching.

Thank you.

Patti Johnson
Colorado State Board of Education
Second Congressional District

BENNETT: But It’s All OK – Just Take a Little Pill…

September 18, 2025

~ The Author ~
Patti Johnson is a Portrait and Landscape artist and Cartoonist. She served on the Colorado State Board of Education from 1995 – 2001. A parent and married for 50 years to her loving husband, she is a God-fearing patriotic American. Send All Comments to: pj4charis@gmail.com.

Patti Johnson’s commentaries may not be reprinted or republished without permission. All Rights Reserved. Submitted to and published by Kettle Moraine, Ltd. by arrangement, and with permission of the American Policy Center.