Parents Alert: Controversial New Treatment for ADHD

Inform yourself. The potential of harm to your children must not be ignored, warns Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights organized a community meeting at the Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C., to warn parents about the FDA’s controversial approval of an electricity-zapping device for kids 7-12 diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Joining forces with the mental health watchdog were social workers, attorneys and human rights advocates who presented information on the danger of this psychiatric practice and proposed solutions to protect children.

“Certain groups of people are also considered higher
risk, including the elderly, young children, those with
mood disorders, epilepsy or implants, or those
recovering from stroke.”

An editorial in the peer-reviewed medical journal Annals of Neurology warns against the use of brain stimulation pointing out there is much that remains unknown about the procedure. Its problematic issues include:

• enhancement of some cognitive abilities may come at the cost of others
• changes in brain activity may last longer than you think (or want)
• stimulation affects more of the brain than you think (or want) with potentially unpredictable consequences
• a small difference in parameters, such as current, duration and placement of electrodes, can have a big effect
• effects are highly variable across different people and depend on a range of factors such as age, gender, hormone level and medications
• the risks and benefits are different when used to treat a disease versus trying to purely enhance cognition in healthy subjects.

An article on the Australian Academy of Science website states: “researchers do not know exactly how or why the use of tDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) may affect you,” and points out “certain groups of people are also considered higher risk, including the elderly, young children, those with mood disorders, epilepsy or implants, or those recovering from stroke.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights is a nonprofit charitable mental health watchdog cofounded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz. It is dedicated to eradicating psychiatric abuse and ensuring patient protection. With headquarters in Los Angeles, California, CCHR International guides a global human rights advocacy network of some 180 chapters across 34 nations. CCHR Commissioners include physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers, legislators, government officials, educators and civil rights representatives.

To learn the history of psychiatry, watch Psychiatry: An Industry of Death on the Scientology Network.