This is sure to be a spirited discussion. But, in light of school starting back I thought it could be relevant. Plus, on the commute in this morning, there was some discussion on the radio about ADHD and whether or not it was a real disorder... or just one manufactured by drug companies.
There were excellent points brought up that I'd never thought about because I have not been in the position that forced me to look at this issue. Thank goodness because I know it has to be tough for any parent to not only come to terms with your child having it, but how to move forward with treatment.
The doctor on the radio this morning brought up the point that this disorder cannot be diagnosed in medical terms. One cannot go through an MRI machine and be diagnosed based on what their body is doing. Most of the time, diagnosis is simply based on how the child's parents or teachers feel. I take issue with this. Especially if the course of treatment involves mind altering drugs like Ritalin. It seems to me with all of the medical breakthroughs that we see, someone would've isolated the gene or chromosome or chemical in the brain that causes it.
I do believe that in the last 10 years, ADHD has been grossly over-diagnosed. I think this is a result of a push by the drug companies for the newest medications to treat it and by teachers who are too overworked to discipline a child that has no real behavioral training at home. If the teacher suggests that the child has ADHD and needs to be medicated, usually the child is taken to a doctor and diagnosed based on the teacher's observations.
Personally, I have not done a whole hell of a lot of research on the medications that are now used to treat ADHD, but I do have strong feelings based on personal experience. I've heard from numerous sources that Ritalin is the closet equivalent to cocaine that our society has and I believe this to be true. I don't care what the circumstance or how bad your child has it, I cannot see how anything would justify anyone allowing their child to be given daily doses of this stuff. Especially when I KNOW there are other options out there.
My baby brother struggled with ADHD for as long as I can remember. This was at least 20 years ago and I don't know how he was diagnosed nor do I know how they decided upon the course of treatment, but I do know that my brother was treated with Ritalin during the school year.... not during the summer. When he would come off the meds for the summer, I vividly remember his behavior mirroring that of a drug addict going through withdrawals... I remember him being angry a lot.
Baby brother was not in any behavioral therapy that I am aware of, but that is another position that I stand firm on. If your child is diagnosed with ADHD and the course of treatment is medication, then don't let it be the only thing you do! Take your child to a behavioral therapist so that he or she can learn ways to focus the energy in a positive way that doesn't get them into trouble. Isn't it better to learn this as a child than to try to learn it as an adult... or to never learn it at all?
Do I think my parents did things wrong? No. I think that they did the best that they could with the information that was available at the time. Would I do it differently today? Absolutely if I had to, but only because there is so much more knowledge on the disorder today and more treatments available than ever before... and not just drugs. But, I would seriously question whether or not my child actually had ADHD before I did anything and a hyperactive child does not always equal an ADHD child. I wish more people understood this.
ETA: Regardless of what "some people" think, I welcome open discussion on touchy issues. But, be respectful of others and if you are going to put a point out there that you stand firm in, please be prepared to back it up.
© 2008 AFRo. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
ADHD
Posted by AFRo at 5:37 PM
Labels: Brothers and Sisters, Seriously
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44 comments:
Interesting- My 12 year old has ADHD- diagnosed at kindergarten- We have spent years and tons of $ trying to find the right doctors, help, meds, counselors and therapies for him.
It has taken 8 years to get somewhat of a handle on the situation- see my blog for more- I am posting about it tonight.
My position is that there is something that does not "fire" right in the brain- and I see that as a true medical problem. Thus we choose to medicate him to help with the problem. My one wish in this lifetime is that they find a true Cure for it.
Hmmmm....I have debated on commenting on this subject. It touches close to home. My son 4 wheeler boy is ADHD. We went through 1 1/2 years of restrictive diet, 1 year of therapy (not behavioral, not all ADHD children behave "badly"), and finally on to medication. We have been through 4 different types, yet never on Ritilin. I still take him each year for a blood panel and chest x-ray to check for liver damage and enlarging of the heart. I, too, think it is grossly over diagnosed. Many parents go in to a family doctor they have see for years and say "The teacher says he is too active" and wah lah...they write the prescription. I do not give the medication to my child in the summer, but I also read a statistic one time that seventy something percent of true ADHD children that go unmedicated end up turning to illegal drugs or alcohol for that leveled out feeling. It is a type of chemical imbalance.
I think I may just have to steel this idea for a post. Hope you don't mind. I have a lot to say on this subject.
I was wrong on the percentage that use illegal drugs....looked it up. See this article http://www.icdri.org/ADHD/ADHD_Medications.htm
Drama Mama - Hope your day in the Dirty D wasn't too dreary. I'll come check it out when I get the kiddos in bed. I think that you may be onto something with the "firing" right in the brain thing. That's actually what I've wondered for years... it's got to be something isolated to the brain though. I think.
Thank you Heidi for the comment on the doctors!!! I think you nailed it. I'm glad you shared your story and I do not mind at all if you use the topic. I'm glad it inspired you. I love that you mentioned that not all children with ADHD behave badly. My little brother really wasn't bad... he just couldn't focus on any one thing for a long period of time.
I'd like to come at this from a slightly different angle. I too think that too many kids are misdiagnosed with ADHD, and I do believe this is partly because they are "busy" in school and harder to handle than other kids. My stand is that many of these kids would be great candidates for homeschooling. Homeschooling gives a great opportunity to teach in a way that the child can learn. Not all kids can sit still at a desk for eight hours a day. Many kids learn kinesthetically (sp?) and need to move and have action in order to learn. These kids are done a disservice in our education system and would thrive at home. I'm not saying this is the answer for everyone, and I'm not in a place to speak authoritatively about it (although I wonder sometimes about my oldest who I'm homeschooling), but I believe it's an option that should be researched more thoroughly: do some kids with a "lighter" version of ADHD learn better when they're able to learn in the proper environment.
Great topic!
My husband is a therapist, and he used to work with some really messed up, abused kids. From his experience, ADHD and bi-polar disorder are both severely over diagnosed. I've never been around an ADHD kid, so I really can't say one way or another. But Kevin could go off on a huge rant. :)
I am also a therapist...a children's counselor to be exact and I agree that the disorder is over-diagnosed but I also believe that children who are truly ADHD need treatment. What that treatment is, is up to the parents and doctors. I am a firm believer of counseling for all children with ADHD because although not all act out, most are made to believe that there is "something wrong" with them. I don't believe that anything is "wrong" with these children, they just learn and act differently. Counseling can help them to find their own way either with or without medication. Great topic!
Dom has ADHD. He was diagnosed at age 4. From that age he started seeing a Psychologist AND a Behaviorial Specialist regularly until the age of 11. He was also a bed wetter until recently. It all ties in together. something hasnt developed properly in the brain and signals are not getting across.
I agree that ritalin is not the best choice but there are other meds out there.
At the moment, Dom is on the Daytrana patch and it works for us. Totally different effects. He is becoming a well mannered young man. We did try other meds but they didnt work.
I also believe that structure and discipine should play a part in the child's behavior. I like to have anything around to keep Dom focused.
He loves to read....I keep him stocked with books. Find out what your children like and nurture that.
Relying on the patch to magically fix your child will not lead to results.
Sorry... went on and on...
Sheila, when you said, "it all ties in together..." Do you mean that you think the bed wetting and ADHD tie together somehow?
I think it's a level of maturity not being reached due to connections not being made in the brain. The brain not being able to focus, impulsiveness .....signals not being received. Some kids grow out of it and otthers require meds and training.
KEEP IN MIND.....this is just my take on it.
Gurl. You act like I was going to get all AFRo or something. Goodness.
My youngest is a bed wetter. He'll be 6 at the end of this year and has been potty trained for at least 3 years now, but we just cannot make it through the night dry. I've done EXTENSIVE research on this, so it made me curious about what you were saying.
I fully believe that LK's bed wetting comes from lack of a mature bladder. It is a hereditary thing and he got it from his daddy's side. *wink*wink*
Naw chica...ha ha
I didn't even think about Afro...lol
I was just saying that that is how I see it with Dom and the whole under developement of the brain and ADHD. This is all fed to me by the Docs he saw.
I definitely believe it is over-diagnosed, for sure. This is exactly why we have E.B. in occupational therapy. He has Sensory Integration Disorder, which often does lead to a diagnosis of ADHD later on. He needs LOTS of physical activity on a daily basis and I think many kids these days who are misdiagnosed with ADHD probably have a sensory disorder that would benefit from therapy. I think medication should be a last resort, and only when it is a TRUE benefit to the child and not just so they can be "tolerated" by their teachers at school. I'm no expert, but the most heartbreaking thing I ever saw during teaching was a child so doped up on Ritalin that he was literally a zombie...so different from when he was before he got the diagnosis. I think he just needed more attention at home, period. Not to say that THAT is always the cure-all by any means. I just believe it is grossly misdiagnosed.
And of course, my personal take on this whole overdiagnosing thing...is a whole nother subject....we push our children too fast. Why not let them be children? Why do we push them into school so early? And then to read, write, add, subtract when they are not socially ready to sit and listen for extended periods.
You have kids with real problems and then you have those that should have just stayed at home another year. I tell everyone I meet today especially with little boys -- you have choice...your child does not have to begin kindgergarten when he/she is five just because it is available. If they begin at six, some will just be a little more mature and ready to learn. (I understand today's kindergarten curriculum is very similar to what our first grade curriculum was in my day.)
I've worked in the mental health field and have a step-son who was diagnosed ADHD when he was about eight. I definitely believe that ADHD is a true disorder, just like any other psychiatric disorder. I also know that ADHD is over diagnosed. So many parents give up on trying to discipline their children and just get their doctor to write an Rx to calm their kid down.
I think that if your child truly has ADHD, you should have them evaluated by a psychiatrist and a therapist before turning to medications. First of all, ADHD is a psychiatric disorder and the meds for it are psychiatric meds. A psychiatrist has much more knowledge in this area than a pediatrician or family doctor, and has a much better knowledge of the drugs used for the condition and how they work.
I believe that the child's diet and home and school environments should be evaluated, as well. If a child eats nothing but junk food and lives in chaos, it's got to affect their behavior. Maybe the child does have ADHD and needs meds, but he could also benefit from changes in his diet and environment. Maybe if the other changes were made, he could go on a lower dose of the meds.
I do know that there is a difference between ADD and ADHD, but has anyone ever thought about the possibility that some of these children may have ADD and poor behavior and are just diagnosed as ADHD? I'm starting to wonder about my stepson. He was hyperactive, unruly, and doing horribly in school when they insisted that his mother take him to the doctor to be evaluated for ADHD. The doctor put him on meds, and things improved a bit. About a year ago, the doctor took him off of the meds, and his behavior has been just fine. He is still doing horribly in school (and I think his teachers are doing him a disservice by promoting him every year when he's just barely scraping by, but that's another issue). I believe the attention deficit is still there, but because he's no longer misbehaving, he's just being labeled a stupid kid and given up on. And God forbid his mother ever show any interest in helping him improve in school (again another issue).
SO, that's my take on it. Definitely a true disorder, definitely over-diagnosed, and definitely being diagnosed and treated by the wrong docs.
Oh, and one more thing. I'd like to know how many children are brought to their doctor by their parents to be diagnosed with ADHD and determined to not have it? How many docs even bother to do the "home & school study" before they get out their Rx pad? I should talk to my pediatrician next time I see him. Too bad you didn't bring this up before I took the girls in for their check-ups this morning.
Awesome comments! Thanks for choosing ADHD to discuss.
Very good points Gmother and Melodie. I agree with those too.
Funny we were just talking about this today.
I do think ADHD is real, and I think it's a gross mis-justice to those who HAVE it when it gets thrown around as the "disorder du jour". I think that there's a reason that so many boys are diagnosed, and it's because we don't want little boys to be little boys... Little boys are loud and active and a little crazy. But we don't want that. We want young men who sit down and are quiet and controlled... but that's justa pretty tall order fora little guy.
There's my .02...
Great post Afro!
I think Ritalin needs to be viewed in the proper context. It was one of the first drugs available to treat ADHD. It is not "evil" per se; there have just been many advancements in the development of the ADHD meds, namely the sustained release mechanism which allows for greater consistency, lower dosing, and decreased side effects. In my practice, I rarely see any child started on Ritalin or even Adderall. Mostly low doses of Concerta, Adderall XR, Focalin XR, or the Daytrana patch.
Additionally, the notion that the disorder is "overly diagnosed" is merely speculative and is impossible to validate. One would have to examine all ADHD-diagnosed children/adolescents as well as NON-ADHD-diagnosed children/adolescents across the US to make a valid comparison.
I think Hot Tub Lizzy ( I hope I typed that right), may be on to something. She said it before I could. Have you ever noticed how it is always BOYS!(at least in this post) Teachers, mainly women, can not handle little boys, being little boys. Little boys are hyper! I had a teacher try to tell me that my step-son, she believed had ADHD, at age 7. He is fine, he was a normal boy. Some boys need longer to mature, if we give them time to grow-up, they will. My now, 11 st-son, is a perfect student.
(Found you, since I never got an email from you hefer)
Melodie I think you hit the nail on the head. We took 4-wheeler boy to a psychiatrist for a long time. We did individual therapy and parent child therapy. I wanted to make sure mechanic man and I just weren't bad parents. I also agree environment is another big factor. ADHD do better when they are kept on a schedule.
I hate to disagree, but Lipstick I teach school and it is very overdiagnosed. Parents now come in asking me if I think their child is hyper or has an attention problem. I think some of these parents want their child on medicine so they can take a few. Word has gotten around that it is easier to medicate a child than to parent a child.
I like what hot tub lizzie and gmother both said. I do agree that I think little ones are pushed a bit to much at a very early age.
I have not been personally effected by this so I really have no place to talk, but I believe more needs to be done for these children instead of just jamming a pill down their throat. Ya know there is a reason that these drugs are so popular to be stollen and sold.
on another unrelated note, Thanks for not being afraid to be associated with a "criminal" like me:) I was ashamed to mention it in the post but my tags had expired in May!
When I was in school, not one single person was diagnosed ADD or ADHD. And, they finished school, graduated, and continue to live fairly normal lives.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Aside from all that, I just heard some new research is out stating that having the tonsils removed may completely "cure" kids with ADHD - seems the problem is large tonsils block the airways when sleeping and it has an adverse effect on the child's behavior during the day. Might be worth researching.
Try: Tonsils and ADHD in Google.
I'm with you on the Ridalin thing. Back in "dark days", people would be just as addicted to that as they were any other drugs. I, also, think that if a child is diagnosed with ADHD there should be a second opinion. I know it's a dreadful diagnosis! I don't have a child, therefore, I really don't have any advice.
Ugh....a toughy!
Okay....I agree with the over-diagnosis. It seems as if it is an easy way for some parents who wish to label their child with something other that the fact that they have zero discipline.
That said, I also feel that it is truly a disorder that children deal with on a day to day basis, and due to the over-diagnosis of others, it makes it increasingly hard for parents to receive help that need it.
This is definitely a tough one....we too are lucky that we are not directly affected. I feel for the parents that want and need help only to be hit with the issues that others feel is just a cope out.
It's all been said. Melodie summed it up for me. Some boys are really active. Some have behavior problems. But the two don't always go together and shouldn't automatically be combined as needing "treatment."
@Afro- my son will be 6 in Nov. and we are struggling with overnight dryness (and the occasional daytime 'I can't stop playing, this is too much fun' accident). My son is really tall for his age. I think his body and bladder aren't growing together.
Mel, I've decided I'm going to do a post for the bed wetting thing... I'm not promising when, but hopefully soon.
I think ADHD is a myth.
I've seen the comments that it is related to chemicals in the brain or that their brain isn't firing properly or whatever.
That makes sense until you accept that these kid's brains are normal under all known tests. They show no abnormal activity when the brain is "firing". The show no chemical imbalance.
In other words, they can't find anything using scientific tests. I'm a facts kind of guy and if you tell me that my kid has ADHD caused by a chemical imbalance then you better be able to determine which chemical is out of balance. Otherwise, you are just guessing.
I believe this ADD/ADHD stuff was created by the NEA and big medicine. The NEA wanted to make kids zombies and the drug companies wanted to sell drugs.
I've met many "ADHD" kids. All of them were just boys being boys imo. I have never met an ADHD girl...I'm sure they are out there somewhere but they are few and far between.
People shouldn't just guess....doctors especially. I think many kids are just diagnosed like others have said....so that mom, dad and teachers don't have to deal with an active child. Even worse imo, I believe that some children have been diagnosed with ADHD and they really have some other problem.
Instead of treating the problem, they treat the symptoms.
If they had passed out ADHD diagnosis back when I was a kid, I'm sure they would have determined that I have a problem as well.
It's a sad situation imo.
I do believe that ADHD is real, but like you I feel that it is over diagnosed way too much. I was listening to a conservative radio show--Neal Boortz--and his take on this issue is that parents don't feel their children properly and their brains don't have the necessary food to function. Not enough home cooked, nutritious meals and way too much fast food. I thought that was an interesting take on the situation. When I was young, this condition was unheard of.
I once knew a child who was ADHD according to her mother and mom doped her up every day. This brilliant, beautiful girl with an active mind was reduced to being a zombie because her mother was tired and didn't want to deal with her.
I think that is why this condition has such a bad reputation. The quick solution for many is drugs.
Way to go Afro with the 29 comments! (I guess this actually makes thirty...)
Anyway, regarding "over-diagnosis".
It is inaccurate for anyone to say "over-diagnosis". This simply cannot be validated. It is more accurate to refer to the precipitous rise in the diagnosis of ADHD.
Just because a person knows kids who are (in their opinion) MIS-diagnosed does not mean the disorder itself is OVER-diagnosed nation-wide; that is merely an armchair opinion not rooted in any scientific fact. (Insert conspiracy theory for those inclined).
Increased prevalence in the prescribing of ADHD meds merely indicates increased diagnosis.
It is not valid to extrapolate that correlation into a basis for saying "over-diagnosis" when a person is actually referring to a group of children with whom they have contact and for whom they feel have been "mis-diagnosed."
Lastly, the absence of a laboratory test for a given disease does not prove that the disease does not exist. When a constellation of symptoms is observed consistently within a specific population, the criteria for labeling a disorder has been met. It is then that the diagnostic criteria is refined. This is the case with all diseases, not merely mental health.
This comment is for Jason. My female cousin was diagnosed with ADD when she was in high school. If they had come up with the separate label of ADHD back then, I'm sure that would have been her diagnosis because she was definitely hyper and unruly as well. She still has trouble concentrating on things, but only takes medication when she is taking a math class (on the occasions that she goes back to college) and really needs to be able to pay attention. And she'll probably always be hyper, too.
So, there you have it. An example that is not a boy.
I don't have kids, and the majority of kids I see that are "ADHD" are kids whose parents don't discipline or are not consistent with their kids.
But I could be wrong, I don't hang out with that many kids.
Lipstick - I will concede on your point about the semantics of my post. However, I think it is merely semantics... my point was that it is MISdiagnosed too often which translates to OVERdiagnosis of the disorder.
If I'm not mistaken, nothing about ADHD is rooted in scientific fact. There is NO scientific proof that the disorder actually exists. Do I believe that it does? Yes. But, I think there is a lack of research to narrow down what is actually causing it so that eventually a cure for it can be found.
But, I think that NATIONWIDE there has been an increase in the number of cases reported in the last 10 years and part of my reasoning for posting this is to increase awareness of what that increase is a result of... it's not medical breakthroughs.
Last, when there are a number of symptoms found in any given population, there is usually medical research to back of the findings for said symptoms... research that can point specifically to the cause of the problem. This is done across the board in ALL health care right?
Mental health or not, there is always something... be it blood work, pet scans, MRIs or even surgery done before a course of treatment is prescribed. I could be wrong, but I don't know of ANY other disorder, sickness, disease or anything that is treated with medication without some sort of test to verify doctor's suspicions of what is happening in the body to cause the problem.
Afro, virtually all of the disorders described in the DSM-IV are treated without the benefit of "lab tests"....some prominent examples are depression, post-partum depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder I and II, autism, autism spectrum disorder.
As for an example of a non-mental health illness treated with medication, but without "lab work"...any time a doctor empirically treats an infection without doing a C&S report or prescribes pain medication without an X-ray or CT scan.
Honestly, the core issue that drives me crazy is when people generalize their own experiences so greatly, then attempt to make their generalization somehow relevant to the masses(e.g., teachers who just "know" ADHD is over-diagnosed. Why? b/c of their experience with a few hundred or even thousand children? Even if you assume they are accurate in their assessments, their experiences represent a sample size that is far too small to really have relevance nationwide.)
My other pet peeve is when people notice a correlation and make the leap to assume a cause and effect relationship. This is a logical fallacy which doesn't pass muster in a freshman level logic or philosophy class.
BTW, I think this is a great post Afro, and I admire you for taking it on. I think it is gutsy and I think you are very gracious in your responses. I have only done the lighter fair in my blog, and I appreciate your recent take of heavier topics. I know it is labor intensive for you with respect to follow-up and comments. I appreciate your time, and I am a fan.
Cybersalute,
Lipstick
Honestly they are not as labor intensive as they should be... simply because I should be citing where I find my information so that it doesn't come off as generalization.
Thanks for the salute. I'm glad that there are women out there who can have conversation and be respectful of one another despite a difference of opinion.
Also, kudos to you on your vocabulary. I hope that doesn't come off any way other than me being genuinely impressed with some of the terms you've used here. I've had to do the dictionary.com thing for a couple of them. That's awesome though.
I want to know... what is the DSM-IV?
You are right, doctors don't alway run the lab work that I've referred to here... but if it were an infection, the chemistry would be there to show it and the doctors would know what to look for. High white blood cell count and a cut that's obviously red and infected, probably means infection.
Same thing with the mental health stuff such as depression. If they did an MRI or chemical panel(I'm not good on the medical terminology) on women who were experiencing the symptoms, more than likely they would find some sort of chemical imbalance such as unusually low levels of seratonin or something like that.
I've been through depression (which is something else that I believe is often times misdiagnosed)... I experienced it hardcore and no one ran any tests on me before I was medicated, but 1. I was an adult being medicated and 2. if they had run tests, they at least knew what to look for.
With ADD or ADHD, it seems that 1. most of the time it is children that are being medicated and 2. even if they ran "lab work" doctors still have not been able to pinpoint what it is internally that is causing it and that really bothers me.
i was tested for adult a.d.d. a few years ago. you know who long the damn test took? SEVEN HOURS! am i the only one that sees a problem with that!?
My step-dad was diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, I think when I was about a freshman in HS. He was prescribed Ritalin. For the most part things went smoothly and he seemed "normal". (I use normal loosely...what is normal really haha!) Ten years later he is doing great and NO Ritalin. There has been some ups and downs (drug addiction etc and I'm sure Ritalin didn't help) Do I think it's real? Yes. Overdiagnosed. Yes. In Kindergarten my daughter was having some issues with sleeping etc, which caused issues in class, they wanted me to take her to a doc. We found out last year she has serious allergies and problems with her adnoids (sp), causing her to have sleep apnea, causing her to be sleepy and lose focus in class.
So I do agree that ADHD & ADD are OVERdiganosed. But I do believe they are real. But all three of my kids are in good health and EXTREMELY hyperactive. They get it from their Daddy!
Mrs.Greer
Lipstick,
"When a constellation of symptoms is observed consistently within a specific population, the criteria for labeling a disorder has been met. It is then that the diagnostic criteria is refined. This is the case with all diseases, not merely mental health."
This quote is completely and utterly untrue. In nearly all diseases, a test can be conducted to confirm what a doctor suspects. There are tell-tale signs of depression if you do a PET scan 99% of the time. People just don't do them because they are expensive.
ADHD is totally different. Researchers have conducted PET scans and many other blood panels. So far, they have found NO evidence that ADHD could be linked to a chemical imbalance in the brain or "brain firing". They have looked for the evidence. They expected to find evidence since science tells you that if you have a chemical imbalance that leads to ADHD then that imbalance should appear in tests.....it does not.
You mention depression and post partum depression...there is evidence that this is caused by chemical imbalance in the brain. PET scans have confirmed this. These are scientific tests that can confirm the diagnosis.
You also mention autism. Well, nobody has found the cause of autism BUT they can hook your kid up to machines and show that he does have the disease. His brain will be larger and it will process information differntly than a brain that is functioning normally. These are scientific tests that can confirm the diagnosis but not the cause.
Even people diagnosed with bipolar disorders have been shown to have a chemical imbalance. The science is not settled but studies have been done and they indicate a bipolar disorder and imbalance in certain brain chemical levels. These are scientific tests that can at least somewhat confirm the diagnosis.
You may be surprised to learn that "ADHD" was "invented" by a simple vote by RAISING HANDS by memebers of the APA back in 1987. Yep, raise your hand if you think we should add "ADHD" to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Other "disorders" voted into existance at this conference...."Reading Disorder", Oppositional Defiance Disorder", "Expressive Language Disorder", "Mathematics Disorder"
Are you kidding me?
Doctors are supposed to be scientists. In science, you must PROVE your theories using scientific methods. So far, not a single doctor/researcher has been able to prove that "ADHD" exists using scientific methods. They can't even show any sort of link at all to chemicals in the brain yet that is what they continue to tell these children's parents.
Until they prove it exists using scientific methods, it remains a "theory" and not a "disease."
I'm a former children's counselor and I definitely believe that ADHD is real, and that for some kids it is necessary to treat it with medication. However I believe this should be used as a last resort after other behavioral methods have been tried, and when used it should always be in combination with continued behavioral therapy. I have also seen kids who are just being kids improperly medicated for ADHD who become zombies - there are definitely doctors who prescribe these meds without a thorough evaluation and diagnosis.
I also take issue with the doctor who says it "can't" be medically diagnosed. I believe that with ADHD, as with all types of mental illness, if we looked hard enough in the right ways and the right parts of the brain there would be significant differences between that of a child with ADHD and one without. It may be at a neuronal level but there has got to be some difference in the way the brain of a child with ADHD works. Just because it hasn't been discovered yet does not mean there are no biological markers of ADHD.
To answer your question about the DSM-IV, it's the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Revision. This is produced by the American Psychiatric Association, and contains diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. Mental health professionals use it to diagnose patients.
Jason,
The entire DSM-IV is collated and revised based on the consensus of the APA. This is an issue that troubles many in the medical communtity. It is not infallible. Just think, JNC-VII was a revision over JNC-VI and even differs with the current recommendations published in Chest. There is always a difference of opinion among clinicians in all fields. That is perhaps the only constant.
As for lab tests, studies as early as 1991 reveal alternate functioning in adolescents dx'd with ADHD and those without. The primary difference was seen on fMRI (functional MRI) with respect to the anterior cingulate cognitive division of the brain.
In addition, there are noticable differences in the striatal activation of children dx'd and those not dx'd with ADHD.
With respect to PET scans, Tc-99m labelled ligands also detect differences in striatal activity.
In summary, the cerebellum of pts with ADHD and those not dx'd with ADHD differ in their responses to given stimuli.
Now, is it practical to conduct radionuclear tests on all children to detect striatal variation? Is it cost-effective? Of course not, which is why there are behavioral diagnostic criteria listed in the DSM-IV for ADHD and other mental disorders.
If you don't believe it exists, ok. I've not encountered a neurologist or radiologist in my profession who deny the existence of ADHD.
Pardon the colloquialism, but I don't have a dog in this fight. I have no child with ADHD, no emotional attachment. It is when lay persons choose to interpret scientific data that I become amused and endlessly entertained. Plain and simple.
The impassioned generalizations, the personal accounts, the simplistic logic, confusing concepts like quantity with potentcy, or believing that natural is always better...it's just funny. I think I'm through acutally (queuing Jason for the final word *wink*) because I am starting to feel like I am at work.
BTW, I only recently realized that you are the Jason who occasionally comments on Ashley's Closet. I like how you get everybody riled up over there. Good reading.
Lipstick,
I was not aware of the studies you have referenced. I will look into them and will change my position accordingly.
If there is scientific evidence like you have said then that settles the debate imo.
As far as Ashley, I think she must have gotten her feelings hurt when I answered that question over here. Since then, I have commented on her blog but she doesn't approve the comments.
Doesn't really matter to me and I won't be commenting on her blog any longer although I will continue to read it. It is her blog and she can do whatever she likes. I wish her nothing but the best.
Honestly, I never would have commented on her blog at all but someone asked me a question about it. I answer questions honestly and sometimes people get their feelings hurt. I really didn't see what the big deal was. I'm a guy. I'm not intersted in chickens or women's fashions...big deal. I don't think she'd be interested in hunting or football...she's a mom.
IMO, she was in a rut for a while with her blog...it's just my opinion. Her funny posts and witty remarks had been replaced by chickens and clothes. She seems to be finding her stride once again and I have enjoyed a couple of her more recent posts.
I told Afro that my answering questions would lead to drama/problems but she didn't think so...oh well.
Lipstick, I have enjoyed discussing this topic with you but this will be my last post/comment on my wife's blog. This is supposed to be Afro's place for her and I must allow her to have something of her "own." She complains about my not participating but it is our best interest for me to stay out of her "mommy blogger" world.
I love her more than yall could ever imagine. I'll be reading but I won't be commenting.
Yall have a great time in blogger land. I enjoy reading all of your comments...even me/madden's comments. People shouldn't take this stuff so personal in my not so humble opinion.
It is supposed to be fun and that is how I treat blogs and msg boards. They are fun even when people disagree/argue...actually, it is the disagreements and debating that makes them fun from my perspective.
Yall have a good one....I'm out.
Bye, Jason. You are a cool guy.
HOLY COW! Did you open a can of worms or what? I am going to put my teacher hat on and say one thing--I agree with Hot Tub Lizzy. We/Schools aren't letting kids be kids. Boys, and girls too, need to PLAY. We are forced to push and push and push. I taught 1st grade for 4 years, then took a year off and taught prek for 2 years and I swear that the prek is like kinder now. It is society that is pushing. Many teachers I know don't want them pushed that much, but they are forced to with standardized test scores and evaluations at stake. It is very sad. So, all you parents, let your kids PLAY! It is so important.
My name is Nathan Finch and i would like to show you my personal experience with Ritalin.
I am 32 years old. Have been on Ritalin for 2 years now. This drug has saved my life. I have seen drastic differences between times in my life when I was taking it and when I was not. I failed out of one school and graduated top of my class in the next. Floated from job to job and then became very successful. I don't like the way I feel when I am taking it (I'm boring -- no personality) so, I time my doses to help me in the office or when I have to focus on mundane task's at home like paying bills, taxes etc. and then go without it when I'm recreating.
I have experienced some of these side effects-
Initially some apatite suppression, insomnia and slight gitters. This was corrected by reducing my afternoon dose.
I hope this information will be useful to others,
Nathan Finch
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