Medicating ADHD: Diagnosis and the Long-Term Effects of the Medications

March 20, 2013 Belmont Media Center

Robert Whitaker is a prominent medical writer, whose concentration is on psychiatric care and psychotropic drugs. In this presentation he provides important information about how ADHD –now an “epidemic”– is diagnosed and why users of medications for ADHD should be cautious. Recent news stories about the hazards of long-term ADHD medications and the more general use of these drugs to enhance concentration underscore the importance of Whitaker’s discussion. Robert Whitaker’s Mad in America website Robert Whitaker’s books

Two of Robert Whitaker’s books on this subject are among the most cited in the literature: Mad in America (2002) and Anatomy of an Epidemic (2010). He has received numerous awards (listed below), including a George Polk Award for medical writing and a National Association of Science Writers Award for best magazine article. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

Whitaker’s work has alerted both the medical community and the general public to the serious dangers of psychotropic medicines when used for extended periods. He has become a standard reference for the facts. Robert Whitaker’s Blog

Some Background

• NYT 2/03/13 Drowned in a Sea of Prescriptions
  
• Robert Whitaker on PBS
• Marcia Angell’s two-part NYRB series citing Whitaker:
  
• The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?
  
• The Illusions of Psychiatry
  

Awards

• 1998 George Polk Award for Medical Writing
• 1998 National Association for Science Writers’ Science in Society Journalism Award for best magazine article
• 1999 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service
• 2010 IRE award for best investigative journalism book of 2010