ADHD diagnoses out of control

[GoSlash27]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/health...ise/index.html

"By definition, ADHD requires that symptoms have to have a significant effect on life," says Barbaresi. "To say that a tenth of all children have a biologic condition that affects their life enough to call it a disorder just does not make sense."

If 1 out of every 10 American schoolkids was truly so out of whack that they require chemicals that alter their brain in order to act right, this would be the single most critical epidemic in human history.
But it's not. What's happening is that lazy teachers are bullying parents into drugging their kids to make them compliant, and those drugs are going to screw those kids up for their entire lives.

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR FREAKIN' KID! HE'S JUST BEHAVING LIKE A.... KID!! Stop screwing up his brain with that ritalin crap!

[fansince'76]

Here's a guaranteed cure for probably a good 95% of all so-called "ADHD cases." No pharmaceuticals required.

[stillers4me]

I call it "chemical lobotomies" and I'm scared to death of my granddaughter starting K this fall. I know the school will not be able to handle her and will try to break her spirit with drugs.

[SCSTILLER]

Here is my take on it, we hop these kids up with Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, and Sugary Goodness Pops and then send them off to sit in a desk for hours on end. Gee, I wonder why they cannot pay attention or behave like robots. I know when I was growing up we weren't the best behaved kids, but we played football at the bus stop to wear off energy, we played that evil game dodge ball in the middle of the school day, and we didn't spend hours on end in the house when we got home. Let the kids be kids, and like Slash said, quit killing their brains with these evil frickin drugs that don't let kids learn to deal with their problems.

I am thinking the Zombie apocalypse is going to be because of a bunch of brain dead, drugged up kids, not some virus

- - - Updated - - -

Here's a guaranteed cure for probably a good 95% of all so-called "ADHD cases." No pharmaceuticals required.

That video clip reminded me of something my First Sergeant recently said pertaining to some of the kids we have coming into the Air Force now that don't know how to deal with their problems. He said "it is the time out generation raising another time out generation." We reap what we sew

[BnG_Hevn]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/03/health...ise/index.html



If 1 out of every 10 American schoolkids was truly so out of whack that they require chemicals that alter their brain in order to act right, this would be the single most critical epidemic in human history.
But it's not. What's happening is that lazy teachers are bullying parents into drugging their kids to make them compliant, and those drugs are going to screw those kids up for their entire lives.

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR FREAKIN' KID! HE'S JUST BEHAVING LIKE A.... KID!! Stop screwing up his brain with that ritalin crap!

You need to be more cognizant of your "sweeping statements".

I posted a thread a while ago about this very topic regarding my 6 (now 7) year old son. He was not paying attention and not "doing the normal things" in school, like answering questions and just overall participating. The teacher would call on him to answer a question (he's in 1st grade) and he would look like a deer in headlights, not having an inkling of what the teacher was talking about due to him being distracted, or whatever.

I was totally against meds, I absolutely HATE the idea of meds but my wife wanted to investigate. I wanted to take him to something like Sylvan first to have him evaluated. He is extremely intelligent, IMO he just wasn't participating due to lack of interest. I wanted a "pro" to evaluate him and to ask questions and determine what he is thinking.

For example, he knows what 2 + 2 is but if you ask him, he says he doesn't know. He constantly would not do homework saying "he didn't know". If you offered him a treat, then he would "do his best" but still not do as good as we know he can.

So, we went to the pediatrician and he explained the whole thing to me about ADHD / ADD, whatever. What it boils down to is the brain "being stimulated" so he can focus better. There is a new drug for it, or at least "new" in the sense that it's a liquid (don't know name off top of my head) that he prescribed.

This is no exaggeration.

The drug lasts for "up to" 24 hours, it doesn't stay in the system.

We gave Connor the drug and, since the teacher was in the know of our visit to the doctor, we let her know he had taken the drug and we asked her to "observe" him special.

What happened?

For literally the first time, he raised his hand in class and started answering questions.

He participates on all levels in class.

At home, not only is he reading without giving us hassle, he actually said he wants to read more when my wife told him they were done.

I think, for my son, it comes down to diet. He is extremely picky in the foods / drinks he eats and drinks. He won't drink any soda due to the carbonation so he only drinks water, Fruitables Juice Boxes and milk / chocolate milk.

For sweets, he will only eat chocolate chip cookies, Milano cookies, chocolate / vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake. He literally wont' touch anything else. Not b/c he doesn't like M&Ms or whatever, but simply b/c he won't try it. If he did he would want them I'm sure, but he won't try.

Regular foods same thing, but he is getting better due to us forcing him to eat, or at least try, the same foods we eat for dinner.

Long story short is that I think him not getting caffeine and other "stimulants" that other kids get on a daily basis is the issue.

The drug we are using is at it's lowest dosage and since he is "participating", I don't see a need to increase it. My wife wanted to try to increase it but I told her no. He is doing what he needs to do in the participation category and that is good. I think he just needed a kick start.

We are also giving him fish oil.

Bottom line is that "there are kids that need help" to concentrate, whether it be a chemical makeup *or* simply a change of diet, the help is needed. If we KNEW it was only caffeine that was needed, then we'd figure that out and remove the drug but for now the drug is what is making him concentrate better.

[BnG_Hevn]

I call it "chemical lobotomies" and I'm scared to death of my granddaughter starting K this fall. I know the school will not be able to handle her and will try to break her spirit with drugs.

For a child to be diagnosed, you would need to go to your pediatrician and unless they are incompetent, they can determine if a drug is needed.

Our pediatrician is extremely conservative when it comes to doling out prescriptions so I trusted his opinion on the subject.

Also, it's not about the child "acting out" or "running around", it's about the child being able to do the work that they need to do so learn what is needed in order to advance to the next grade.

If the child knows the material then obviously there is no need for drugs, regardless of what the teacher may say. If the child does NOT know the material then you need to ensure you give the child every bit of help you can so they don't fall behind.

If the teacher is incompetent the it's up to the parents to teach. If the teacher pushes them down the "drug path" due to the child not being able to learn BUT the parents ARE able to teach the child, then I'd request a new teacher.

- - - Updated - - -

One more thing. The parents need to think about how they function too.

My wife is poor in math, she thinks she has ADD. When thinking about 11:00 to 2:00, she has to actually count the hours rather than just say "3 hours".

Her thinking this way also is what added to her believing our son has it. She is unable to concentrate on something for long and gets distracted extremely easy. She's 42.

[BnG_Hevn]

Here is my take on it, we hop these kids up with Frosted Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, and Sugary Goodness Pops and then send them off to sit in a desk for hours on end. Gee, I wonder why they cannot pay attention or behave like robots. I know when I was growing up we weren't the best behaved kids, but we played football at the bus stop to wear off energy, we played that evil game dodge ball in the middle of the school day, and we didn't spend hours on end in the house when we got home. Let the kids be kids, and like Slash said, quit killing their brains with these evil frickin drugs that don't let kids learn to deal with their problems.

I am thinking the Zombie apocalypse is going to be because of a bunch of brain dead, drugged up kids, not some virus

- - - Updated - - -



That video clip reminded me of something my First Sergeant recently said pertaining to some of the kids we have coming into the Air Force now that don't know how to deal with their problems. He said "it is the time out generation raising another time out generation." We reap what we sew

Time out generation?

I got the belt when I was a kid, some might argue to the nth degree, a bit too much.

But I also remember standing "with my nose in the corner". THAT is also a time out.

[GBMelBlount]

This is a very interesting article

[SCSTILLER]

Time out generation?

I got the belt when I was a kid, some might argue to the nth degree, a bit too much.

But I also remember standing "with my nose in the corner". THAT is also a time out.

Maybe you did, but I will go out on a limb by saying a lot of young parents didb't. Also, standing in a corner is really punishing? Sorry, but I have to disagree

[BnG_Hevn]

Maybe you did, but I will go out on a limb by saying a lot of young parents didb't. Also, standing in a corner is really punishing? Sorry, but I have to disagree

I remember hating to stand with my nose in the corner. It is "embarrassing", especially when your siblings had friends over.

The "punishment" part comes into play where a child has to do something they hate doing. I have two forms of punishment for my son, time out (at one point I had him standing in the corner too) and the Enforcer.

The Enforcer is a wooden spatula that has a thin edge.

If timout doesn't get it done then he crosses over into the Enforcer arena. He is really stubborn and at one point we didn't use timout, we went straight to the Enforcer.

Nowadays a timeout works, except when he back talks an adult, particularly his teacher or his mother, in which cases he gets the Enforcer.

He is getting more mature now so he is behaving pretty good overall. But when he does get the Enforcer, he gets 3 swats or 5, depending on severity of what he does ... rarely does he get 5, 3 is usually enough.

My point is this. Anything the child doesn't like or that "makes him miserable" works as punishment. If he hates timout, then he may be in the "timeout generation" but it is still effective.

As he is getting older and understands what not having something means, we can use other methods such as taking away the iPad, or the WII / XBox. His timeout consists of him going to his room and sitting on his bed cross-legged with his hands on his knees. If he is really tired he'll go to sleep.

I understand the thought process behind the "timeout generation" but I think it is too wide of a broom.

[The Patriot]

Here's a guaranteed cure for probably a good 95% of all so-called "ADHD cases." No pharmaceuticals required.

They'll send DHS goons to your house if they catch you doing that now.

[steeldawg]

You need to be more cognizant of your "sweeping statements".

I posted a thread a while ago about this very topic regarding my 6 (now 7) year old son. He was not paying attention and not "doing the normal things" in school, like answering questions and just overall participating. The teacher would call on him to answer a question (he's in 1st grade) and he would look like a deer in headlights, not having an inkling of what the teacher was talking about due to him being distracted, or whatever.

I was totally against meds, I absolutely HATE the idea of meds but my wife wanted to investigate. I wanted to take him to something like Sylvan first to have him evaluated. He is extremely intelligent, IMO he just wasn't participating due to lack of interest. I wanted a "pro" to evaluate him and to ask questions and determine what he is thinking.

For example, he knows what 2 + 2 is but if you ask him, he says he doesn't know. He constantly would not do homework saying "he didn't know". If you offered him a treat, then he would "do his best" but still not do as good as we know he can.

So, we went to the pediatrician and he explained the whole thing to me about ADHD / ADD, whatever. What it boils down to is the brain "being stimulated" so he can focus better. There is a new drug for it, or at least "new" in the sense that it's a liquid (don't know name off top of my head) that he prescribed.

This is no exaggeration.

The drug lasts for "up to" 24 hours, it doesn't stay in the system.

We gave Connor the drug and, since the teacher was in the know of our visit to the doctor, we let her know he had taken the drug and we asked her to "observe" him special.

What happened?

For literally the first time, he raised his hand in class and started answering questions.

He participates on all levels in class.

At home, not only is he reading without giving us hassle, he actually said he wants to read more when my wife told him they were done.

I think, for my son, it comes down to diet. He is extremely picky in the foods / drinks he eats and drinks. He won't drink any soda due to the carbonation so he only drinks water, Fruitables Juice Boxes and milk / chocolate milk.

For sweets, he will only eat chocolate chip cookies, Milano cookies, chocolate / vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake. He literally wont' touch anything else. Not b/c he doesn't like M&Ms or whatever, but simply b/c he won't try it. If he did he would want them I'm sure, but he won't try.

Regular foods same thing, but he is getting better due to us forcing him to eat, or at least try, the same foods we eat for dinner.

Long story short is that I think him not getting caffeine and other "stimulants" that other kids get on a daily basis is the issue.

The drug we are using is at it's lowest dosage and since he is "participating", I don't see a need to increase it. My wife wanted to try to increase it but I told her no. He is doing what he needs to do in the participation category and that is good. I think he just needed a kick start.

We are also giving him fish oil.

Bottom line is that "there are kids that need help" to concentrate, whether it be a chemical makeup *or* simply a change of diet, the help is needed. If we KNEW it was only caffeine that was needed, then we'd figure that out and remove the drug but for now the drug is what is making him concentrate better.

I believe i posted in your thread with a similar story about my neice the drugs they put her on worked wonders, she literally went from being classified as having a learning disorder to the honor roll. I used to say the samething about the adhd diagnosis untill i saw the results with my own eyes. Of course every situation is different and im sure there are plenty of cases out there where drugs could be avoided but in my own personal case it worked.

[GoSlash27]

BnG,
You're right; I didn't mean to imply that there's no such thing as ADHD and nobody should use ritalin, but that's the impression I gave.
There are definitely cases where it's necessary. I'm just sayin' it's not 1 out of every 5 boys. There are far too many diagnoses of ADHD and far too many kids who are prescribed ritalin who don't need it. Those kids are going to end up damaged.
The article points out that there is a correct procedure for evaluating kids, and in your case it was followed. In the vast majority of cases it's not.

[BnG_Hevn]

BnG,
You're right; I didn't mean to imply that there's no such thing as ADHD and nobody should use ritalin, but that's the impression I gave.
There are definitely cases where it's necessary. I'm just sayin' it's not 1 out of every 5 boys. There are far too many diagnoses of ADHD and far too many kids who are prescribed ritalin who don't need it. Those kids are going to end up damaged.
The article points out that there is a correct procedure for evaluating kids, and in your case it was followed. In the vast majority of cases it's not.

I totally agree. In fact, our pediatrician made the comment on how he has turned down helping kids b/c the kids' behavior was more parental than anything else and the parents wanted "the easy way out".

I think there is a HUGE difference between "bouncing off the walls" and "not learning the material". As I said above, the core issue is whether or not the child is learning the material. If they are not, there a myriad of reasons that could cause it, from a "troubled home life", lack of discipline etc.