ADHD DIAGNOSES SOAR 43% IN THE USA IN THE FIRST Decade of the century now 10% have adhd not 5%

[Anonymous]

Miami (AFP) - The prevalence of ADHD diagnoses soared 43 percent in the United States in the first decade of the century, with more than one in 10 youths now diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, researchers said Tuesday.

ADHD is the most commonly identified mental disorder in the United States, often treated with psychological therapy and prescription stimulants like Ritalin to improve behavior and focus.

Its precise causes are unknown, though some research has pointed to difficulties during pregnancy, exposure to toxins and family history as playing a role.

The findings in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry show that 12 percent of American children and teens had ADHD in 2011, a significant rise over the 8.4 percent reported by parents in the same survey taken in 2003.

[ Edited by Admin to comply with copyright laws. ]

[Anonymous]

I'd like to understand why there's such a low incidence in other Western nations like let's say...France.

[Anonymous]

It's against th forum rules to just cut and paste an article like that without adding your own thoughts.

[Anonymous]

My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

This. I think many family members on my side would have been much more successful in life if diagnosed and treated.

[Anonymous]

Everyone I know has ADHD. I have yet to meet a person who doesn't have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

Your post is basically saying that we are pathologizing variations of normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's against th forum rules to just cut and paste an article like that without adding your own thoughts.

OP's error was twofold: He/she cut and pasted an entire article instead of linking, which violates copyright laws. And he/she did not add any of his/her own thoughts.

Here is the link if anyone wants to read the whole article:
http://news.yahoo.com/adhd-diagnoses-soar-43-percent-united-states-200435705.html

[Anonymous]

My so has ADHD- it was obvious, and ultimately his school recommended an evaluation. We had both a full speech and language evaluation and a neuropsych because we wanted to be as certain as possible.

I think some kids are receiving a diagnosis without a full neuropsych. In fact, my son's doctor showed me state by state statistics where some US states are diagnosing at much higher proportions.

[Anonymous]

PP, I was curious and looked up that information. There are significant differences in diagnosis between states.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/prevalence.html

Here is an explanation:

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/adhd.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, I was curious and looked up that information. There are significant differences in diagnosis between states.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/prevalence.html

Here is an explanation:

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/adhd.aspx

PP here- it's concerning. I say this as a parent whose child has ADHD. I think that there is ADHD, there are other conditions that can look an awfully lot like ADHD without careful screening, and I think there is a wide range of normal. I think in the range of normal there are personalities that don't respond well to traditional schooling/parenting methods or are extremely immature-- rather than being flexible, we are diagnosing.

Even in my DS's case, it's my intention to have him reevaluated in several years to see if anything has changed or if other issues come to light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

Your post is basically saying that we are pathologizing variations of normal.

NP, but I disagree with your characterization. ADHD isn't a yes/no question, it's more a spectrum. Some people are far to one side and have basically no attention issues (the completely ordered side), others are far to the other side and have really awful attention issues (the completely disordered side), and most people fall somewhere in between. There is a point along the spectrum where you've moved too far toward the disordered side to be able to function well in society, and that's something that needs to be treated. Because various societies have their differences, the point at which you're not able to function well may vary between societies. Just because everyone exists somewhere on the spectrum, though, doesn't mean every point on the spectrum is okay, some truly are disordered and interfere with someone's ability to function properly. Since society isn't changing anytime soon to accommodate those individuals, we need to have an effective way to identify and help them, rather than just throwing them to the wolves. Dismissing their very real struggles doesn't benefit anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

Your post is basically saying that we are pathologizing variations of normal.

NP, but I disagree with your characterization. ADHD isn't a yes/no question, it's more a spectrum. Some people are far to one side and have basically no attention issues (the completely ordered side), others are far to the other side and have really awful attention issues (the completely disordered side), and most people fall somewhere in between. There is a point along the spectrum where you've moved too far toward the disordered side to be able to function well in society, and that's something that needs to be treated. Because various societies have their differences, the point at which you're not able to function well may vary between societies. Just because everyone exists somewhere on the spectrum, though, doesn't mean every point on the spectrum is okay, some truly are disordered and interfere with someone's ability to function properly. Since society isn't changing anytime soon to accommodate those individuals, we need to have an effective way to identify and help them, rather than just throwing them to the wolves. Dismissing their very real struggles doesn't benefit anyone.

What you write makes sense, but the problem is letting society drive the definition of normal. The studies showing that ADHD is disproportionately diagnosed in kids who are the youngest in their class makes it pretty clear to me that we are not talking about actually differences in "brain chemistry" but something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

Your post is basically saying that we are pathologizing variations of normal.

NP, but I disagree with your characterization. ADHD isn't a yes/no question, it's more a spectrum. Some people are far to one side and have basically no attention issues (the completely ordered side), others are far to the other side and have really awful attention issues (the completely disordered side), and most people fall somewhere in between. There is a point along the spectrum where you've moved too far toward the disordered side to be able to function well in society, and that's something that needs to be treated. Because various societies have their differences, the point at which you're not able to function well may vary between societies. Just because everyone exists somewhere on the spectrum, though, doesn't mean every point on the spectrum is okay, some truly are disordered and interfere with someone's ability to function properly. Since society isn't changing anytime soon to accommodate those individuals, we need to have an effective way to identify and help them, rather than just throwing them to the wolves. Dismissing their very real struggles doesn't benefit anyone.

What you write makes sense, but the problem is letting society drive the definition of normal. The studies showing that ADHD is disproportionately diagnosed in kids who are the youngest in their class makes it pretty clear to me that we are not talking about actually differences in "brain chemistry" but something else.

This! There's no autism epidemic and there's no ADHD epidemic. We've moved all the goalposts around, making comparisons between then and now or state by state impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My awareness of ADHD after my DD was diagnosed has been such an eye opener.

Things that we attributed as "personalities" are rooted in the chemical imbalances of the brain-- the laziness, the hyper activity, the accident prone, the lack of focus, motivation, addiction, etc.
Once my DD was diagnosed, I realized that my two older brothers must have had undiagnosed ADHD, and probably so did my father. My brothers and my father also lived outside the US, where the lifestyle was not stressful and doesn't require as much executive functioning as we have here in the US now.

I'm not surprised at all with the numbers. I think it's actually higher. Now that I know what ADHD looks like, I can spot it.

Your post is basically saying that we are pathologizing variations of normal.

NP, but I disagree with your characterization. ADHD isn't a yes/no question, it's more a spectrum. Some people are far to one side and have basically no attention issues (the completely ordered side), others are far to the other side and have really awful attention issues (the completely disordered side), and most people fall somewhere in between. There is a point along the spectrum where you've moved too far toward the disordered side to be able to function well in society, and that's something that needs to be treated. Because various societies have their differences, the point at which you're not able to function well may vary between societies. Just because everyone exists somewhere on the spectrum, though, doesn't mean every point on the spectrum is okay, some truly are disordered and interfere with someone's ability to function properly. Since society isn't changing anytime soon to accommodate those individuals, we need to have an effective way to identify and help them, rather than just throwing them to the wolves. Dismissing their very real struggles doesn't benefit anyone.

The PP I responded to said that she thinks all of her family should be diagnosed, because they all are on a spectrum of "personality traits" that are actually ADHD. I see the same thing in DH's family. Some of his family are diagnosed with ADHD, and he has some of the same traits. But having some traits is not ADHD. DH does not have ADHD, and should not be diagnosed, even if he has some similarities to other family members who do have ADHD. Blanket-diagnosing his entire family as mild and severe ADHD would be pathologizing normal.