Did your Beauvoir ADHD kid get into STA / NCS?

[Anonymous]

I pointed out my DD's grades only to demonstrate that she can hold her own academically, that the school is a good fit. If you were OP you might find that relevant.

OP, you might also post in the SN section where the parents are more supportive. And I hope you did glean enough from this thread to help you.

I am the one reported PP. Its one thing to engage in a debate -- although OP never asked about medicating her child, she simply asked if the school would be a good fit -- its another thing to accuse other posters of abuse and of being unstable. Not sure where your anger is coming from and why but it doesn't belong here.

[Anonymous]

I see at lot of numbers being thrown out but very few of them seem to be supported by peer reviewed research. The misperception that first struck me was that ADHD is an American invention. It is not. Please see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525089/ and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994964/ In summary: Analysis of US/non-US studies suggests that the prevalence of ADHD is at least as high in many non-US children as in US children. You'll note that the researchers reviewing the meta-data were mostly affliated with non-US institutions.

This is link to the Congressional testimony of Dr. Richard Nakamura, Acting Director of the National Institute of Mental Health on the facts regarding ADHD and medication. In summary, it is an under-medicated disorder. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2002/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorders-are-children-being-overmedicated.shtml The following link also cites a number of studies regarding the myth that ADHD is over diagnosed and over medicated. http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/myths#myth4

Overall, the prevalence rates of comorbid ADHD are high. Estimates of the prevalence rates of various comorbid conditions in children with ADHD range from 12.36 percent (learning disorders) to 35.15 percent (conduct disorder). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44168/

I don't know why some posters are so vehemently opposed to the improved diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. We all have to make the best decisions we can for our families, if you believe medication isn't a good choice for your family, fine. But, that doesn't mean it's not a good choice for others. I don't know anyone who found it easy to medicate their child but do so after reviewing objective data. There's been too much independent research on the effectiveness of medication for a reasonable person to dismiss it as a marketing ploy. Make the best choice for your family but don't do it in ignorance.

[Anonymous]

13:32

Thank you for your post. It was a hard decision to medicate our child but it was even harder watch him struggle academically and socially in school. It has made a huge difference in his self esteem and confidence in his abilities. Contrary to what some posters believe, we did not do it to get to Harvard, get extra time on SAT's or make sure he made the travel team. We just wanted him to be able to go to school, learn and come home happy every day.

[Anonymous]

I see at lot of numbers being thrown out but very few of them seem to be supported by peer reviewed research. The misperception that first struck me was that ADHD is an American invention. It is not. Please see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525089/ and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994964/ In summary: Analysis of US/non-US studies suggests that the prevalence of ADHD is at least as high in many non-US children as in US children. You'll note that the researchers reviewing the meta-data were mostly affliated with non-US institutions.

This is link to the Congressional testimony of Dr. Richard Nakamura, Acting Director of the National Institute of Mental Health on the facts regarding ADHD and medication. In summary, it is an under-medicated disorder. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2002/attentio...dren-being-overmedicated.shtml The following link also cites a number of studies regarding the myth that ADHD is over diagnosed and over medicated. http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/myths#myth4

Overall, the prevalence rates of comorbid ADHD are high. Estimates of the prevalence rates of various comorbid conditions in children with ADHD range from 12.36 percent (learning disorders) to 35.15 percent (conduct disorder). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44168/

I don't know why some posters are so vehemently opposed to the improved diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. We all have to make the best decisions we can for our families, if you believe medication isn't a good choice for your family, fine. But, that doesn't mean it's not a good choice for others. I don't know anyone who found it easy to medicate their child but do so after reviewing objective data. There's been too much independent research on the effectiveness of medication for a reasonable person to dismiss it as a marketing ploy. Make the best choice for your family but don't do it in ignorance.

I am certain you have evaluated the methods section of the peer-reviewed papers/publications you quote for optimal study design and author financial conflict of interest issues (e.g., how many of the experts and/or authors are declared members of ADHD drug company speakers' bureau or have received honoraria or research support funding from these pharmaceutical companies interested in ADHD?)

Perhaps 17% prevalence rate is much too low a figure for at risk populations (all people around the globe) for ADHD (under reported) and perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 of all children should receive ADHD medications? An interesting hypothesis to test, indeed! I doubt a prospective, randomised, double-blind and placebo controlled clinical study would prove this hypothesis correct (just common sense intuition). At any rate, costs for such a study would be prohibitive and not really worth it! Better for the bulk our children not to pop anti-ADHD pills.

[Anonymous]

Wait, people, no one is saying its a quarter or a half of kids. PP's numbers refer to the percentage of kids who have ADHD who also have other conditions, not the percentage of kids in the general population with ADHD. There are plenty of kids with ADHD and other neurological conditions (my other DC is one of those) and some who just have ADHD.

ADHD has been highly studied, actually. Urban legend and nasty posts to the side, this is a disorder that is fairly well-understood and can be successfully treated. This is a good thing and I think society in general will reap the benefits when this generation of kids grows up and leads successful lives, unlike the generations that came before.

Sometimes i think there is some kind of fear that our kids with ADHD are somehow getting away with something. If they can't keep their attention and focus, then dammit they should have to live with the consequences. Otherwise I can't understand the hostility, the judgments based on nothing but . .. some kind of anger and resentment. Its really funny because none of us parents feel we're getting away with anything, we just want kids who can function like everyone else's. Why you don't want that for us just seems mean.

[Anonymous]

The only points some posters are making are some children with the correct diagnosis of ADHD do require medication for control. However, far too many children in American culture are misdiagnosed and inappropriately treated with ADHD pharmacotherapy/drugs. If indeed, as some on this forum claim, up to 15% of children at some of the area private schools are on anti-ADHD medication for this presumptive diagnosis I would wager some truth to the argument of abuse. Though, it is conceivable the area private school population is biased towards more significant ADHD pathology in their studentry.

[Anonymous]

..Sometimes i think there is some kind of fear that our kids with ADHD are somehow getting away with something. If they can't keep their attention and focus, then dammit they should have to live with the consequences. Otherwise I can't understand the hostility, the judgments based on nothing but . .. some kind of anger and resentment. Its really funny because none of us parents feel we're getting away with anything, we just want kids who can function like everyone else's. Why you don't want that for us just seems mean

.

Don't kid yourself. I do not think posters view your kids with any envy or think these kids are getting away with something. To the contrary, I'm sure some would not subject their kids to unecessary drugs. Include me in the latter group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't kid yourself. I do not think posters view your kids with any envy or think these kids are getting away with something. To the contrary, I'm sure some would not subject their kids to unecessary drugs. Include me in the latter group.

I'm confused. I've not seen anyone say they think kids without ADHD should take medication. Are you saying kids with ADHD should not be medicated? If so, I'd need to see the peer-reviewed research showing that treating ADHD without medication is better than taking a multi-modal approach which includes medication.

[Anonymous]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/01/AR2011010102814.html

Topical and interesting article on the front page of today's Washington Post on prescriptions of "oft-abused drugs". While not focused on ADHD pathology Ritalin does get a mention.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused. I've not seen anyone say they think kids without ADHD should take medication. Are you saying kids with ADHD should not be medicated? If so, I'd need to see the peer-reviewed research showing that treating ADHD without medication is better than taking a multi-modal approach which includes medication.

I think the poster is saying, and repeatedly, if the claim of 15 % of kids on ADHD medication at an area private school is true, this may represent drug abuse (prescription abuse). According to the poster, some kids with ADHD may require medication. Not all kids with ADHD require medication. And kids without ADHD don't require medication.

To give you another example of prescription/drug abuse (besides narcotic abuse) ... there is medical and scientific consensus many antibiotics are abused in America. In other words, antibiotics are overly prescribed (abused) for ear infections (many of which are due to viruses). This does not mean that if a child has a bacterial infection antibiotics are never appropriate.

Do you understand the point here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only points some posters are making are some children with the correct diagnosis of ADHD do require medication for control. However, far too many children in American culture are misdiagnosed and inappropriately treated with ADHD pharmacotherapy/drugs. If indeed, as some on this forum claim, up to 15% of children at some of the area private schools are on anti-ADHD medication for this presumptive diagnosis I would wager some truth to the argument of abuse. Though, it is conceivable the area private school population is biased towards more significant ADHD pathology in their studentry.

13:32 here. I provided significant peer-reviewed research to back up my assertions. Unless you can provide the same, you should qualify the bolded statement with "In my opinion". You need to provide data on how many kids are misdiagnosed and inappropriately medicated. I'm sure there are some cases but all the research I've seen indicates a child is far more likely to be undiagnosed and even if diagnosed only has a 50% chance of being subscribed medication and of that 50% that is medicated, 50% of them are not at the optimal dose of medication. It will take a little while to dig the study up on that one but it was one of the more interesting facts I learned at one of the recent ADHD conferences.

I'm sorry to keep seeing the repetition of unsubstatiated opinions and urban legends. How does anyone know how many kids in private schools take medication? That information isn't collected by the school and even if it were, it would be confidential. By constantly repeating it, people take it as fact. This is similar to the urban legend that sugar makes kids 'hyper'. That, too, has been rebutted by science and, in fact, at least one study showed that just suggesting to parents their kids had had sugar (when in fact they had not), led to an increase in reported hyperactivity. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/complete-index.shtml I would very much like to see studies in this area. They would be fascinating.

[Anonymous]

13:32 here. I provided significant peer-reviewed research to back up my assertions. Unless you can provide the same, you should qualify the bolded statement with "In my opinion". You need to provide data on how many kids are misdiagnosed and inappropriately medicated. I'm sure there are some cases but all the research I've seen indicates a child is far more likely to be undiagnosed and even if diagnosed only has a 50% chance of being subscribed medication and of that 50% that is medicated, 50% of them are not at the optimal dose of medication. It will take a little while to dig the study up on that one but it was one of the more interesting facts I learned at one of the recent ADHD conferences.

I'm sorry to keep seeing the repetition of unsubstatiated opinions and urban legends. How does anyone know how many kids in private schools take medication? That information isn't collected by the school and even if it were, it would be confidential. By constantly repeating it, people take it as fact. This is similar to the urban legend that sugar makes kids 'hyper'. That, too, has been rebutted by science and, in fact, at least one study showed that just suggesting to parents their kids had had sugar (when in fact they had not), led to an increase in reported hyperactivity. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attent...disorder/complete-index.shtml I would very much like to see studies in this area. They would be fascinating.

Ask any pregnant woman (in her third trimester) what happens to her womb after she has had a glass of orange juice (sugar bolus)? Better yet put a heart rate monitor on the fetal heart tones after mom has a sugar bolus. Can you predict whether the fetal heart rate goes up or down and why? I'm all mothers will tell you what happens to the activity of their entombed child within minutes of sugar intake.

Your response here regarding sugar intake and activity suggests to me you have never experienced the pleasure of pregnancy!

[Anonymous]

I'm an NCS parent of a DC with ADHD and I've never heard the 15% stat before this thread. I do not know of a single other child in my DD's class who is taking ADHD meds. I'm sure they are there, but few and far between and they keep it private.

Seems to me there are those of us willing to refer to the studies about kids with ADHD benefitting from treatment and then a lot of other people referring to nothing other than their opinion and some kind of mass hysteria about ADHD.

[Anonymous]

National trends in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the prescribing of methylphenidate among school-age children: 1990-1995.
Robison LM, Sclar DA, Skaer TL, Galin RS.

Pharmacoeconomics & Pharmacoepidemiology Research Unit, College of Pharmacy, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-6510, USA.

Abstract
It has been reported that during the past decade the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (ICD-9-CM code 314.00 or 314.01) and its pharmacologic treatment have increased dramatically in the United States. Herein, a single national data source is used to discern trends in the prevalence of U.S. office-based visits resulting in a diagnosis of ADHD, and trends in the prescribing of stimulant pharmacotherapy (including methylphenidate) for its treatment. Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) for the years 1990 through 1995, for children aged 5 through 18 years, were utilized for this analysis. Results indicate that the number of office-based visits documenting a diagnosis of ADHD increased from 947,208 in 1990, to 2,357,833 in 1995. Between 1990 and 1995, the number of visits by girls diagnosed with ADHD rose 3.9-fold (p < 0.05), and the mean patient age increased by more than 1 year, from 9.7 in 1990, to 10.8 in 1995 (p < 0.05). The percentage of office-based visits resulting in a diagnosis of ADHD increased from 1.1% of all visits in this age group in 1990, to 2.8% by 1995. We discerned a 2.3-fold increase (p < 0.05) in the population-adjusted rate of office-based visits documenting a diagnosis of ADHD; a 2.9-fold increase (p < 0.05) in the population-adjusted rate of ADHD patients prescribed stimulant pharmacotherapy; and a 2.6-fold increase (p < 0.05) in the population-adjusted rate of ADHD patients prescribed methylphenidate.

[Anonymous]

Nonmedical use of prescription stimulants among college students: associations with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and polydrug use.
Arria AM, Caldeira KM, O'Grady KE, Vincent KB, Johnson EP, Wish ED.

Center for Substance Abuse Research, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20740, USA. [e-mail]

Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To define, among a sample of college students, the nature and extent of nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS), including both overuse and use of someone else's drug, for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); to characterize NPS among individuals not medically using a prescription stimulant for ADHD; and to determine whether NPS and overuse of a medically prescribed stimulant for ADHD were independently associated with an increased risk of other illicit drug use and dependence on alcohol and marijuana.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of personal interview data.

SETTING: Large public university in the mid-Atlantic region. Participants. A cohort of 1253 first-year college students aged 17-20 years.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All students completed a 2-hour personal interview to ascertain medical use and overuse of prescription stimulants, NPS, nonmedical use of other prescription drugs and illicit drug use, and dependence on alcohol and marijuana. Comparisons were made among nonusers, nonmedical users, and medical users of prescription stimulants for ADHD (ADHD+), some of whom overused their drug. Of 1208 students who were not using prescription stimulants medically for ADHD (ADHD-), 218 (18.0%) engaged in NPS. Of 45 ADHD+ students, 12 (26.7%) overused their ADHD drug at least once in their lifetime, and seven (15.6%) nonmedically used someone else's prescription stimulants at least once in their lifetime. Among 225 nonmedical users, NPS was infrequent and mainly associated with studying, although 35 (15.6%) used prescription stimulants to party or to get high. Lifetime NPS was associated with past-year other drug use. Both NPS and overuse of prescribed stimulants for ADHD were independently associated with past-year use of five drugs, holding constant sociodemographic characteristics; NPS was also associated with alcohol and marijuana dependence.

CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should be vigilant for possible overuse and/or diversion of prescription stimulants for ADHD among college students who are medical users of these drugs, as well as the occurrence of illicit drug use with NPS. Initiation of comprehensive drug prevention activities that involve parents as well as college personnel is encouraged to raise awareness of NPS and its association with illicit drug use.