Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jul 2000
Source: Times Union (NY)
Copyright: 2000, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Contact:  Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212
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Author: Rick Karlin - Staff Writer

COURT ORDERS COUPLE TO GIVE SON DRUG

Albany -- A Berne couple who faced child abuse charges when they tried to
take their 7-year-old son off Ritalin must continue giving him the drug, a
family court judge has ruled.

"We're not being charged with anything, but we've got to go by these
rules,'' Jill Carroll said of orders she and her husband Michael received
last week from Albany County Family Court Judge Gerard Maney.

The Carrolls received an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, similar
to a dropping of charges, on condition they keep their son Kyle on Ritalin,
Carroll said, adding they will be visited by county social service workers
over the next year.

"I'm done with court and am on watch for a year,'' Carroll said.

The Carrolls' controversy began last year after an official at the
Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District filed a complaint with the Albany County
Department of Social Services saying the family wanted to stop giving Kyle
his dose of Ritalin, a stimulant used to treat attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The Carrolls feared the drug was harming
Kyle's appetite and sleep.

Once contacted by the school district, social service workers charged the
Carrolls with child abuse on the grounds that Kyle wasn't being given
prescribed medication.

Those civil charges led to the recent court hearing and raised the
possibility, though remote, that social workers could remove the boy from
his home.

The judge also ruled that the Carrolls may seek a second opinion on whether
Ritalin should be given. The Carrolls' pediatrician and a psychologist both
agreed the Ritalin should continue, Carroll said.

But if another pediatrician examines Kyle and disagrees, the Carrolls could
then appeal the decision.
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