Welcome to DocDiller.com
I'm a behavioral/developmental pediatrician who has been on the front-lines of clinical practice with ADHD, ODD, OCD, ASD, learning problems for nearly forty years. I've written some books and numerous articles for professionals and the public. My opinions have been expressed not only on television and radio, but also in front of Congress and the President's Council on Bioethics.
Whether you're looking for an sensible expert to help you make decisions about your child locally or are interested in the opinions of a doctor who prescribes medications to children but takes a broader look at the issues involved, you've come to the right place. Take a look at the opeds. Get some answers to questions on ADHD and psychiatric drugs for children.
Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You: Adderall Abuse
First Appeared in the Huffington Post
April 8th, 2014
The rise of both the ADHD/ADD diagnosis and the use of stimulant drugs like Adderall, Concerta and Ritalin is once again front page news. A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) telephone survey found that nearly one in five high school boys' parents have been told their child has ADHD/ADD. Express-Scripts, the largest prescription insurance processor, in a recent report confirmed the highest prescription rates in boys but also documented explosive growth in prescriptions for adults with ADHD/ADD.
Telephone surveys and prescription rates are interesting but indirect measures of the use of stimulant drugs in the United States. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) maintains records of the annual quotas approved for production by drug companies in the United States for controlled substances like the stimulants. While the manufacturing quotas do not specifically indicate how much drug is actually taken by Americans, it is unlikely that drug companies would request a higher quota than they believed they could sell -- and if someone buys the drug, they are likely to take it.
My Uneasy Marriage to Ritalin
- Details
- Category: Opinions & Editorials Opinions & Editorials
- Published: 30 December 2013 30 December 2013
Posted first: 12/23/2013 12:44 pm on the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-diller/ritalin_b_4470702.html?view=screen)
I've been uncomfortably married to Ritalin for 35 years. That's how long as a behavioral pediatrician I've been prescribing stimulant drugs like Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta to children and adults in my suburban private practice outside of San Francisco.
Prescription stimulants, which are all a version of amphetamine, have been controversial since their introduction in 1929. They are front-page news again. This Sunday's New York Times offers a detailed report on the role of drug companies' influence through advertising, medical education and research on attention deficit disorder (ADD) and its treatment. Today one in seven American children have been told they "have" ADD.
Grand Rounds at Children's Hospital Oakland on August 13th
I will be giving a very popular talk, The Sensible and Ethical Prescription of Psychiatric Drugs to Children, at Grand Rounds at Children's Hospital Oakland on Tuesday August 13th from 8 to 9 am. There will be a question and answer period at the end of the presentation. The talk is open to the public. Please join me at the Auditorium in the Outpatient Center at Children's Hospital, 744 52nd St., Oakland. Parking is available across the street from the Outpatient Center.
Why Not Adderall for Finals Week
- Details
- Category: Opinions & Editorials Opinions & Editorials
- Published: 08 June 2013 08 June 2013
(first appeared on June 6th, 2013 on Huffington Post website)
Having prescribed drugs like Ritalin and Adderall to children for 35 years, I've participated with concerned fascination in the ADHD/ADD epidemic that has swept our country. Still, I was surprised that I felt so troubled when 16-year-old Joe's* mother, Susan*, called me the other day and asked if I'd be willing to prescribe him Adderall just for his finals coming up in two weeks.