Well lemonhead,my son's school has also brought it to our attention,he's to star obsevation by a proffesional psycho...after new years.,but in my opinion they have been over reacting,the teachers.

Did you know that many of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD could be caused by exposure to Lead and other toxic metals?

Lead is a potent toxin very commonly associated with a host of neurobehavioral problems in children including hyperactivity attention deficit and other learning disorders. A leading expert on the effects of lead toxicity in children Dr. H.L. Needlemen of the University of Pittsburgh Medical School has conducted scores of studies over the last 20 years clearly establishing the link between lead levels in children and specific hyperactive and attention deficit behavior traits.

Follow-up studies indicate that these effects often persist into adulthood.
According to the AACAP an estimated one out of every six children in the United States has blood lead levels in the toxic range. What's more researchers have discovered that the amount of lead necessary to produce central nervous system effects is far lower than previously realized.

Make sure that your water is properly filtered and that the kid (s) have a healthy diet,such as plenty of fruits and vegs...and don't worry too much.Hell I dismissed it when they first told me about my son 'showing'symtoms.But i did open a couple of books on the subject and tried to find out what the symtoms might be like and what could we possibly do about it without the use of drugs such as 'Retilin'..

It would be interesting to see if Flouride has anything to with this as well, I know for one thing it can cause calcification of the Pineal Gland and there are some other physiological damges it causes but I would be far more interested in the neurological effects of long term exposure to flouride. Any of you guys have any additional information?

well you could get an idea for that one fairly easily by looking at ADHD rates in areas with city water as opposed to where most of the population has individual wells. However I'm sure there's a thousand other variables that would cloud this data. Still it would be an interesting place to start.

I beleive drugs are not the answer. I think there is more than sugar and tv to blame. if you look into food manufacture you find a veritable pharmacepia of chemicals, from preservatives, dyes, emulsifiers etc. And its in everything now. Id go with an organic diet for a while and see if she improves, if not you have nothing to lose. If she does improve it may well indicateyour child is more sensitive to some of these common chemicals. Anyone notice that add has become more and more prevalent, and natural foods less and less commonly avail in the supermarket. Then to top it off theres pesticides etc used on crops. Im sure all these chemicals filter down to us, the end consumer, and they cannot be good. just my 2c.

Originally posted by jukyu
The government is trying to mandate the psychological testing of our children which would in turn lead to government mandated medicating of our children with things such as ssri's and ritalin.

OK - HOW is the government trying to accomplish this??

They can't do this - can they??
I can see them mandating the testing, but not medicating.

Flouride now?? Flouride, lead, mercury, aluminum......the food, the water, the sugar, the medication..........

I might as well crawl up the mountains, no? Would my kids be safe there????



[edit on 11-12-2004 by Lemonhead]

As for the testing, its currently a bill in Congress, believe its currently in the house though I'd love to hear that it had failed. As to how they could mandate medication, well your doctor or a psychiatrist can already prescribe things of course. Then if you refuse to give it to your child and the state considers such an action harmful to your child's well being they can bring social services into the mix. I'm not trying to scare anyone I just wanted to make it known what kind of things are on the horizon. Fortunately if this is still being debated in the house there is still time to call your rep, tell them what a bad idea this is, etc especially since the session is about to end for the year. I'd like to say that this bill has very little chance of passing, but stranger things have happened.

Quote: ADHD is an epidemic.
It is reaching insane levels, currently more than 1 in 6 children.

There is no such thing as a genetic epidemic happening in a 30 year period!

Um, first of all how much technology has taken over in the past 30 years, meaning how many people used to be able to drop out of school, get a job and support a whole family without an issue. ANd now hard is it to wiggle through the system now if you are an extreme thinker, where before your view and concepts were more excepted and appreciated without the requisites whether it be inventive or philosophical.

And I have a friend who is a teacher / psychologist has ADHD, is a wonderful father and husband and lets out the "H" through extreme sprots.

I would rather be ADHD any day as opposed to ordinary.

Unique isn't bad

A very true statement...today's society has a problem when someone doesn't fit the mold...because if you don't...you can't be controlled...you will continue to ask questions....because there is always something to learn...

ADD and ADHD is nothing more than a label used to catagorize something that society just can't understand.

I've been where you are...never medicated my child...told the teachers and psychologists to jump in a lake...because they are NOT my child's parent...I AM...as a parent it is part of the job description to protect our children...and if that means telling the "authorities", no matter who they are, to back off...I have and will continue to do so.

something you may want to check into....google "Indigo Child"....there is some great information in there if you are interested in another way of looking at these children society has labeled...they are the NEW generation...and a precursour of the good things to come...

WOW - I had NEVER heard of Indigo Children!!!!
That is SOOOOOOOOOO my daughter!

Very Very interesting..........

I would have to say that to many kids are on medication. I would start with diet and go Organic eat mostly if not all organic. Avoid as much refined foods as possible. Sure it cost more but what price can you put on your health. I would limit if not eliminate HFC high fructose corn syrup from her diet. If she likes to drink soda I would recommend splenda type diet soda's although I would frown on any type of diet soda. Above all avoid the temptation to put her on any medication simply because a teacher has a problem with her not sitting still, perhaps the teacher needs more training in dealing with fidgety kids.

Sunday at like, 8:30pm I think, on Nickelodian, there's going to be a show where they talk to kids who have ADD and ADHD and stuff, it's supposed to be pretty informative and good, even though it's on Nickelodian. It might be worth watching.

There is probably no one causal factor for ADHD, it is most likely induced by a combination of factors including poor food quality, pesticides, industrial contamimants in the home and school, excessive stimulation, television, floridation,etc

Essentialy, our children are becoming allergic to modern society, and more importantly society is becoming allergic to them...

We forget that we as adults are every bit as influenced by cultural norms and stereotypes of children we are fed by the Television, we have been conditioned to believe that children should be calm and quiet thoughful little angels that exist to bolster our ego's...

Tell me one time in the history of the world when 8 year olds wern't hyper...

The real cost in the future will be the terrible armies of teenagers chronically addicted to amphetamine.

I have heard it said that red dye can cause a lot of behavial problems, there is another dye as well but I can not remember what it is.

The thing is years ago kids were thought of as lazy,the wrong crowd etc, when they actually had adhd or a form of learning trouble that was not diagnosed so they dropped out of school.

I know my husband would have been diagnosed with adhd, if they had known what it was back in the stone ages[ha ha]. I myself would have been diagnosed with add,they blamed my learning problems on my medical problem that I had at the time.

[edit on 12-4-2006 by freespirit]

ADD and ADHD in my opinion are over hyped. Ritalin and other stimulatory drugs turn kids into mindless drones. It is just disease mongoring to get you to buy there pills.

My freind was told he was ADD he never took any pills and now has his masters in english from university and is writing his third book. ADD and ADHD are just normal behavioraltraits of kids. How obedient do people expect undeveloped minds to be seriously. If they say we want to put your daughter on pills tell them to # off.

I was told I have ADHD in the third grade. I started on Adderall, 5mg, twice a day. That wasn't strong enough. I then started 10mgs once a day in the 4th grade. Not strong enough. I was then taking I believe 30mg a day and it worked great. In 8th grade, I stopped taking it becouse I wasn't sure I needed it. I was one of the worst students in my grade. I got pretty much all F's that year. Untill my doctor and I decided to try Concerta, 54mg time released. I ended the year with a C average.

Best decission I have ever made. Took it all thru highschool, still take it now. Graduated with a B average.

While I do agree it makes one seem zombie-ish, (Thats how it makes me), without it I would never have done so good.
The efectivness of the medication IMO depends on who you are. The proof that ADD/ADHD is a real condition is the fact that the medication works. If you take a kid that doesn't have it and give him the medication, he will be speedy. If you give it to a kid with the condition he will show the desired affects.

So it may be overly diagnosed but for those who really have the condition the medication works wonders. And the use of the medication should be the child's decision. Only he/she can tell for sure if it works.

[edit on 17-4-2006 by edwardteach]

[edit on 17-4-2006 by edwardteach]

ADD/ADHD is a real condition. However, its up for debate whether it is a medical condition or merely an adjective to describe ones behavior. Personality definetly plays a part, I was a hyperactive child and I am now 18 years old and recently put myself on ADHD medicine for college studies. It hurts the most when you really want to accomplish a task, but merely dont have the mind restraint to do it to your highest ability. I have experienced much success since being put on the drug Adderall. However, this drug and drugs like it have many side effects that you should "google" before letting your child take it daily. Good luck man!

I agree with Instar whole heartedly. My take on this whole issue is, it's the food! I am sure that there are cases of true add and adhd where it is a neurological disorder that the child was born with, but i also think that alot of the cases is because of all of the additives, preservaties, flavorings, and chemicals that go into our food nowadays. These chemicals could cause changes to the brain's delicate balance, and after these children have been on ritalin for so long, taking them off would just screw them up more. I mean, americans used to be the largest people on the planet on average, but we're starting to lag behind because people don't eat as healthy anymore, which i am sure has jsut a large part of this problem as all of the chemicals.

ADD/ADHD can be confused with schizophrenia/bi-polar disorder/manic depression/delusionary disorder/anxiety/post-traumatic syndrome and vice versa for all items listed.

the brain is too complicated, and they only try.
it seems the only drugs that help anyone are illegal ones(ones that increase dopemines). most people who take drugs for brain "disorders" say they don't work. because most people are just how they are consciously, not chemically.