Author: Able Child

By Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D., NewsWithViews.com

Ablechild is an organization of parents for label and drug free education. And in their press release of July 19, 2005, one learns that according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, “Every indicator available, including scientific abuse liability studies, actual abuse, paucity of scientific studies on possible adverse effects associated with long-term use of stimulants, divergent prescribing practices of U.S. physicians, and lack of concurrent medical treatment and follow-up, urge greater caution and more restrictive use of Methylphenidate (Ritalin).” The press release also quoted U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Rep. Tom DeLay as proclaiming that “the federal government should become advocates in strengthening American famililes and encouraging parental participation in decisions that directly effect their children’s health and overall well-being. In the wake of the creation of psychiatric labels, every parent should be wary of relinquishing their responsibility to the government to define and assess their child’s mental health status.”

Dr. Peter Breggin, Huffington Post

On June 25, 2005 Tom Cruise did the unthinkable on TV. Actually, he did several “unthinkables” in a filmed interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer for the Today Show.

First, Tom stopped smiling. He deprived us of that multi-million dollar grin and got serious. For a star to do this to the American public was unthinkable.

Second, Tom pointed out that Matt Lauer actually was very “glib” (shallow) and didn’t know what he was talking about. He also urged Matt to be “more responsible” and to learn something about psychiatry before touting it. For a star to do this to a media personality was unthinkable. Since nearly all of them are shallow, this was a threat of potentially epidemic proportions. Suppose other guests began pointing out that media hosts don’t know what they are talking about and are shallow?

CBC News

A coroner’s inquest in Fredericton was told Tuesday that a 16-year-old foster child may have stopped taking an anti-depressant medication just weeks before she killed herself in November 2003. The year after Heather White’s death, Health Canada issued a warning about the class of drug Heather’s family doctor had been prescribed to deal with her depression. She was taking a medication called Celexa, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI).

INDEPTH: Depression medications

The warnings advised doctors to carefully monitor patients of all ages for suicidal thoughts, especially in the early stages of taking SSRIs. Health Canada also warned patients to tell their doctors before changing the dosage or stopping the medication entirely.

John Mappin, United Newspapers

(PRWEB) July 15, 2005 — Following Tom Cruise’s campaign over the past two weeks, Sebastian Sainsbury of the prestigious Sainsbury family issues a strong warning in Britain and an alert to all UK parents.

Speaking to United National Newspapers today, Sebastian Sainsbury stated the following this morning.

“As a parent of two young children, I hold an inherently responsible position for the welfare of my children. Following some of the recent media and speaking with other parents, I feel the need to extend that responsibility to encompass a wider sphere by informing parents of a situation that could potentially affect all children.”

By Jim Brown, AgapePress

An Illinois pro-family activist is urging parents to find out what stage their state is at in implementing President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health — and to strongly oppose the plan.

On June 30, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich received a final proposal from the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership. Two years ago, the state Legislature charged the Partnership with crafting a plan to reform Illinois’ mental health system. The plan calls for the screening of all Illinois children ages zero to 18 and pregnant women for mental health problems.

Nearly One-Third of Initial Medical Studies Misleading, Major Review Finds

The Associated Press

CHICAGO – Here’s some medical news you can trust: A new study confirms that what doctors once said was good for you often turns out to be bad — or at least not as great as initially thought.

The report is a review of major studies published in three influential medical journals between 1990 and 2003, including 45 highly publicized studies that initially claimed a drug or other treatment worked.

Sarah Boseley, Health Editor, The Guardian

· Drug withdrawn over fears it made youngsters want to kill themselves
· New questions for pharmaceutical firms

An antidepressant which GPs have been prescribing to thousands of children, in spite of the fact that it is not recommended for their use, can cause youngsters to want to kill themselves, the government’s regulatory agency warned yesterday.