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New statistics about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has parents and doctors taking notice. The Center for Disease Control has released data that indicates 11 percent of school-age children have a medical diagnosis of ADHD, and as many as one in five high school boys have been diagnosed with the disorder.
Are these numbers legitimate? Or have we run amok with diagnosing "different" or active kids with a disorder when really they're just being what many of us were -- active, rambunctious, adventuresome kids?
The New York Times wrote an article recently about these ADHD diagnoses and said that according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these high numbers are indeed true.
But rather than expressing a concern about the ADHD condition itself, some experts are worried that many are being misdiagnosed as a means to give parents a name for their children's behaviors and to potentially medicate them to make them more "normal" .
Diagnoses of ADHD have risen 41% in the past 10 years and 16% since 2007.
Two-thirds of kids receiving a diagnosis of ADHD are on medications that have concerning side effects like lack of appetite, getting "high" and becoming addicted to the medications by abusing them.
Other side effects include poor impulse control and bad decision making. And children may be sharing these medications with their friends.
Very concerning is that about 1 in 10 boys in high school are on ADHD medications with nearly one in five boys receiving a diagnosis of ADHD. About 1 in 10 high school girls have the same diagnosis.
These numbers have some experts very concerned and skeptical. The New York Times article quotes Dr. Richard Swanson, a Professor of Psychiatry and expert in ADHD from Florida International University as saying that "There's no way that one in five high school boys has ADHD. If we start treating children who do not have the disorder with stimulants, a certain percentage are going to have problems that are predictable — some of them are going to end up with abuse and dependence. And with all those pills around, how much of that actually goes to friends? Some studies have said it’s about 30 percent.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/health/more-diagnoses-of-hyperactivity...
But doctors are also facing pressure from parents to diagnose their children and medicate them. Parents sometimes face pressure from teachers to put their children on medications.
An EmpowHER article lists symptoms of ADHD.
ADHD hyperactive symptoms can cause these problems for a child:
• Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities
• Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school and story time
• Talk non-stop
• Fidget and squirm in their seats
• Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight
• Constantly in motion
ADHD impulsive symptoms can cause these symptoms:
• Often interrupt conversations or others' activities
• Have difficulty waiting for things they want
• Have difficulty waiting their turns in games
• Very impatient
• Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
The article goes on to say that symptoms should be severe for a proper diagnosis of ADHD. This statement contradicts what we've been seeing, with such large numbers of high school boys being diagnosed.
Speaking with people in my area about this topic, they not seen one in five boys showing such severe symptoms. And they agree that there seems to be a huge rush to diagnose and medicate what, in days gone by, was seen as typical behaviors and hijinks of young people as they change from being children and young adults.
Tell Us
Do you think the number of diagnoses of ADHD are over-diagnosed? Do these numbers seem concerning to you or do you think they are appropriate?
Sources:
The New York Times. Health. A.D.H.D. Seen in 11% of U.S. Children as Diagnoses Rise. Web. Retrieved April 3rd, 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/health/more-diagnoses-of-hyperactivity...
EmpowHER.com. Mental Health. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Risks .
https://www.empowher.com/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/c...
Reviewed April 5, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith