Misunderstandings, misconceptions, and ignorance about AD/HD and other disorders

[Pocky]

No, it's used as an excuse for parents that "parent" poorly.

 

Thanks for the information, Moi (although I'm not ignorant on subject) I maintain my opinion that most children that are diagnosed as such don't actually have any problems. The rate of AD/HD diagnoses has increased at an alarming rate and I think it's become a fad now. Children that are hyper or have a problem following rules are taken to the school nurse, the parents are called and suddenly the school thinks the child has AD/HD. I think we're a society of over-medicated, lazy individuals that would rather have our children swallow a pill and calm down than to take the time to be a parent.

 

I don't need educating on the subject. I'm all too aware AD/HD and how it's running rampant in our society.

[Bubbles]

Pocky,

 

You need to be careful of what you say. Life has a strange sence of humour! You may end up with an ADD/HA child of your own one day and then we'll see how much B.S. you think this is........

 

I agree that the schools are far too quick in a judgement but.........the children of today are a totally different society of children than we were. I think the schools need to get rid of a teacher over the age of 45. They are no longer "in touch" with the children of today.

 

Bubbles

[Stone]

No parent want's to put there children on medication, jeeze it's hard enough to get them to take asprin when they are sick but if it helps them only a GOOD CAREFUL LOVING parent would do it. It's like not giving a diabetic insilun.

[loveregardless]

But she's not making a blanket statement about all cases, she's saying it is sometimes NOT the correct diagnoses. It IS diagnosed in alarming numbers, so are many other disorders...thats why I continue to bring up the Indigo Child information. Because there are other explanations worth at least considering BEFORE you put a CHILD on medications especially.

[Pocky]

You need to be careful of what you say. Life has a strange sence of humour! You may end up with an ADD/HA child of your own one day and then we'll see how much B.S. you think this is........

 

I agree that the schools are far too quick in a judgement but.........the children of today are a totally different society of children than we were. I think the schools need to get rid of a teacher over the age of 45. They are no longer "in touch" with the children of today.

 

Let's clarify something - I did not state that AD/HD was a farce and that no child was legitimately diagnosed with AD/HD. However, I have seen enough medical reports and documentaries (I studied this epidemic in Bioethics class) to come to the conclusion that parents, teachers, and doctors seem a little to quick to label a child with AD/HD and stick them on drugs.

 

We are a society that treats the sick, not a society that promotes health. We drug ourselves and ignore the problems because it's easier to swallow a pill then take the time out of our oh-so busy schedules to deal with what really ails us. Being hyper does not mean you have AD/HD and too many kids are stuck on these drugs walking around like zombies because no one wants to take the time to see if there really "is" a problem.

[loveregardless]

We are a society that treats the sick, not a society that promotes health. We drug ourselves and ignore the problems because it's easier to swallow a pill then take the time out of our oh-so busy schedules to deal with what really ails us. Being hyper does not mean you have AD/HD and too many kids are stuck on these drugs walking around like zombies because no one wants to take the time to see if there really "is" a problem.

And she's 100% correct.

[tiki]

Pocky, I'm completely in agreement with you. We have patients that come in and literally beg for pain medicine. My approach would be to find the root of the problem, not mask it. It's far too easy to mask it. It's too easy to categorize. It's much harder work to investigate the situation and see what the root of the problem is, not just what lies on the surface. But what gets us paid more money in the office? Go figure.

[moimeme]

Re: All diseases being treatable? I'd love to see them

 

No go back to where I said all 'disorders', not 'diseases'. If you must argue, at least be sure you're arguing with what's actually been said, ok?

 

I commend your willingness to research things for yourself (your husband) and fellow LSers. I would love to know what you would recommend for my adult brother (after he returns from jailtime of course) in regards to treatment for his problem. I don't think he has taken his medication in quite some time, probably years even. Should he see a regular doctor? Behavioral health professional? I will recommend whatever I can to help him. Even if he gets offended, he may realize that I would like to see him overcome this.

 

He needs to see a physician who is familiar with adults with AD/HD and experienced at treating them. He may need an ADD coach. There are quite a few. In fact, if you google "attention deficit" and "coach" you will find some online resources. There is a very good one at ADD Consults; a bunch of noted AD/HD experts are part of that organization and that site has a lot of information, besides.

 

Most people with AD/HD are best treated with meds and cognitive therapy. Once the physical barriers to behaving properly are removed, they have to unlearn some bad habits and learn good ones.

 

Read some of the links I posted, too. There is a ton of information on them.

 

And good luck. I'm here if you have any other questions.

[moimeme]

Being hyper does not mean you have AD/HD and too many kids are stuck on these drugs walking around like zombies because no one wants to take the time to see if there really "is" a problem.

 

Do not think that you can diagnose people based on your misconceptions. If what you wish to do is to complain that physicians are poor diagnosticians, then do so, but do not do so by discrediting people who suffer the disorders.

 

So if you are correct......my son is on speed? Holy $hit!

 

Thanks for the name of that other drug Straterra. I am NOT a happy camper right now. I will be speaking with my Dr. and he will have some explaning to do.

 

Dammitt......now I know why the kid can't sleep or eat! Some-one's head is going to roll over this!

 

Thank you again all of you! NOW I am armed with some information!!!

 

Calm down, Bubbles. You know your decongestants that you take for stuffy noses? Sudafed, for instance? Guess what they are. Yep, speed. Dexadrine was used widely - I think it still is - as an appetite surpressant. Most stimulants have the same effects as 'speed'. That's the point. The bit of the Ad/HD brain that isn't working right needs stimulation to work right.

 

about.com has an AD/HD forum that is very good. There are a lot of parents there and you can learn from them about their experiences with different meds and other behaviour strategies.

 

Pocky

 

Thanks for the information, Moi (although I'm not ignorant on subject) I maintain my opinion that most children that are diagnosed as such don't actually have any problems.

 

Maintain it all you like. You remain incorrect. People with expertise in this subject have done studies. They show that up to 6% and possibly closer to 10% of kids have AD/HD.

 

The rate of AD/HD diagnoses has increased at an alarming rate and I think it's become a fad now.

 

That's as ridiculous as saying cancer has become 'a fad'. People didn't understand the symptoms before. Now they know them, people are getting diagnosed who were missed. But there are millions of adults who have never been diagnosed or treated and are living unhappily not knowing that they could be treated and have better lives.

 

Children that are hyper or have a problem following rules are taken to the school nurse, the parents are called and suddenly the school thinks the child has AD/HD.

 

No. They go to a physican who is supposed to conduct a series of tests in order to form a diagnosis. If you'd like, I can provide links to the AAFP's guidelines on exactly how that diagnosis is to be carried out.

 

I think we're a society of over-medicated, lazy individuals that would rather have our children swallow a pill and calm down than to take the time to be a parent.

 

I don't need educating on the subject. I'm all too aware AD/HD and how it's running rampant in our society.

 

That you believe it's 'running rampant' shows that you aren't educated at all about the subject. If you were, you'd know that if you put a child who does not have AD/HD on stimulants, you end up with an out-of-control kid. Therefore, even if some people do try to push pills on kids, it becomes evident immediately that there has been a misdiagnosis when the kid goes nuts on the meds. That the kids calm down and become able to focus on stimulants means they are AD/HD and definitely need treatment.

[Pocky]

Do not think that you can diagnose people based on your misconceptions. If what you wish to do is to complain that physicians are poor diagnosticians, then do so, but do not do so by discrediting people who suffer the disorders.

 

My opinion is not a misconception. Although you'd like to think you're the authority on almost every controversial topic on this board, you're not. And I haven't "diagnosed" any child. I haven't commented on any specific case or made any comment regarding a specific child that has been mentioned on this board. I am not discrediting any child that legitimately has AD/HD, but I am highly dubious that every child given drugs for AD/HD deserves this diagnosis.

 

I'm not going to restate my opinion, as I already have made it very clear how I feel on the subject, and I appreciate you taking the time to try and "prove me wrong" but your efforts are pointless. I have studied the topic, I have read medical reports that were made available to us through courses at my university (we have our own hospital) and I have watched various documentaries on the subject. I have seen the teachers tell the parents that they think their children may have AD/HD and I have seen the children put on drugs that turn into zombies because they don't need them.

 

I have not stated that there is no legitimate condition that can be found in some children. Some children do benefit from this diagnosis and the medication they are given does help them focus and be productive.

 

However, considering children are raised on sugar, fast food, TV and video games, it's not surprising they have a hard time focusing in school. This doesn't mean they have AD/HD and it doesn't mean they should be on drugs.

[brashgal]

I think the schools need to get rid of a teacher over the age of 45. They are no longer "in touch" with the children of today.

 

LOL Bubbles - I'm the 45 year old mother of a 7 year old. Guess I should be put out to pasture and give up my son to have someone 'young' raise him. I really don't feel any different age-wise than I did when my older son was 7 (over a decade ago) - well, actually I'm more relaxed and tolerant, I know kids go through phases, I don't obsess as heavily over every misstep.

 

It does seem like a lot of kids at my son's school are on medication for ADD or AD/HD, including my son. I do know that he is finally learning to read after years of trying - this after being on meds for only 3 months. I don't know that he'll need meds all his life. I'm pretty sure I have ADD - I've learned a lot of coping mechanisms to deal with it, I expect he will too.

[bluechocolate]

from Pocky

I am not discrediting any child that legitimately has AD/HD, but I am highly dubious that every child given drugs for AD/HD deserves this diagnosis.

I don't know much about it at all, but just the sheer numbers of cases alarms me. I know a woman with 3 boys, they are all on drugs - is this statistically average? She says they are doing better in school & are calmer at home. I'm not aware of any other methods that were used to adjust their behaviour before resorting to medication. What are the statistics to boys vs. girls diagnosed with attention & activity disorders?

 

I worry about the fact that millions of children are being given drugs. I had a lot of ear infections as a child & had many, many courses of anti-biotics over a period of years. Is this really the same kind of treatment? Do we fully understand the long-term affects that these drugs have on the brain of a child? I trust there are many studies taking place that will follow these children well into adulthood. In particular it will be interesting to watch crime & mental-health statistics as millions of these children become adolescents & young adults.

 

there is no need for anyone to answer my questions - they were rather rhetorical, but please feel free regardless

[loveregardless]

I seriously wish you would look at both the information of the Indigo Children phenonomon and the similar Edison Gene theory as to why our children are being diagnosed as ADD in astounding numbers. Keep in mind that some of our most brilliant scientists were thrown out of school or labeled bad students as children. We do not understand them.

 

In reference to the other theory, we do not understand their advanced understanding of things, their defiance for authority, their extremely strong intuitive and cognitive abilities. I am not saying this is an explanation for all children who are diagnosed as ADD, but seriously people. How many of you have experiances with some of the most brilliant children you've ever met, and then find out their ADD, they go on ritalin, they're not so "different" anymore.

 

And in regards to the public school system. The public school system does not work in general let alone for children who learn in different ways or are bored and tired of the "system". We are "teaching" our children to retain facts and regurgitate them, not to learn how to think, how to reason, how to use their brains for goodness sakes! Imagine how terrible that would be for a brilliant child. Even some with what we see as "learning dissabilities" just don't fit into such an archaic system. Please just consider the possible explanations...because as Blue and Bubbles said, I too am worried about what are children are going to be like as adults. Because we are ruining them! We are trying to turn them into us, but they aren't us. They are better than us! A great many of them are very different, and much more intelligent and some are even psychic...yes even psychic, and we just don't understand is all.

 

Please, just read the information that's all I'm saying. Because young children don't often have a choice about whether or not they go on meds and the decision is therefore up to their parents. Wouldn't you want to consider all alternative routes before resorting to medication. And yes medication should be a last resort. If you can find ways to "deal with" and help your child without meds wouldn't you be interested to know them?

 

Thats my lot. But just for clarification, I am not saying that any of these theories are a blanket explanation for all cases of ADD, learning disorders, or anything like that. What I am saying, is that if it was possible, if something would make sense to you in reading it, and it was possible that your child was not ADD...wouldn't you want to know NOW as apposed to letting your child stay on them and loose the gifts they were born with?

[Stone]

I think programs like OJT and votech are wonderful because they are geared for children who learn "Difrently" but not wrong alot of kids who are labled "ADD or ADHD" do very well in these programs for one student hands on is their way of learning and for another listening to a lecture is, I think our school systems need to cater to diffrent methods of learning.

[Moose]

I too am worried about what are children are going to be like as adults. Because we are ruining them! We are trying to turn them into us, but they aren't us. They are better than us! A great many of them are very different, and much more intelligent and some are even psychic...yes even psychic, and we just don't understand is all.

 

While this may or may not be true, better than us or not, do you think that our School system should treat children diagnosed with ADD differently? Because in my opinion they shouldn't be.

 

All the children within the School system should be treated the same. As far as punishment, requirements, and social behavior. My 15 year old was diagnosed and put on drugs, but I took my son off of his ADD meds and told his Doctor to never perscribe them again. All he really needed was more discipline. The meds caused him to space out, and sleep an awfully lot. I didn't like how it was affecting his life style. He was much happier without them, yet he was a social terror. He'd never sit still, was constantly in trouble because he'd finish his work early and get bored, then disturb the other students.

 

During this last summer I put the kid through discipline hell, (Mainly giving him chores with a time to complete them, and setting exercises. This year he's doing 100% better and is treating everyone with the respect deserving of them. I know I'll get some heat for this. But I truly believe that some kids diagnosed with ADD or AD/HD are fine without meds, they just need more discipline and instruction than the average child. I firmly believe that the less meds you give your child, the better. Teaching them how to deal reasonably with others is the better path in my mind.

[Bubbles]

Moose,

 

Wowsers! That's great for you! You are lucky to have had that work out for you!

 

Bubbles

[Stone]

I disagree moose, ( not with the way you handled your son) but with the education. Why should it be assumed that if you learn diffrently your "wrong, a bad student, have a disorder ect." The Education system should learn how to deal with children that learn "diferently" and stop calling it a disorder and giving these children no alternitive way to be productive.

 

Example: if your son always finished his work early and bothered other kids ( and this happens alot) he should have been stimulated more. or put in a more challanging class..Kids labled ADD or ADHD are extreamly intelligent people.

[loveregardless]

I commend your efforts and agree with you mostly Moose. I'm not sure that more discipline is necessarily the cure all, but I am glad that it worked in your sons case. I'm sure that discipline could benefit most 15 year olds anyway, especially teenage boys. Even though our ideas of discipline are different, I agree and understand your intentions, and I commend them. I applaud your abnormal dedication to and interest in your childrens lives, it is something that very few men are man enough to do.

 

However...here comes the fun part... I also like that you said it may or may not be true because then you also said that your son finishes his work early and then gets bored. Catch my drift? wink wink...he's very intelligent then right? Possibly too intelligent to deal with the boredom of the archiac school system? All I'm saying is that you at least see the possible correlation between the two right? Your son could be the next Edison! Or a leap in psychological evolution. Who knows? THATS THE WHOLE POINT, WE DON"T KNOW. WE DON"T UNDERSTAND. (you can play the twilight zone music here) And if he was on medications, you are 100% correct, his personality would change completely, as it did, and he would pretty much be the sedated version of his true self. I greatly appreciate your sharing that story.

[Stone]

LOL Your such a good Daddy Moose

 

As I said before I "supposably" have ADHD and I am a horrible test taker I failed my series 6 3 times and I am sure I will fail the series 7 a few as well, but I know my Sh*t, and I am the best in the feild. I am sure your son is still a bright young man, he's just a bad test taker witch is common for ADD

[Beth]

Now, where did I put that post on the problems with today's school system? [scratches head] OH YEAH! Its in the thread on AD/HD! ---Not any more. Off-topic posts and thread de-railers were deleted.

 

Be nice, stay on topic please.

[tiki]

Well sh*t, now there's nothing to talk about.

 

I'd like to just say that ADD and ADHD are both unique disorders that deserve extensive research as does any other disorder that is life-changing.

 

If you or a loved one think you may have ADD or ADHD , contact a health professional in your area.

 

[Pocky]

If you or a loved one think you may have ADD or ADDHD , contact a health professional in your area.

 

Sounds like a public health announcement.

[tiki]

Originally posted by Pocky

Sounds like a public health announcement.

 

Exactly! Keeping things neutral here, keeping things neutral.

[Matilda]

Originally posted by Pocky

The rate of AD/HD diagnoses has increased at an alarming rate and I think it's become a fad now.

 

There are other disorders that are increasing at alarming rates too. Autism, ADHD, asthma, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, lupus, are all increasing. I am most familiar with autism as my son has it, and I assure the increase in autism is not a fad. ADHD and ADD are believed by some to be connected with autism, as families with a history of autism often times have a history of ADD/ADHD. I think it might be more worthwhile to try to discover why these disorders are increasing, than to dismiss them as "fads". Especially when it has been well established that people with ADD/ADHD have brain changes.

[Pocky]

I think it might be more worthwhile to try to discover why these disorders are increasing, than to dismiss them as "fads". Especially when it has been well established that people with ADD/ADHD have brain changes.

 

My dispute is that I am not convinced that all children diagnosed with AD/HD actually have it. I am not convinced that all children that are diagnosed with AD/HD should be put on drugs. In those cases, the popularity of erroneously diagnosing a child with this disorder is a fad in my opinion.

 

Some of you should really think about what I'm stating instead of reacting as though I discounting the disorder and brushing it off as though it weren't a serious problem. That is not what I have said nor is it what I am saying now.

 

Why does it seem as though the thought of questioning doctors that state a child has AD/HD and should be put on drugs is verboten on this board? It appears to me that parents, in the attempt to do whatever they can for their children, are not questioning doctors and not getting second opinions when it comes to this disorder. Unlike some of you, I refuse to assume that every child has a disorder and should be put on drugs. Unlike some of you, I believe that drugs are the last option when dealing with children and unlike some of you I don't implicitly trust what a doctor states without considering alternatives.

 

Money makes the world go around and the pharmaceutical companies like making a lot of it. If that means duping doctors and families into thinking their child will be a wonderful manageable kid on drugs then that's exactly what they'll do to make more money.