Pubdate: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Orange County Register Contact: P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711 Fax: (714) 565-3657 Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Section: News,page 5 Author: Anjetta Mcqueen-the Associated Press FIRST LADY SPEAKS AGAINST RITALIN USE Children: She Says Too Many Youngsters Are Being Put On The Drug Without Testing. WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton used the power of the White House bully pulpit to call attention Monday to a troubling matter for parents of preschoolers - the use of Ritalin and other mind-altering drugs to treat youngsters' behavior. "We are not here to bash the use of these medications," Mrs. Clinton said. "But we do have to ask some serious questions about the use of prescription drugs." She outlined a plan to ask the Food and Drug Administration to issue guidelines for use of such drugs for children under 6. She also proposed more clinical trials on the young, a fall conference on children's mental health, handbooks for parents and training for doctors who treat their children. Mrs. Clinton said she was motivated by research showing a steep climb in toddlers being medicated without adequate research into what works best for children still undergoing crucial brain development. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, usually is diagnosed in school-age children based on interviews and observed behavior. Symptoms include a restless inability to sit still to read, study or even watch television. Some mild forms of these symptoms are common in many children, leading experts to worry that ADHD is diagnosed too often. "Some of these young people have problems that are symptoms of nothing more than childhood or adolescence," Mrs. Clinton said. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that from 1991 to 1995, prescriptions for 2- to 4-year-olds jumped threefold for Ritalin. The number of children on anti-depressants such as Prozac, used to control bedwetting, doubled in the period. - --- MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson