ADHD may be overdiagnosed in youngest classmates

ADHD may be overdiagnosed in youngest classmates

www.cbc.ca

An 11-year Canadian study suggests the youngest children in a classroom are more likely to be assessed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to their older classmates, raising concerns that many schoolchildren are wrongly being diagnosed and prescribed medication

children born in December were 39 per cent more likely to be diagnosed and 48 per cent more likely to be treated with medication for ADHD

(visit the link for the full news article)

Bunch of BS
Firstly the majority of NORTH AMERICAN Parents, U.S. and Canada included, already knew this perhaps 3 years ago, if not more.

Of course they are being over prescribed.

Back in the days teachers used to sit down with kids who were just a tad bit behind, but these days lazy teachers say no, I don't have time, that kid got ADHD, he needs Ritalin!

We have horrible teachers and over-medication.

It's funny how in 3rd world countries people deal with issues all the time, but here time to prescribe anti-depressants or ADHD pills like Ritalin.

It's so disgusting

www.cbc.ca
(visit the link for the full news article)

"Oh my God, this 4 year old has such a short attention span! He must have ADHD?"

Kids have short attention spans, there is nothing more to it, I'm glad this article is pointing out the obvious and I hope it gains some real exposure. I am ashamed at the lack of responsibility parents want to have for their kids by passing the buck to teachers. Then the teachers passing the buck to the big pharma companies.... Its a scheme like no other.

This comment was pretty funny.

This is truly a "Duh Moment " for research ! Has it taken this long for them to realize that children born later in the year are developmentally younger than their peers who were born earlier ? The rate of development in children is such that a year is a very significant time span. Could it be that the researchers were all born in December ?

hi op

i think i am going through the same thing
the mother and i have a meeting at school tomorrow cos of my daughtersr behavior
my daughter has had heart surgerys and was overdosed with meds at 10 months old
a doctor kept turning the machine up on her morphine
and a nurse would come and say this is way to much and turn it down
im not saying its a contributing factor
but in my head i believe it is
i seen a lot more than this
cheers op
dave

i remember when 'ADHD' used to be cured with a slap round the head.
unfortunatly there was no profit in it.

Ahhh,.... isn't adhd treated with Ritalin, which is a speed? Why not just treat the kids by giving them coffee. I would say Nicotine because it has been proven to be a treatment for many conditions but I don't think kids should be smoking or using the patches with propylene glycol as the delivery system of the patch. Hate to have them spitting snuff all around the house to. I read that the CO2 in carbonated beverages containing caffeine may be making kids violent or disruptive. I gotta quit reading all that research crap.

Originally posted by el1jah
"Oh my God, this 4 year old has such a short attention span! He must have ADHD?"

Kids have short attention spans, there is nothing more to it, . .

The ignorance of someone who has never experienced a legitimate ADHD kid/child/adult.

My daughter was diagnosed way back in 1973 - - before it was exploited and abused. Fortunately I had an amazing pediatrician.

Short attentions span????????????? Oh! Is that all it is?

Besides bouncing off the walls - - - even on a no sugar - no additives - no artificial coloring diet (and no drugs) - - - my daughter had ZERO attention span on a One-to-One.

Physical contact by squeezing her hands on a One-to-One was required to hold any attention at all.

I was fortunate that an experimental program was placed in her primary school exactly when she needed it. I also have the most amazing pediatrician. We - - are the lucky ones.

She was also placed on a competitive swim team that practiced every evening.

reply to post by lacrimosa


HeHe, I was never lifted by the feet hanging in the air by may father and given a bareass spanking by him while my uncles, aunts, cousins and others that had been searching for me watched. I would never go hide somewhere and fall asleep because I was mad and cause that much hassle. HeHe

Yes, it is disgusting. In grade school I refused to do homework. It was not because of some learning disability or mental problem. It was because I was lazy. Yet, when add was suggested as the possible reason I went along with it because it granted me an excuse. They prescribed me with 10mgs of ritalin. A while later I was required to be "tested" for add.(i didn't display hyperactivity). During the tests I tried my best to make it seem like I in fact could not concentrate. This somehow fooled the psychiatric professionals as I was officially diagnosed. Later when my mom began to question why the ritalin had made no positive effect, my doctor simply upped the dosage rather than question whether or not I actually had add. The real sick part of it is ritalin is a powerful stimulant. It falls under the street name "speed". I did not know this as a child, and I certainly wouldn't have willingly took it if I knew the possible ramifications. I do, however in hindsight, remember speeding every year before my body built up a tolerance. Also when summer came around and I was not required to take it I remember feeling depressed and extremely and irrationally irritable. I was going through withdrawals.

No, ADD and ADHD are made up diseases to diagnose on kids who are lazy, uninterested, hyper, and naughty. There are certainly other ways to deal with these types of kids. Even a good smack is better then feeding them speeders to form an artificial alertness and attention in them.

What is truly disturbing is adderall, one of the most common ADHD drugs, is nothing but amphetamine salts, a very close relative to METH. It is very addictive and back when I was school, kids use to sell their adderall pills. I am sure today is no different, just more kids medicated.

reply to post by jrod


Adderall is dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. Ritalin is Methylphenidate. They induce pretty much the same effects. Although adderall may be more addictive. It apparently induces more of a state of euphoria than ritalin aswell as the effects of a powerful stimulant. Regardless, drugging kids with anything is disgusting in my book.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Whenever I see a kid being diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds I think only one thing: Failed parent. Not all kids learn the same way .. and classrooms in this country are biased towards a "left brain" type education .. sitting, reading, rigid testing etc. Not all people learn in that atmosphere (especially boys)

So when a kid "acts out" is "bored" or "hyper" they are put on meds to make them little zombies to sit at their desk like good pupils should. Obviously parents, who can't take the stress of dealing with a normal child, would rather medicate the hell outa them for their own benefit.

Disgusts me to no end..

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by ModernAcademia

 

Whenever I see a kid being diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds I think only one thing: Failed parent. .

Then you don't know what you are talking about.

Yes! Absolutely! This has gotten out of hand and no kid just because they are active or have trouble paying attention is ADHD.

School tried to put my grandson on meds - - - but because his mom was a Legitimate case of ADHD - - - I knew the difference between a bouncy kid and a legitimate case of ADHD.

The doctors are at fault too. There are way too many kids taking drugs - - when other methods can be used.

However - - - there are legitimate cases that do need medication. It is NOT Failed Parenting.

Originally posted by Ariess
No, ADD and ADHD are made up diseases to diagnose on kids who are lazy, uninterested, hyper, and naughty. There are certainly other ways to deal with these types of kids. Even a good smack is better then feeding them speeders to form an artificial alertness and attention in them.

WRONG!

Your own personal experience - - - is hardly wide range - - - to declare ADD as an excuse for everyone else.

medicating children - wrong
dealing with each child's situation holistically - right

oh wait, silly me
where's the profit in that

reply to post by Rockpuck

Whenever I see a kid being diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds I think only one thing: Failed parent.

I certainly don't. I knew a few kids growing up that had legit ADHD and wonderful parents. It wasn't a lack of discipline or attention or structure. There was just something off, and when on the meds the kids excelled. They didn't run around like zombies at all. For the most part the personality was the same, studying just became bearable. Certainly there are those lazy parents that want a quick fix and tell the Dr. prescribe or we can find someon who will, but throwing all parents of children with ADHD under the bus isn't fair to the ones that try.

reply to post by Annee


I agree that my personal experience is but my personal experience. That paragraph was intended to use my experience to back the op's message that, of course, adhd/add is over/misdiagnosed. The paragraph you quoted was my opinion on the subject all together. Which is, yes there are hyper, lazy, uninterested, and naughty children, but this is not indicative of some learning disability or mental issue. It is a behavior problem that can be addressed in a number of ways. This does not/should not include feeding them speeders. It not only is dangerous, in my opinion, but it fails to address the issue at hand. Rather, it induces an artificial alertness and attention by over stimulating their nervous system. Perhaps, I should have made it clear that it was my opinion, but through my own experience and observation over other "add" kids I have found it to be valid.

reply to post by ModernAcademia

Sounds like a dodge on the part of the system. And a bandaid fix to cover any sores in the psyche the kids may already have by the time they get to school. I heard said that by the time a child is 4 or 5 that have already learned their coping skills from their parents as to how to deal with people in the world around them.

Kids that seem disinterested or distracted are just emulating the behavior their parents taught them. If I ignore and neglect my child's emotional needs when they are still quite young, then that is the way they behave towards others they come in contact with away from home (like school).

Parents are busy today with everything they gotta do and if you throw in a little selfish, self centered behavior to boot then the infant "terrible twosish" child is left to rot. Park them in front of TV, I pods or video games and they become numb to their surroundings. Interpersonal coping skills become derailed and the instant gratification of a remote control disables patience and attention span. If you "don't like the program change the channel" doesn't work in the real world, kids may feel awkward and become afraid and non compliant or disruptive.

Thats why (god forbid Amphetamines?) work because they snap the mind into attention to the outside world and make one want to belong and work productively. Guess where that is gonna lead? But who cares, just as long as the student makes it thru the class, the teacher, doctor and parents can relinquish responsibility and feign success. The child pays the ultimate price.

This BS study is a "explanation" for the problem that exonerates the parents and the school and provides a solution without really addressing the core issues: that parents neglect and ignore the kids and school is boring as hell.

What a future we are building for ourselves. Do they have a name for this generation yet? Wait till they grow up and start running the world. Maybe we are already there.

I agree some kids need medication. But I feel there needs to be a STRONG screening first before Rx'ing. Before you know it, young adults are prescribed medications to combat the side effects of every other medication they are on. Then within a couple years they are addicted to 4-5 medications.

Originally posted by Ariess
reply to post by Annee

 

I agree that my personal experience is but my personal experience. That paragraph was intended to use my experience to back the op's message that, of course, adhd/add is over/misdiagnosed. The paragraph you quoted was my opinion on the subject all together. Which is, yes there are hyper, lazy, uninterested, and naughty children, but this is not indicative of some learning disability or mental issue. It is a behavior problem that can be addressed in a number of ways. This does not/should not include feeding them speeders. It not only is dangerous, in my opinion, but it fails to address the issue at hand. Rather, it induces an artificial alertness and attention by over stimulating their nervous system. Perhaps, I should have made it clear that it was my opinion, but through my own experience and observation over other "add" kids I have found it to be valid.

Thank you.

Oh - - I absolutely am appalled and disgusted with all this medicating of kids and turning them into Zombies.

I don't think its natural for most young kids to sit in school - - the way they are required to anyway.

What is wrong with doctors who just keep prescribing medication to these kids.

I understand from a parents point of view - - - because as a young parent you just want what is best for your child. Parents trust the doctors and school officials. They shouldn't.

I was so lucky to have had the Pediatrician and the school I had. My daughter went through a whole month of testing. Then the school held a psychological evaluation - - which her Pediatrician attended.

He did prescribe meds - - but only for a few months. He said most kids with behavior problems - really don't want to act out. He said - by giving them meds for only a few months - - it lets them experience better behavior - - - then he pulls them off the meds and expects them to take over the responsibility of their own behavior.

My daughter was on meds for a few months. But ONLY during school hours. He told me 'I don't care if you have to turn your home into a padded cell - - - it is your daughter's home - - - she needs to be free and drug free at home. Seriously - - she didn't even have enough focus to watch TV - - - except Boxing LOL. For some reason Boxing held her attention - - at least for a short period.

This kid did not just become hyper when she went to school. She was a hyper nightmare from the time she was born. Fortunately - - she didn't have sleep problems. I would surely have lost my mind if she did.