(NaturalNews) The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) expressed alarm upon realizing that at least 10,000 toddlers aged two to three years are medicated for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) nationwide.

The mainstream reports on the CDC's finding focused on how many toddlers were reportedly on methylphenidate drugs, such as Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana and Metadate CD. They never mention adverse side effects, short- or long-term, or that there is no proof of "chemical imbalances" that can be corrected by pharmaceuticals.

Ritalin was tested over a decade ago by the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The BNL study determined that Ritalin is pharmacologically similar to cocaine, with perhaps even worse brain-damaging potential. Even the DEA classifies methylphenidate (Ritalin) as a Class II controlled substance with "a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence." [1]

The Boston CBS affiliate WBZ-TV interviewed a local psychiatrist who called prescribing drugs for toddlers "irresponsible." Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a child psychiatrist at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, commented, "Developmentally, you're supposed to be scattered and disorganized as a toddler." She went on to say that ADHD exists but is overdiagnosed, and children under six may be harmed developmentally by using drugs for ADHD. [2]

The New York Times reported that only an amphetamine class of drugs, brand name Adderall, was approved by the FDA for kids under six. Pushing methylphenidate drugs for children under six had become an off-label practice with such apparent success that the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines authorized its use for children aged five and four if formal training for parents and teachers to improve the child's environment were unsuccessful.

Dr. Lawrence H. Diller, a behavioral pediatrician in Walnut Creek, California, told the NY Times, "People prescribing to 2-year-olds are just winging it. It is outside the standard of care, and they should be subject to malpractice if something goes wrong with a kid." [3]

Let's go beyond mainstream's surface skimming

The issues around environment and diet are usually ignored. Kids get hooked on sugar and junk foods with artificial flavorings and colorings that are excitoxins, which cause neurological damage. Diet, TV and a lack of friendly, firm order in the toddler's environment will affect a child's behavior.

Medical madness? What about all those vaccinations that the CDC recommends and pediatricians demand. Up to 35 before the age of six! Even without the toxic preservatives and adjuvants in vaccines that directly affect the brain and nervous system, repeated injections of antigen-producing substances have been discovered to create autoimmune disorders.

Other factors toward neurological disorders may include pesticide and herbicide residues in non-organic foods that have been found in pregnant mothers' blood and even their breast milk. Omnipresent processed acidity-producing dead foods, stress and antibiotics also lower gut probiotic levels, and the gut is being realized as the second brain as well as part of the immune system.

Why isn't anyone interviewing Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, who created the GAPS (gut and psychology syndrome) dietary approach that actually cures kids in many areas of behavioral and autism spectrum disorders? She bases her practice on GAPS after successfully bailing her own son out of autism. Her book Gut and Psychology Syndrome has been out for some time, but her name doesn't make it to the mainstream. [4]

What if someone approached these mainstream media outlets and the CDC with an article from Peter R. Breggin, MD? He cites several authorities who share his viewpoint that psychiatric drugs are bad medicine for behavioral solutions with no proven biological chemical imbalance basis and no proof that the drugs make a difference. [5]

Then there's the near-death confession of Dr. Leon Isenberg, who stated, "ADHD is a prime example of a fictitious disease." He was one of the 1968 DSM II's committee members who created what the symptoms of ADHD are, which was placed into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM).

The DSM is the bible that marries Big Pharma with psychiatry -- create and name a disorder, and they'll come up with a drug for it.

Sources for this article include:

[1] http://www.naturalnews.com

[2] http://boston.cbslocal.com

[3] http://www.nytimes.com

[4] http://www.gapsdiet.com

[5] http://www.breggin.com

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