Dear NHMRC,
An article appeared in The Australian newspaper on the 21st of November 2011. The following is a quote from the article " The practice points, to guide doctors who treat the disorder, were drawn up by an NHMRC expert working group to address community concern over the use of stimulant medication to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They state: "Consideration should be given to the ability of the child/adolescent and their caregivers to implement strategies. As with any medical intervention, the inability of parents to implement strategies may raise child protection concerns." "
In a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine , researchers came to a surprising conclusion: hospitalizations for poisoning by prescription medication has increased by 65 percent from 1999 to 2006. The rates of unintentional poisoning – from prescription opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers in the U.S. has surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death.
Each year, so many celebrities and artists die from overdosing on prescription medication. I have known at least 3 people from my schools whom have been on ADHD medicines and none of them were ever happier/more easily concentrating or experienced anything positive from taking these drugs. The rate of parent-reported ADHD among children 4-17 years of age increased by 22% between 2003 and 2007, from 7.8% to 9.5%. If ADHD medication was workable and beneficial, the psychiatrists and government should have the statistics of a decreasing ADHD population to prove it.
It is totally reckless and detrimental to society to prescribe ADHD medications to children when the medications haven't helped people or have a positive effect on the population.
Thank you for reading
Mika O'Connor