The Role of the Teacher in Drug Treatment

Abstract

Most educators agree that teachers should receive information about psychotropic drugs (stimulants, major and minor tranquilizers, hypnotics, sedatives, and antidepressants), especially since the controversy about the use of medicine for hyperactive or MBD (minimal brain dysfunction) children seems to be growing. In 1970 the media, newspapers, and particularly television, first reported to the general public what has become known as the "Omaha incident" (Maynard 1970). Sensational stories reported that 10-20 percent of the elementary children in the Omaha schools were receiving stimulant medication for hyperactivity. Later that year, just prior to the general elections, a congressional hearing (Gallagher 1970) on the charges and countercharges was conducted. Six years after the initial mass media coverage of the story, two free-lance authors wrote a book (Schrag and Divoky 1975) sensationalizing the issue again. It is interesting to note that the book was introduced with considerable fanfare in newspapers across the country (Chicago Tribune 1975; Daniel 1975; Schrag 1975). The publicity indicates, if nothing else, that the issue is of considerable public con-