Cerebral Stimulants for Children with Learning Disorders

Abstract

Inadequate newspaper reporting of medication usage in Omaha school children, scare headlines, adroitly misleading editorials, and overemphasis on hyperactivity prompted this reporting of two careful studies of the effects of cerebral stimulants on M.B.D. children. Forty children were rated twice weekly by their classroom teacher on the Fels Rating Scale for six weeks. A double blind placebo method proved that dextro-amphetamine significantly (P < .001) improved their classroom behavior. Using a questionnaire, parents of 197 children taking cerebral stimulants reported details of symptom and trait changes brought about by cerebral stimulants. This work plus subsequent clinical experience suggests that with certain precautions, it is safe to employ these chemical aids for a year or more, if necessary. No habituation to cerebral stimulants has been encountered in any school-aged child by the author in 25 years of clinical experience. These drugs may ameliorate listening ability, over-excitability, forgetfulness, and peer relationships as much as “overactivity.” As such, psychcpharmaceuticals are not chemical strait-jackets and may be compared with eyeglasses or other necessary prosthetic devices which enable more normal functioning.