Ritalin Nation by Richard J. Degrandpre 1999, Hardcover: items on eBay.com

Publisher's Note
By the year 2000, the USDA predicts that 15 percent-8 million-of our children will be on their way to using Ritalin. In this illuminating investigation of the epidemic of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) today and its most widely prescribed treatment, the powerful psychostimulant Ritalin, psychologist Richard DeGrandpre sounds a warning: we may well be failing our children by treating symptoms and not causes with a quick-fix and ultimately unsatisfactory solution. Drawing on the latest findings from developmental, psychobiological, and social scientific research, DeGrandpre seeks to solve the problem of ADD by "solving" its history. He attributes the disturbing prevalence of inattention and hyperactivity in children to the larger societal consequences of a speed-up culture that has profoundly altered our perceptual expectations, our very experience of time, and our ability to defer gratification. Our society-wide rush to more, and faster, stimulation leaves children especially vulnerable to "sensory addictions." Ritalin Nation both exposes the shortsightedness of mere biological explanations of ADD and offers some practical guidelines for charting a more hopeful future in environments that deliberately "make time for time," cultivate a less hurried existence, and promote a saner, safer community for our children.

By the year 2000, the USDA predicts that eight million children will be using Ritalin. Psychologist Richard DeGrandpre contends that the drug is a quick-fix that treats the symptoms and not the cause of children's behavioral problems.

Industry Reviews
As the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD) has increased among American children, many have begun to challenge the American Psychiatric Association's description and treatment of the problem, namely, that ADD is a disorder of the brain that can be resolved by the psychostimulant Ritalin. Citing prior reports on ADD and the effects of Ritalin, DeGrandpre, visiting professor of psychology at St. Michael's College in Vermont, argues that the effectiveness of Ritalin in treating ADD in no way proves that the disorder has a purely biological foundation. In fact, studies have shown that Ritalin improves the efficiency and attentiveness of children and adults regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with ADD. Against the "biological" explanation of ADD, however, the author puts forward a cultural-historical critique, which identifies the modern, technological emphasis on speed as the cause of the increased sensory deficits among American children. What Ritalin use reflects, he argues, is "a temporal disturbance in human consciousness," one that "motivates an escape from slowness, thus keeping us forever in the grip of the hurried society. Unfortunately, the author's thesis is unsupported by any original research and is instead based on generalized observations and anecdotes about modern society and the trajectory of Western civilization. Ultimately, while this book may satisfy those who disparage technology, it will be of little help to the clinicians who struggle daily with the problem of hyperactivity in children. (Jan.)
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