New article on child ADHD treatment in Bethesda magazine

[Anonymous]

Dr. Stanley Fagen, child psychologist at JSSA (Jewish Social Service Agency), comments on medical and non-medical treatments for children’s ADHD in Bethesda magazine’s November/December issue now available on newsstands.

The article, “Now I’m A Good Boy and Don’t Even Have to Try,” is part of a special section in the magazine on children’s mental health. You may find the ADHD article on the JSSA website using the following link:

http://www.jssa.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=942b3c5c-f30b-40f3-9a87-e7d8d60c1f45&groupId=759272

JSSA offers a variety of services and programs for children, adults and families coping with ADHD, learning disabilities, Asperger’s syndrome and related disorders, and other needs. Offerings include individual therapy, social skills group therapy, parent education workshops, family support groups, couples counseling and more.

To learn more about JSSA and its many services for people of all ages, faiths and ethnicities throughout metro Washington, visit www.jssa.org

[Anonymous]

Is this an ad for JSSA or just someone saying hey good article in the magazine, would you have said the same if it was written by another person not affiliated with your organization?

[Anonymous]

The article itself is pretty good and presents divergent viewpoints.

[Anonymous]

Meh...Divergent view points? I did not see much coverage of nutrition/vitamins/fish oil. What about avoiding those foods highest in pesticides. Remember the big study linkiung pesticides with ADHD. Yes, I know correlation does not mean causation, but c'mon. What about the little bit of research on going gluten free and ADHD? Stimulants are a quick fix. For some kids, yes, they can be lifesavers together with accomodations and maybe behavior therapy, but we are not looking at health status of kids enough. Nothing in the article was cutting edge. It was rehash of what I have been reading for many years. Does Dr. Fagan ever look at vitamin and mineral status in his kids? What about lead levels? Is there a way to test for pesticide exposure?


I

[Anonymous]

Nutrition/vitamins/fish oil? Meh to you. I meant divergent viewpoints about actual treatments, not hocus pocus.

[Anonymous]

Oh yes, PP you're right, let's drug our kids with a potentially addictive substance which may or may not do long term damage before we explore something as simple as proper nutrition. Heck save up those pills because you can make a fortune selling them on college campuses during exam time. Even one of the people in the article at least tried a gluten free- etc diet and that seemed to be enough for a while. Perhaps you haven't done a lit search, but there is plenty of research supporting the use of fish oil as a supplement. Have you looked at some of the research on children with nutritional deficiencies? Do you know how poor our food supply is these days in terms of nutritional value? Read up on it. Have you read the study on lead levels in children and what the effects are? Are you familiar with the research so far on pesticides? Have you read the articles about how these drugs are being abused by young people all over america?

I am not against medication, but I think we need to explore these other more as a first line of treatment to try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nutrition/vitamins/fish oil? Meh to you. I meant divergent viewpoints about actual treatments, not hocus pocus.

I am not that poster but honestly, in this day and age, I'm shocked that any educated person doesn't recognize the value of fish oil. Seriously?? And "nutrition" is hocus pocus? Again, seriously? Look at the lunches in your kids schools -- its insane. And of course, its having an impact.

[Anonymous]

How do you ensure that the fish oil you give your kids doesn't have mercury in it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you ensure that the fish oil you give your kids doesn't have mercury in it?

NP here. Certain companies have been tested. It is not that hard.

[Anonymous]

OK, PP, that's not very helpful. "It's not that hard"? Something to look for?

[Anonymous]

Supplements like fish oil and vitamins are not regulated by the government. While "certain companies" have them tested (what companies? Tested how?) there's nothing mandating this and you have no way of knowing how safe these things are.

[Anonymous]

Do we really know how safe meds are? Are your doctors getting any benefits from drug companies? Do they have any stock in these drug companies? Who is reviewing grants? Do these people have any bias or motivation to only fund studies that feed the drug company machine. Who decides what studies get published? Do they give full disclosure about drug money from stocks, special dinners and other things which may cause a dual relationship. Now let's look at the studies on GFCF. The major one some Drs. love to refer to that supposedly disproves the diet's effectiveness actually did not include anyone with GI issues. Those are the kids who actually benefit. Mass General/Harvard has a grant to look at the diet. The kids will be on it something like 6 weeks. It takes 3-6 MONTHS for gluten to leave the body. So once again money is being wasted on a study that I have no doubt will make drug companies thrilled. If we find some issues can be resolved with diet and supplements a lot of people stand to lose a lot of money. Boy I sound paranoid and warped don't I?

[Anonymous]

to the poster who is wondering how you know if/how they remove the mercury, go to any reputable company and they have gads and gads of scientific info on their sites to explain the process. I use Nordic Naturals and there is reams of reputable, certified, validated, etc information on this process. I hope you ask the same questions about tylenol, benadryl and even mcdonalds chicken nuggets -- I personally am more worried about the crap in those things than what's in my cod liver oil.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, PP. However, I wish someone could just give a straight and helpful answer in this thread without a lecture.

I do not feed my children McDonald's chicken nuggets, not ever. But was it really germane? That kind of over-the-top response just makes me not trust the really helpful part of the information you provided.

[Anonymous]

I not going to post what is LONG and scientific information on a chat board. Go to the site and read it yourself. Why do you want other people to do the work for you? I've read it and am comfortable with the information. IF you are so interested you should go and actually read it. Can you do that or do you just like people to summarize things for you. If so, find someone else.