Very interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal discussing the impact of Ritalin and similar drugs on creativity. The article asks whether the efforts to control kids with ADHD will prove to limit the creativity of these kids when they become adults. The article by Jeffrey Zaslow quotes from “The Gift of ADHD” by Lara Honos-Webb: “a person who focuses better taking Ritalin can be like a horse with blinders, plodding along. He’s moving forward, getting things done, but he’s less open to inspiration”.
William Pollack of Harvard Medical School feels that too many kids are given the drugs with only cursory evaluations. Certainly, in some cases, kids need to be tranquilized. But in many cases the tranquilization is done to make the kid conform or to ease the parent’s role. Some people were not born to be conformists; we need them in the world. Some people need to learn that being a parent is not an easy task; drugs are not always beneficial even if prescribed by a doctor.
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