CCHR Launches Parental Rights Campaign Against Coerced School Mental Screening

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a mental health industry watchdog, has intensified its nationwide campaign to increase parents’ awareness of their rights regarding mental health screening in schools. CCHR emphasizes that parents must have the ability to make informed decisions about their children’s well-being and should not be pressured into mental health assessments, including for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

CCHR applauds the dedication of parents who have shared their experiences in its documentary Dead Wrong. These parents, some of whom lost children following psychiatric mislabeling and subsequent medication, have worked with CCHR to highlight the importance of fully informed parental choice when addressing their child’s behavioral or educational concerns.[1]

CCHR’s campaign also raises awareness of the financial incentives that may influence ADHD diagnoses. Reports have indicated that schools can receive funding for each student diagnosed with ADHD—upwards to $1,000 per child—which could create undue pressure to categorize students in ways that may not be in their best interest.[2] A 2023 study published in the Journal of Attention Disorders, underscored the subjectivity in diagnosing ADHD, revealing a significant rate of false positives when using ADHD scales and screening measures for diagnosis.[3]

Dr. Allen Frances, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University, has warned that expanding mental health labels has created a “false epidemic” of ADHD and other conditions, often leading to medication when behavioral maturity might simply take time.[4] “Misplaced diagnostic exuberance has turned age-appropriate immaturity into a psychiatric disease, treating it with a pill rather than allowing the child to grow naturally,” he stated.[5]

The widespread use of school-based mental health screenings adds to these concerns. Professor Frances cautioned, “Accumulating evidence makes clear how ineffective and harmful are almost all the highly touted screening tests.” He further stated that “encouraging mental health screening for children is unsupported by scientific evidence and amounts to a reckless public health experiment on children.”[6]

Sheila Matthews, Vice President of the parents’ rights advocacy group ABLECHILD, has firsthand experience with coercive psychiatric labeling. Her seven-year-old son was diagnosed with ADHD based on a simple checklist questionnaire at his school. Matthews was warned that without medication, he would likely “self-medicate” and become a drug addict. Refusing to comply, she exposed the misleading tactics used by school psychologists to pressure parents. She later helped achieve reforms in Connecticut preventing schools from requiring psychiatric prescriptions for students to remain in school.[7]

Patty Weathers, founder of ABLECHILD, has also spoken publicly about the lack of scientific backing for psychiatric labels given to children. “Parents are told that their child has a chemical imbalance or a neurobiological illness. We risked our child’s life based on this fundamental lie,” she said. “There are no x-rays, biopsies, blood tests, or brain scans that verify these mental disorders as a disease or illness.”

Parents and advocacy groups have been instrumental in securing protections against coerced psychiatric drugging of students. Due to their efforts, regulations were established that prevent schools from requiring psychotropic drug use as a condition for a child’s education. However, CCHR warns that broader protections are still needed to ensure children are safeguarded from coercive psychiatric practices in schools.

CCHR, which was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, author of Manufacture of Madness, remains committed to empowering parents with greater information and protections to ensure their children’s well-being. It urges parents to educate themselves about their rights. On its website, CCHR provides a Parents: Get the Facts—Know Your Rights resource page, which includes a Parent’s Exemption Form allowing them to opt their children out of invasive mental health screenings in schools.

Sources:

[1] www.cchr.org/documentaries/dead-wrong/watch.html

[2] www.cchrint.org/2010/11/18/ablechild-unsung-hero-in-battle-against-psychopharmaceutical-industry/; beforeitsnews.com/health/2013/01/schools-gets-up-to-1000-or-more-for-every-student-diagnosed-as-addadhd-heres-why-2466482.html

[3] “ADHD Tests Lead to Mass Overdiagnosis, Researchers Warn,” MAD, 4 Dec. 2023, citing: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/10870547231177470

[4] www.cchrint.org/2022/03/21/adhd-marketing-brands-children-to-hook-them-on-psychostimulants/; www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2320493/Does-child-really-behaviour-disorder-A-shocking-book-leading-therapist-reveals-millions-including-children-wrongly-labelled-psychiatric-problems.html

[5] www.cchrint.org/2014/10/16/adhd-awareness-month-a-pharmaceutical-marketing-campaign-to-get-more-kids-on-drugs/, citing: www.huffpost.com/entry/12-ways-parents-can-prote_b_5888392

[6] www.cchrint.org/2022/10/28/cchr-launches-investigation-into-educational-decline/; www.psychologytoday.com/u s/blog/saving-normal/201304/the-obama-plan-spending-mh-money-in-the-wrong-places

[7] www.cchrint.org/2010/11/18/ablechild-unsung-hero-in-battle-against-psychopharmaceutical-industry/

Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
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