Thousands of American toddlers being medicated for A.D.H.D.

I just came across this story in the NYTimes. I can't deal with the level of stupidity.

How does anyone go along with this nonsense? It used to be called 'The Terrible Twos', and it was accepted as a normal part of life. As far as I'm concerned all 2 year olds display signs of A.D.H.D. They are still developing! These are the most important years of that development. Maybe we should just stop being selfish lazy assholes, and give our kids a chance. This will only stunt them and make things worse.

Would it be hyperbole to classify this as a crime against humanity? Combine it with everything else kids are taking on, and we get a cooking pot full of monsters. I don't look forward to the rise of this generation.

Thousands of Toddlers Are Medicated for A.D.H.D., Report Finds, Raising Worries

ATLANTA — More than 10,000 American toddlers 2 or 3 years old are being medicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder outside established pediatric guidelines, according to data presented on Friday by an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report, which found that toddlers covered by Medicaid are particularly prone to be put on medication such as Ritalin and Adderall, is among the first efforts to gauge the diagnosis of A.D.H.D. in children below age 4. Doctors at the Georgia Mental Health Forum at the Carter Center in Atlanta, where the data was presented, as well as several outside experts strongly criticized the use of medication in so many children that young.

The American Academy of Pediatrics standard practice guidelines for A.D.H.D. do not even address the diagnosis in children 3 and younger — let alone the use of such stimulant medications, because their safety and effectiveness have barely been explored in that age group. “It’s absolutely shocking, and it shouldn’t be happening,” said Anita Zervigon-Hakes, a children’s mental health consultant to the Carter Center. “People are just feeling around in the dark. We obviously don’t have our act together for little children.”

Sorry, I cant really add any reasonable comment here as this is just shocking.

Totally speechless.

Here we are tapping away at out computers like it makes a difference. Things like this should have every single one of us out on the streets protesting but we are just too lazy. God only knows what effects this will have on the next generation. Life is going to get really crazy from here on in.

Shocking. This is on a par with the Nazi's.

Are these the same drugs that are associated with recent serial shooters?

a reply to: mahatche

Notice that they were medicaid patients. This means they are getting what the plans call for them to get. Now we are all being forced into government mandated healthcare plans. I wonder why it is so. Is it to help the people? No. It's to get more control over what medications are prescribed. At least that's my theory, and I'm loosely sticking to it. Lol.

How can expect children's brains to evolve properly if they are constantly bombarded with brain chemistry modifying medication?

Anyway, shouldn't we identify and nullify the source first? Not that there's any profit in prevention.

a reply to: mahatche

Its the parents wanting the drugs and the doctors not seeing it or not caring...
My money is on the doctor not caring, I know that sounds horrible but it is the truth.
They get the co pays and you have to make a appt everytime you want a new RX for those.
Can't believe they are giving this stuff out to toddlers....

originally posted by: andr3w68
a reply to: mahatche

Notice that they were medicaid patients. This means they are getting what the plans call for them to get. Now we are all being forced into government mandated healthcare plans. I wonder why it is so. Is it to help the people? No. It's to get more control over what medications are prescribed. At least that's my theory, and I'm loosely sticking to it. Lol.

I was thinking about that too. Medicaid is a government program, so to some extent this is what they want for people. I think it's a theory worth considering.

a reply to: mahatche

i think the whole thing is a sham anyway toddler or not, i dislike it when adults try to use it as an excuse for there actions. its sad. instead of claiming adhd as the culprit, why not say what they mean. " i dont give a crap enough to try to concentrate on the moment."

It mentions the Ritalin and Adderal prescriptions, but I don't see Desoxyn in there. Adderal is what's commonly referred to on the street as "speed" and Desoxyn is Methamphetamine (actually proper name for Desoxyn). I am not talking about drug use here, nor want that as part of the discussion... Just want to point it out that if some random person was offering this to your kids on the street corner you would want them placed in jail, but if it comes from a medical script, far too many people say, "Doctor's orders."

Really!! This is absurd!! The doctors prescribing this should be thrown in prison! These people truly are monsters with no conscience, legal drug pushers that have no right to be practicing "medicine"

A tinfoil hat moment. . . . .

20 years from now, an entire generation will not be allowed to own firearms because they were/are on neurotropic drugs.

Just sayin'

a reply to: mahatche

You are correct, the use of medication of this sort on a child whom neurology has not yet fully developed is also undeniably harmful no matter what vested interests may say, for an autistic child OK but a normal active learning child NO, personally I believe the doctor's whom proscribe this to children need there licence's reviewing but then the state's has always been a nation of pill poppers and perhaps it is merely big pharma's way of acclimatizing the next generation of consumers as well as dumbing them down into a more receptive and placid, easily led consumer state of mind.

a reply to: beezzer

I think that beezzer nailed it. This is going to be used further down the road to disarm the population. All this ADHD stuff ... or most of it anyways ... will come in handy for nefarious anti-second-amendment groups.

originally posted by: beezzer
A tinfoil hat moment. . . . .



20 years from now, an entire generation will not be allowed to own firearms because they were/are on neurotropic drugs.



Just sayin'

This makes complete sense to me. Those who are pushing for expanded government medical programs tend to fall in line with those pushing for more firearm control. Those two groups also tend to support medicating for anything and everything.

Medicate everyone, claim they're crazy for life, then take away their gun rights.

Nice theory there Beezzer...

On topic though, it's absurd to medicate children for pretty much being children. Any child sitting in a class room for eight hours, or sitting in the house all day, is going to get antsy and naturally get rambunctious. If more parents pulled their kids away from the television (babysitter) and took them out to play, this problem would solve itself.

It´s insane that medication is given to kids so easily.
My kid has a friend who was like classic case of ADHD, hurricane perpetual motion machine and never still. When first class at school started i was couple weeks there to observe my kid´s diabetes care ( type 1 ) and i saw how this little fella never sat still and school table found a new purpose for him to be a carousel of one ( on a belly speeding with hands ) and school chair was horse to him etc...
Her mother refused the drugs instead they changed his diet and he started to use weight belt to slow him down occasionally. The change in his behaviour also speed took less than a year.

a reply to: mahatche

I read about this and the one thing that struck out to me is the age group, young parents and teens. They don't know how to handle their children probably because they were in front of a TV or on a computer all their juvenile life and oops they have a kid. how to deal with it? lets medicate them.

I'm sorry, but putting kids on mind altering drugs is just wrong. Kids are to be full of energy running around, making messes, breaking things, using their imagination.

I believe this is more of a social issue with young teen parents, but the doctors are not helping out.

I can remember dragging my butt around for days and nights because of my kids energy, joking around I thought it would be cool if we could some how use them to recharge us, I would not have it any other way. let them scream, yell, run around until they wear themselves so they could take a hour nap and get up and do it all over again.

a reply to: mahatche

The subject of children being diagnosed and treated for ADHD/ADD in mass is a subject that really gets to me. I have an 8 year old son who lives in New Hampshire with his Mom. He's lived with her his whole life. I see him as often as I can, but being in the military and bouncing all over the globe limits the amount of time I have with him. Through all that, he and I have a great relationship and have created many great memories of fun and adventure.

When he was 3, and in day care, he had an episode where the day care personnel couldn't "contain" him. They told his mother that he wouldn't be allowed to return until he was seen by a Dr. and these actions didn't happen. What kind of "episode" you ask? He threw a fit, yelled, cried, and slapped. What 2-3 year old doesn't do that? So the day care providers refused to handle it, because if they did try, there's always some parent out there who is going to get sue happy and sue the day care facility for child abuse. I get where teachers and day care facilities are coming from....they have to error on the side of caution to cover their own a$$'s.

Now bring in the Dr's. The way I see it, they are more than happy to diagnos a child with ADHD for serveral reasons. One, no parent is going to argue with a Dr. these days, especially when it comes to their child. Two, no insurance company is going to contest a Dr's diagnosis on a child. So it becomes a seemingly never ending appointment for the pediatrician, psychologist, therapist, etc... They're going to get paid! And all they have to do is prescribe a medication that alters the mind, bring the child in for follow up appointments, and start looking at what kind of sports car they're going to buy. Not all Dr's I'm sure, but most.

Now the parents, my son's mom included. They want a controlled, well-behaved child. They don't want their lives disruppted by incidents where they have to leave work and pick their child up from school. They don't want to worry about a babysitter not being able to control an unruly child. They don't want to be disturbed by any unnecessary parenting. Lazy and selfish parent, a greedy healthcare system, and scared schools are what contributes to the over diagnosis of ADHD.

My son is a perfectly normal kid. I have never seen him have any kind of outburst, or act in any kind of way that warrents this diagnosis. He's shy around people he doesn't know...so was I. But give him 10-15 minutes and he warms right up to the good ones. He has a sense about him that lets him know who shady people are. So did I as a kid. He's smart, he's athletic, loves sports and movies, likes to go outside and play...all this with or without the medication.

I've done everything I can to get him off the medication, but I'm a male, in the military, and I am looked down upon by the legal system. So my say has no weight. I see it a lot, more and more. I addametly oppose of the outrageous numbers of children that are diagnosed with it. Ultimately, I firmly believe that it's result of modern American society. Television, video games, law suits, selfishness, greed, inadequate education on the part of parents...so many things that factor in to it.

And it's not going to end anytime soon. Teachers will never risk lawsuits, Dr's will never turn away an easy pay day, and many parents will never question the diagnosis.

Out of this whole page, I think only 2 people have mentioned PARENTS.

Its fairly apparent who the problem lies with, and more troubling that few comprehend it.

The newest generations have already lost the war for their minds, and as we can see, are losing the war for their childrens minds.

Its a long way down, of which few are prepared. God help us all!

a reply to: six67seven
Well, the parents grew up with doctors that gave a crap. The parents grew up being brainwashed that medicine is god. That there is a pill for everything. I am 32 years old, I would have been on meth since I was in kindergarten, had my parents not had a weird feeling and got a second opinion of a real head shrinker instead of relying on the school head shrinker. Kind of hard to really blame the parents, when "the game" of medicine had changed so much in such a short time.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Basically it started with a 1967 meeting and how to control the emotions of a population by the year 2000. At approx 51 minutes in the video it says there are now 300 million prescriptions written yearly....

Chemical imbalance is a marketing tool used by the drug companies.

Some studies say Psychotropic drugs kill 2.5 times more people than homicides. Over half of all suicides are on Psychotropic drugs and if you look at rampage stabbings and shootings there is evidence that a psychotropic was involved. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

They are a little behind schedule but the overall plan has been in effect since 1967...