ADHD may be overdiagnosed in youngest classmates

Here is some information that I think is relevant.

Thomas Stephen Szasz (play /ˈsɑːs/ sahss; born April 15, 1920) is a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990[1] he has been Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. He is a well-known social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, and of the social control aims of medicine in modern society, as well as of scientism. His books The Myth of Mental Illness (1960) and The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement (1970) set out some of the arguments with which he is most associated.

wikipedia.org

reply to post by Annee


Annee
There may be a few legitimate cases, even when we grew up and ADHD wasnt' as widespread as it is today
Nontheless that doesn't mean that it's not overdiagnosed today

Just as the article itself points out
Perhaps you didn't read it

Originally posted by Annee

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.

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 completely agree. I personally don't think "failed parenting" when i see a kid diagnosed with adhd. On the contrary, the fact that the child is diagnosed shows that the parent cares and sought help to better the child's life. My mom tried everything she could think of to discipline me out of it besides spanking me. Though maybe if she had....thats another issue. The fact that doctors, psychiatrists, and whoever automatically say "add" here is some powerful stimulants to treat it is appalling to me. It represents everything that is wrong with our healthcare systems. I'm glad that it worked out for you and your family.

Originally posted by ModernAcademia

Nontheless that doesn't mean that it's not overdiagnosed today

Oh it is absolutely overdiagnosed today.

No argument there.

Originally posted by ModernAcademia

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)

Of course they are misdiagnosed as having ADHD if they were born in December. What little kid isn't going to be hyper the first 10 years of their life? Name one kid who has been able to ever sit still for one minute! And if I was born in December, with it also being Christmas time, I'd be hyper too! I don't think a lot of kids are ADHD but rather just normal active kids who get bored.

reply to post by shell310


Pretty sure December refers to the last month a child can enter school that year.

In other words - - the youngest.

reply to post by Ariess

Not always. These Kids have to learn to structure their thinking pattern and they could be super intelligent. The problem is that too much power is being generated and some parts of the brain cannot keep up. Stray voltage jumps all around and the chaos gets evident. I would suggest including in the diet chemistry that builds the sheathing of nerves. I'm not sure if that would be elastin or Jello. Jello is sorta a form of glucosamine and usually contains the added vitamin C needed to have it absorbed and used. Elastin is found in stretchy food like skin, natural casings on hotdogs, and to a certain extent in some meats. Soup make with a soup bone would be best in my book, the chemistry of barley helps to. All kids should also eat real fish. Fish has chemistry that is needed for proper thyroid function and helps develop brain cells. A little coffee or tea is a safer alternative than speed.

I use Yooper logic so my answers may seem weird. I'm not sure this will work for ADHD but it's all healthy food. It will take a few months to work. If you have the kid catch the fish they will gain knowledge of where our food comes from and that's a cheap sort of entertainment that is time tested to relieve stress and teach calmness. Remember also that kids will be kids. If you get them interested in something they will do well at it. Don't sit them in front of a TV where action is always present and everything is always exiteing. They grow up thinking that everything has to race or it is not normal.

People can either burn glucose or ketones in the brain for thinking. Glucose is fast and sometimes it causes excitement and sometimes irrational behavior or ideas. Ketones come from our bodies processing fat for energy and the ketones create a slower more precise way of thinking. When sugars are burnt we get excited and think in the Beta range. When fats are burnt we think more in the Alpha range. This is what I'm guessing anyway from my studies. When an Alpha person tries to think Beta, or too fast for their mind to process, they become chaotic. Alpha people are stable, responsible people if they work right. All this is tied into metabolism. I think I have possibly identified the types of people but haven't figured how to tell them apart yet.

There are some real cases of ADHD and I have no answers for those cases. Those need more studies by the science of medicine. I study what the sciences know and try to find possible answers.

Originally posted by Annee

Originally posted by ModernAcademia

Nontheless that doesn't mean that it's not overdiagnosed today

Oh it is absolutely overdiagnosed today.

No argument there.

oh ok
Then we are in agreement
Perhaps I misunderstood you

Originally posted by ModernAcademia

Originally posted by Annee

Originally posted by ModernAcademia

Nontheless that doesn't mean that it's not overdiagnosed today

Oh it is absolutely overdiagnosed today.

No argument there.

oh ok
Then we are in agreement
Perhaps I misunderstood you

I just get really tired and annoyed by those who state unequivocally that - - ADHD doesn't exist and is the result of bad parenting (and other rude/nasty/ignorant remarks).

Like I said - my child was diagnosed correctly with legitimate ADHD in 1973. That's 30+ years of presenting and defending truth to a lot of ignorant/rude/nasty people.

Is it being over diagnosed and abused for what I consider Convenience? Absolutely!

To start with - - - the entire method of working with young children should be changed.

reply to post by Annee


Sorry, I did not mean to imply that all cases of ADD/ADHD were "fake" .. but that, imo anyways, the vast majority do not really have any medical condition such as ADD/ADHD and are put on meds for no reason. I too knew someone when I was younger that was a legit ADHD case.. I also knew a completely normal kid who used to get detentions for stupid stuff, one day was put on meds (by the advice of the school) and was no longer the same person.

I also sadly have a friend who medicates their children who (were?) completely normal, if not a bit rambunctious at times, but when you have 3 boys it's to be expected.

Maybe I'm biased myself in that I disapprove of most drugs/vaccines for my own body, let alone pumping children full of these toxins for no legitimate reason.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by Annee

 

Sorry, I did not mean to imply that all cases of ADD/ADHD were "fake" .. but that, imo anyways, the vast majority do not really have any medical condition such as ADD/ADHD and are put on meds for no reason.

Thank you.

IMO - - kids just don't have the freedom to run free today. They are not as physically active as they should be.

There are a lot of chemicals and sugar in food.

There is definitely a problem. But I don't think the majority is brain disorder/dysfunction.

In our little tiny beach house we have "kick the furniture" - - - meaning its not a show place. We have a big old couch and big old pillows - - - that the 4 year old runs around on - - bounces on - - jumps on - etc. So even when he is inside - - he is physically active.

Ive said it before and Ill say it again:

Ritalin is a drug that works but ONLY if it it prescribed correctly.

The issue is a simple one. You should NEVER have your child diagnosed with ADHD by you pediatrician or family practice doctor. They mean well but lack the training needed to assess the complex variations and nuances of ADHD and its treatment. You need to see a specialist and preferably a pediatric neurologist and if they are good you will exhaust all other intervention before they recommend the drug route.

That also goes for school psychologist who have a vested interest in creating little zombies in the classroom.

Another thought, do some of these children have Irlen's Syndrome?

With Irlen syndrome it may affect a child's reading and writing, attention span, energy level, motivation and work production. Children with Irlen syndrome react in different ways. Some don't give up on learning, but develop compensatory strategies such as taking frequent breaks, developing keen listening skills and memory, and choosing subjects that don't involve much reading. Others do give up, avoiding reading situations by pretending to read, misbehaving or being a truant. Irlen's visual processing pathways that take messages from the eye to the brain. If these pathways are out of step with each other, print looks distorted. It is not just print that is distorted, in severe cases the world around them becomes distorted - often they become clumsy and bang

I have certainly seen 3 children who were previously diagnosed with ADHD when they had Irlen's Syndrome - all three child no longer take medication for ADHD. All 3 children are doing well in school - educationally and behaviourally. For one of these three children, the turn around has been remarkable as this child had previously been stood down from school multiple times and excluded from schools by the age of 8 years. Last year post Irlen diagnosis this child had learning decelerated by 8 months in one school term!

Originally posted by DonaldD
I have certainly seen 3 children who were previously diagnosed with ADHD when they had Irlen's Syndrome

Actually - could be anything.

There are children with allergies that get diagnosed as ADHD.

Milk seems to be a major allergy for this.

Children with hearing loss sometimes get diagnosed as ADHD.

Extensive testing is the key.

Originally posted by Annee

Originally posted by DonaldD
I have certainly seen 3 children who were previously diagnosed with ADHD when they had Irlen's Syndrome

Actually - could be anything.

There are children with allergies that get diagnosed as ADHD.

Milk seems to be a major allergy for this.

Children with hearing loss sometimes get diagnosed as ADHD.

Extensive testing is the key.

These three children, who took medication because the correct diagnosis was not made. The key is that parents need to be drivers in the extensive testing - otherwise ADHD being under Mental Health these alternatives in testing will certainly not be looked at - and the underlying problem will not be addressed.

Originally posted by DonaldD

Originally posted by Annee

Originally posted by DonaldD
I have certainly seen 3 children who were previously diagnosed with ADHD when they had Irlen's Syndrome

Actually - could be anything.

There are children with allergies that get diagnosed as ADHD.

Milk seems to be a major allergy for this.

Children with hearing loss sometimes get diagnosed as ADHD.

Extensive testing is the key.

These three children, who took medication because the correct diagnosis was not made. The key is that parents need to be drivers in the extensive testing - otherwise ADHD being under Mental Health these alternatives in testing will certainly not be looked at - and the underlying problem will not be addressed.

My daughter at age 6 way back in 1974 was diagnosed with ADD. And yes she was a legitimate ADD. I've read everything.

Young parents panic when their child is not perfect - - they turn to professionals for answers. I was fortunate. I got lucky with the most amazing doctor and school system.

The Medical Profession needs to police their own and make them accountable - - - so when naive trusting parents look for answers - - they get them.

With due respect to the previous poster, IMO there is no such thing as ADHD. It's a covert attempt to ruin the health of the young users of these drugs while generating profits for big pharma.

Originally posted by starviego
With due respect to the previous poster, IMO there is no such thing as ADHD. .

You are wrong.

I keep thinking of America in the days before the 1920s, when most Americans worked on farms. I'll bet the kids of those families had chores to do from sunup until sundown. Something tells me not one of those kids had ADHD back then.

Originally posted by starviego
I keep thinking of America in the days before the 1920s, when most Americans worked on farms. I'll bet the kids of those families had chores to do from sunup until sundown. Something tells me not one of those kids had ADHD back then.

Hyperactivity is not the only symptom of ADD/ADHD. Actually some ADDs are just the opposite.

ADD means Attention Deficit Disorder - - the "H" means hyper.

My daughter had a zero attention span on a One-on-One. She required physical contact as in squeezing her hands to hold her attention. She was 9 years old before she could be trusted and unsupervised.

I would just love to see you getting her to do chores on a regular basis - - without you being right there beside her every inch of the way.