Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (Hansard, 12 November 1996)

§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure health professionals are informed of the methods of recognising and treating attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder now employed in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement. [2504]

§ Mr. Burns
It is the responsibility of professional and academic bodies to assess the evidence for the best approaches in the recognition and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This evidence is available in literature from around the world, including the United States, and is widely available in professional journals within this country.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on use of advice issued to child psychiatrists in respect of treatment of 159W hyperactivity and of the flow chart attached; what plans he has to review the efficacy of such advice; and if he will make a statement. [2505]

§ Mr. Burns
None. It is for the relevant professional and academic bodies to review and evaluate evidence for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and to disseminate such information through training and through publications in professional journals and texts.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to examine the practice among medical practitioners of giving up the use of Ritalin among children suffering from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder after 12 months' use; and if he will make a statement. [2506]

§ Mr. Burns
The use of Ritalin to treat children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a matter for professional and clinical judgment and we have no plans to examine it.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of children identified as suffering from hyperkinetic disorder; and what percentage this is of his estimate of the total number of persons suffering from this disorder. [2507]

§ Mr. Burns
Information on the number of children identified as suffering from hyperkinetic disorder is not collected centrally.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's latest assessment of the effectiveness of dopamine-releasing agents with special reference to Ritalin, in the treatment of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder; what is his assessment of the use currently made of such treatment in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement. [2508]

§ Mr. Burns
We recognise that the more severe forms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be treated with Ritalin or other appropriate medication. Such medication should be part of a comprehensive treatment programme which may also include psychological, educational and social measures designed to stabilise children with the condition. There is a widespread view among clinicians in this country that a higher percentage of such children are treated with medication in the United States than is desirable or necessary.