My little rant on ADD

ADD is the most overdiagnosed disorder.

Seems like everyone has ADD now. Doctors are so quick to diagnose someone with ADD, even if no signs of ADD are present. We are becomming a society with children who are controlled by drugs. This is terrible, children need to learn to control themselves without drugs. That drugged up kid on adderal or what ever ADD medication isn't really your child, it is a body being controlled by pills.

Just got done watching a news special so thought I'd drop my .02 cents

[ash]

um, its not even called ADD at all anymore.

it is always ADHD w/ severe or slight hyperactivity.

some people NEED those "drugs" as they have chemical imbalance in their brains. I, for one, need it. I am 19 years old. An excellent student, president of a campus organization, management in a retail store, etc. i do NOT have ANY behaviour problems or anything, but my attention span is horrible. I notice a major difference in my ability to pay attention and take notes, etc in school when on my medication.

stop making blanket statements.

[=Mrs.AiNokeA=]

Originally Posted by REVELATI0N ADD is the most overdiagnosed disorder. Seems like everyone has ADD now. Doctors are so quick to diagnose someone with ADD, even if no signs of ADD are present. We are becomming a society with children who are controlled by drugs. This is terrible, children need to learn to control themselves without drugs. That drudged up kid on adderal or what ever ADD medication isn't really your child, it is a body being controlled by pills. Just got done watching a news special so thought I'd drop my .02 cents

I agree it is an overdiagnosed disorder and lots of teachers want the kids on drugs some who dont even need it. There is a test that you can actually do that my brother took to show if you have it or not. My brother has ADD but isnt on medication at all and is doing very well handling it on his own and my family is very proud of him. Some people do need medication though I just wish doctors wouldnt diagnose everyone as having it when lots of them probably dont. It's a really big topic to talk about but this is just my opinion which I typed out really quick and didnt get really into it so please dont get upset with me.

[jlbecker]

As a middle child I feel the natural inclination to mediate...
Of course there is always some validation to diagnoses. However, I also agree that it is over diagnosed in children now-a-days. From what I've learned talking to doctors, teachers, parents, and friends with ADHD psychologists and psychiatrists are working together to promote one another, hence the tendency to refer a child to drugs. It's sad. We lose sight of those truely in need.

Originally Posted by redsox.love stop making blanket statements.

understood.

I just don't believe in medicating the problem. One of my friends brothers was put on ridalin (sp?) as a child for his and not only did it make him too complacent, It was only a temporary fix.

[Rach]

My fiancee is supposedly supposed to have ADHD (diagnosed as a kid) but he won't take medication and according to him, he has a hard time w/ keeping organized at work, but he has a "system" to keep himself in check.

[LaurenBeth]

I have mixed feelings.

I know that ADHD is a very real thing and drugs may help that. With that said, people have had this problem for years and years... and years and didn't have drugs. So does that mean people are better off now than they would have been? Probably so... some of them. BUT, I don't believe that EVERY person who is on the medication NEEDS to be on it. Meciation in general has become a quick fix in our society. I worked in cardiac rehab and saw how many drugs some of those cardiac patients were on. After they dedicated time to exercise and eating healthy they were able to drop many of those medications. I have also seen the same thing time and time again when just personal training clients.. they can go off the meds bc we found a natural way to help them with the problem. Obviously I saying exercise is the answer for ADHD, but you get my point. Maybe the natural way for that with children is to have a therapist work through mental exercises to help teach children how to behave, focus, etc. Might work for some... not everyone, but it would help weed out who does not need to be medicated.

I personally, don't believe in taking (regularly taken) medication unless it is absolutely needed. I think there should be a very detailed amd unified system for deciding if someone NEEDS to be on medication. Clearly some should and it helps them have a more productive life. But do all need it? No Way!!

[Ste9]

Originally Posted by REVELATI0N understood. I just don't believe in medicating the problem. One of my friends brothers was put on ridalin (sp?) as a child for his and not only did it make him too complacent, It was only a temporary fix.

I agree with the thought that ADHD/ADD is overdiagnosed and any child that they don't want to deal with is referred for medication BUT there are people who DO need it.

What's your solution? How do you suppose we "fix" them without medication"

I have two children who are diagnosed with ADHD. They were both diagnosed - seperately- after extensive testing. They are both on medication, very low doses, during school hours so that they can function effectively. I didn't just walk into the doctors office and say "give my kid some drugs".

The process and decision was very VERY thought out and discussed. The reason being is that my now 16 year old came to me at 9 on a VERY high dose of ritalin because they didn't want to deal with him. He was on almost the max dose for an adult. We were able to get him off of it but it did have a lasting impression on me. I fought putting my other two children on meds for this very reason. I didn't want them to be "just a statistic". I didn't want to medicate them "just because". I didn't want to add another med to my one sons already long list of meds.

The problem is that some of these kids really DO need the help that the medication provides. My 8 year old started last year in 2nd grade reading at a K level. It took him 3 years to learn his phonetic sounds. He struggled with paying attention. He couldn't sit down at his desk and do his work. He couldn't sit down in the group and listen. He tried. He would say that he wanted to but it was to hard. He wasn't functioning well with his peers. We made the decision to put him on a very low dose of ritalin and it made a HUGE difference. He ended the school year reading at a third grade level. He would sit for hours and draw, color, read books, participate in class, etc. He made friends. His self esteem went up. When he's home we don't give him the meds but at school, to function with his peers he needs it.

My 5 year old was just the opposite. He picked everything up quickly but he has an aggressive tendency and he makes rash decisions without thinking. He would walk over and hit a child because he wanted to play with them because it's the first thing that came into his head. He wouldn't stop and think about it. The kids in preschool didn't like him. One of the teachers didn't like him. He was not a pleasant child to be around most of the time. We put him on a low dose of ritalin to help him slow down and curb his aggression. He functions better and can function normally with his peers.

Do I think that it should be used as a crutch or a permanent solution - no, not at all. But it can be used as a tool. We use it so that our children have the ability to see what life is like "outside of their world". We have the ability to teach them coping skills and give them tools to use while they aren't on their meds. One day I think that they will be medication free but we have to be able to equip them with the skills and tools for them to be able to function normally off of their meds.

[mara_jade81]

All I know is steak tastes better when I take my steak taste better pill.

[=Mrs.AiNokeA=]

Originally Posted by mara_jade81 All I know is steak tastes better when I take my steak taste better pill.

Hmmm might have to try that pill