‘Miracle Drug Gets Closer Look’

As the mother of a hyperactive child, I read your article with great interest. My son was put on Ritalin when he was 4 and stayed on the drug for about a month, at which time I took him off because I did not like the side effects. I changed doctors and medication and learned how to really cope with a hyperactive child. It’s “on the job training” in its purest form.

No one is ever going to cure hyperactivity with a “miracle drug”--the drug only allows you to get the child’s attention. At that point you check for allergies; get eye therapy so they can learn to read; push to get them in special programs at school (parents have a lot of power at school and most don’t even know it!); get psychotherapy for behavior modification; tutors for extra help with their school work--and then maybe, just maybe, after years of endless pushing, staying with them every minute of every day reinforcing their self-esteem, helping them to succeed and gradually pulling back so they can stand on their own--then you have your miracle.

But it’s not in a drug--it takes parents and teachers who really care and are willing to work together. They better learn fast that there’s no “miracle” in “popping a pill.”

My son is now a freshman in college taking electronic engineering.

JUDY KAMLIN

Rancho Palos Verdes