[Jan 08, 97 - 09:18] Jane Kelley of 1:138/255 wrote to John Prather:
JP>>Ritilin is not addictive, allows children to integrate better into
JP>>social situations and control their aggressive behavior.
JK> By making zombies out of them?  That is not integration into social
JK> situations as far as I am concerned.  The same effect can also be
JK> obtained by tying the kid up and gagging him or her.
I'm not aware that there is any significant population of zombies in our 
schools.  Some parents here have reported that they didn't like what Ritalin 
did to their children, but to many of us it sounded as though the parents 
were so used to the hyperactivity that they thought there was something wrong 
with the kid without it.  In any case, there is certainly reason to be alert 
and, when in doubt, to try other medications.
Fortunately for us, Ritalin works like a champ for my son and has no apparent 
side-effects.  He's been on it for about eight years, and is healthy.
And, since you seem to place great stock in evidence of the "All Indians walk 
in single file, I know because I saw one do it" variety, my son's mother was 
an alcoholic.
JK> A bipolar individual also has the genetic codes for alcoholism, which
JK> means that if this is a blood relative, it runs in your family.
Although there was a now-discredited belief that alcoholism was a facet of 
bipolar mood disorder (I even ran into a psychiatrist a few years ago who 
insisted that all alcoholics were bipolar), I have read nothing to indicate 
that there is such a linkage.  The most recent ideas I've seen are that 
alcoholism can induce mood swings which seem like bipolar mood disorder, but 
which are an artifact of the alcohol addiction.
Have you got any specific references to this genetic code linkage from the 
scientific literature?
JK> Be advised that a mother of a child with Down's syndrome was recently
JK> interviewed on TV because she has developed a food supplement formula
JK> for that problem.
JK> Kids born with Down's syndrome do not get the nutrition they need to
JK> have their brain cells grow. THAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE MENTAL RETARDATION
JK> AS THE NERVE CELLS ARE NORMAL AT BIRTH!
Again, this is anecdotal: there aren't any double-blind studies to support 
this, are there?  Some people with Down's syndrome are of normal 
intelligence: I've even met one or two.  This wasn't known until the genetic 
basis of Down's syndrome was known and they could be tested for it.
Jerry Schwartz
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