It's an international scandal and now it's specifically a scandal for Wales.
The practice of drugging children who are allegedly out of control is itself out of control, with huge increases in the use of methylphenidate (better known as Ritalin) against a background of (i) little understanding of the long-term affects on vulnerable, growing minds and (ii) grave concern about over-diagnosis and over-treatment and even doubt about the existence of the illness which it is supposed to treat - ADHD.
For the story see this link. For a sceptical view about the illness follow this link.
Readers of this Blog will know that I am not knee-jerk antipsychiatric or unthinkingly hostile to medication as a treatment but this use of drugs on children is deeply disturbing and, I suspect, easily the worst consequence arising from busybodies intruding mental health service thinking into everyday life.
Common sense tells me that resorting to drugs for children with behavioural problems should be vanishingly rare and there is probably more harm than good being done through present practice.
The last word should go to a young person - and who better than ace satirist and commentator on the vicissitudes of youth Bart Simpson? Look here.
