Overmedication of children for ADHD, etc.

[Anonymous]

And why for Russia Today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, OP. Why don't you read Judith Martin's book for starters and then refine your questions so you don't just do another superficial piece that no one needs to hear?

I believe you mean Judith Warner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here - and I fail to see how this "point of view" is dangerous and extreme.

NP here. This point of view is dangerous and extreme because it's been well documented that ADHD is not over-diagnosed and not over-medicated. In fact, it is under-diagnosed and under-medicated. There is significant stigma associated with having an ADHD diagnosis and even more for ADHD medication. This stigma is part of the reason ADHD is under-diagnosed and under-treated. It's also well documented that there are significant cost (individual, familial and societal) for not diagnosing and treating it. Look up the statistics related to incarerated adults and people with substance abuse problems. The research is unambiguous about this. The real story is why do people continue to stigmatize ADHD and the approaches proven to work in treating it.

PP again - no, I completely agree with you. I was responding to the poster who called my "knee-jerk" reaction dangerous and extreme.

Sorry! I misunderstood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't 60 minutes do an episode on the overdiagnosis of ADHD and the NYT as well? I'm not trying to say that anyone who has a serious case and is benefiting from medication is wrong but a knee jerk reaction that any questioning of the rise in medication is wrong is an extreme and potentially dangerous view.

The reporter isn't looking into the rise of medication, she's looking for people to talk about ADHD getting diagnosed enmasse. That just doesn't happen and stating it like that reflects her bias. I don't know how she can call herself a reporter.

I don't know about the 60 Minutes show but I just googled "New York Times overdiagnosis of adhd" and found this article. It's actually very good and one of the most complete guides to ADHD I've seen. http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/background.html

I also found the following in the NYT which was posted/published in Dec 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/health/14klass.html?_r=1

The NYT's reporters seem to have done their homework at least.

[Anonymous]

Preschool and K teachers who are not qualified to make a diagnosis are over "diagnosing". Almost every boy in my sister's child's K class was recommended for an evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Suggesting an assessment is not the same thing as giving a diagnosis. Pre-k and kindergarten teachers are in the unique position to identify potential issues for kids and get them the services they need, if any, before they have a chance to fail into services. I say good for the teachers for identifying kids who might need assistance to be successful and risking over-identifying kids rather than letting any one of them fall through the cracks. I wish that had happened for my oldest son.

As for overmedication, kids are not overmedicated for ADHD. The primary type of medication used is a stimulant. For kids who aren't ADHD, the effect would be to have the kids bounce off walls and no one could stand to be around that. It only works for kids who actually have the condition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Suggesting an assessment is not the same thing as giving a diagnosis. Pre-k and kindergarten teachers are in the unique position to identify potential issues for kids and get them the services they need, if any, before they have a chance to fail into services. I say good for the teachers for identifying kids who might need assistance to be successful and risking over-identifying kids rather than letting any one of them fall through the cracks. I wish that had happened for my oldest son.

As for overmedication, kids are not overmedicated for ADHD. The primary type of medication used is a stimulant. For kids who aren't ADHD, the effect would be to have the kids bounce off walls and no one could stand to be around that. It only works for kids who actually have the condition.

Amen! The research on how the frontal lobe of a person with ADD/ADHD responds to stimulant medication is fascinating, and completely makes sense once you understand the science.

[Anonymous]

RTKristine wrote:Hi! My name is Kristine and I am a television reporter for RTTV, an international news outlet based in Washington DC.
I am looking for moms or dads willing to do a quick on-camera interview (Me ad my crew can come to you!) regarding the topic of
children getting diagnosed for ADD and ADHD, en masse.
Many of these children undoubtedly need the medication to help, but some are
simply hyper and rambunctious (ie. just being kids)
If interested, please email me at [e-mail]

I think that this would have gone better if you had made the interview request more open-ended. Like "Do you feel that ADHD medicines help your child? Do you feel that they are overused and why?" I'd like to hear your opinions.

I am a SAHD. My group frequently gets requests for interviews, and the request is often something like "We'd like to meet with SAHD's who were the primary earners but got laid off and ended up SAH. How are you coping? Is it hard on your marriage? " OK, if you want to do a story on that, I suppose it's fine. But no one ever asks the question "I'd like to meet with your group and hear about the reasons why you SAH". It turns out there are lots of reasons that the dads I know do what they do. But no one will ever know that because every story angle is "how this economy forced men to do it".

[Anonymous]

I certainly hope that the original reporter is reading these responses and reconsidering how she is planning to cover this topic. I also hope that she's learning a lesson that she can carry forward into her career. The media is such a powerful force and they have a huge responsibility to provide accurate and nonbiased information. This whole thing just makes me cringe because she could have and still might carry forward her misinformed bias to her viewers.

Perhaps she would be willing to comment?