A correct ADHD diagnosis with the correct treatment can be essential to some children's well-being but the problem with ADHD's diagnoses is that aren't correct. Many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD, which has some questioning why they would broaden the age range for diagnosis and treatment if so many are said to be incorrect. It is estimated that nearly 1 million children have been misdiagnosed with ADHD, and therefore mistreated. Should they have broadened the age range with so many diagnoses already proving to be incorrect? Many may say that is just how kids are and to find a child in elementary school that doesn't get distracted easily or has trouble paying attention for a full class. This is a legitimate disorder for many, but has it become too overused in our society today? Is it becoming an excuse for a child who just has trouble behaving properly? Should the requirements for a diagnosis be narrowed down to limit those misdiagnoses or are they fine as is?
Here are some resources that are informative on the symptoms of ADHD, the new guidelines, and some thoughts from doctors, researchers, and other professionals:
I believe that this disorder has become so overused in our society today and it is being taken advantage of. Kids in middle school and high school are looking to get diagnosed with this so they can get "extra time" on big exams. Nowadays I would say 80 percent of high school kids think they have ADHD because they can't concentrate in class, but the reason they can't concentrate is because of all the distractions such as cellphones and computers. They are looking to get medication so they can do better on exams like the SATS. Everyone knows the SAT is an extremely long and difficult test and I've heard many of my friends say they want to get medication so they can concentrate. On the other hand, there are people who legitimately have this disorder and seriously need help. I think the requirements for a diagnosis should be narrowed down to limit this misdiagnoses.
ReplyDeleteThis disorder has definitely become misused in the world today. Some parents just don't want to take responsibility for their child's misbehaving. Yes, some children do have ADHD, but others that have been misdiagnosed may have just been brought up the wrong way in the wrong environment. There are many children that have trouble focusing and are really hyper maybe because they came out of a troubled family. I think the requirements for a diagnosis should be narrowed down to limit those misdiagnoses. Many parents nowadays actually want their children to be diagnosed with ADHD even if they don't have it, just so they can be put on medication so they don't have to deal with their own children. If parents don't want their children misbehaving, then maybe they shouldn't force the AHDH diagnosis so harshly and just discipline their children better when they aren't behaving appropriately.
ReplyDeleteADHD is one of the most misdiagnoses psychiatric disorders in the United States. With that being said, I believe that the American Academy of Pediatrics was incorrect in broadening the age range. With so many diagnoses already proving to be incorrect, with numbers in the millions, broadening the age range of diagnosis will only exacerbate the ongoing problem. I think that in most cases, however, it is a legitimate disorder and requires proper treatment. Nonetheless, I believe that in some specific cases it has become an excuse for a child who has a hard time with behaving properly and gets distracted easily, on top of having trouble paying attention and retaining information for school. Furthermore, the requirements for a diagnosis should be narrowed in order to fix the ongoing problem with misdiagnosis. The problem needs to be addressed to prevent further worsening of misdiagnoses and mistreatment. Some children are simply more excitable than others and have difficulty in class, but with time and maturation most will grow out of these phases.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the three comments about ADHD before my comment. However, I want to challenge a quote from the first website Sam posted: "For ages 4 to 5, the report recommends behavioral interventions first, but if there's no improvement and the child has moderate to severe symptoms, the stimulant drug methylphenidate (marketed as Ritalin, Concerta and others) may be used." While I am glad behavioral interventions are attempted, I think that each child develops at a different rate, especially between the ages of 4 and 5. Kids this age are going to have a hard time paying attention, simply because they are constantly learning new things. Of course it is going to be hard to have a behavioral intervention, and of course it is going to be unsuccessful. The number of children and teens being diagnosed with ADHD is much too high. I think that waiting until they are in school is the first step in reducing the number. Parents should not jump to conclusions because their child is developing at a different way than others their age. Some need extra help to get their work done, so I think help from after school tutors, parents, or a homework group would help a child's ability to focus. I agree with Lloyd in that the problem needs to be addressed to prevent further misdiagnoses and mistreatments. Hopefully in time, the number of children receiving medication for ADHD will be much lower.
ReplyDeleteOur society today has become dependent of the diagnosis of ADHD in small children and teenagers throughout the years. If one million are misdiagnosed shouldn’t we do something about it? Some side effects of medicines can be harmful like decreased appetite, heart problems, or stomach pain in the case of ADHD. By broadening the age range for diagnosis it sets up more children and teens for these kinds of side effects and more. There has been a huge epidemic of high schoolers and college students who will do anything to get their hands on these pills. Poison control centers have found that teens who are abusing ADHD medicine has risen 76% in just eight years. They use these pills to help them concentrate and study for the big tests such as the SATS and AP Exams like Stephanie mentioned in her post. If society today didn’t have so many distractions like cell phones, the internet, and TVs imagine how much lower the rate of abuse in teens would be. Ultimately, the requirements for diagnosis should be narrowed down to limit misdiagnoses. Here is a link to a news report by CBS that discusses this issue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuqdX_qkcoA
ReplyDeleteI agree that ADHA is overused in our society. Kids say they can't concentrate in class but it is because they are too busy talking to their friends or texting in the middle of class. I believe most kids do not have ADHD they just use it as an excuse for why they can't pay attention but really it is probably because they don't care about school. I also believe parents use it as an excuse for why there children may misbehave.
ReplyDeleteFor the children who really do have it, it is important for them to be able to get the medication and help they need.
I think they should narrow down the requirements for the diagnosis. They should work on a diagnosis that is more accurate.
I agree with the posts before me discussing the overuse of ADHD diagnosis. I think many parents and doctors are overconcerned with their children's attention span, when very often it is simply kids being kids. Children naturally do not have the attention span of adolescents and adults. Sometimes, too, it is confused with ADD, which I have come to know as a slightly less serious disorder. There definitely are kids who suffer from severe ADHD, but they are being overlooked by those who use it as an excuse for their behavior.
ReplyDeleteI have a brother with ADHD and the problems that occur with it, like interrupting others bring impulsive, and thinking before you speak, are all very noticeable when you interact with him. When he gets involved in a fight with my parents, he has this constant need to be right and make sure that they are wrong, by interrupting them as soon as he hears something that just does not seem right to him. This affected him socially as well. Because he was misdiagnosed, he was not able to interact with people his own age and kept to himself. This caused his social development to slow down and made it harder for him to make friends when he entered middle school and high school.
ReplyDeleteI think they should shorten the age range with so many diagnoses already proving to be incorrect. Because my brother got a dose that was too strong, in a way, being as though it caused him to be sleepy and being socially incapable.
I also happen to have a friend who is diagnosed with a severe case of ADHD and has trouble staying still and can’t always think straight. But because his constant needs to be active, he was a starting football player and a well-known wrestler in my town’s school. It caused him to focus more on sports than academics since he was able to move around. Because of this, he did not do well in school academically; but was able to receive a wrestling scholarship for college. It may have it’s up for ADHD but they are some downsides. What if he happens to break a bone, or pull a muscle? He wouldn’t really be able to play anymore. Something could easily take him out of the game for life and he doesn’t have the knowledge he needs to get him through life.
Though he is a great athlete, he was also never given any medication to repress the symptoms of ADHD. His parents found that it was unnecessary since he had accomplished so much in high school as an athlete. I understand it is people’s decisions as to what to do with their children, and honestly I think it depends on the kid. My brother needed medication because he couldn’t interact because he was off the walls. Even though the medication did not help to begin with, it helps him now since we have the right dosage. My friend on the other hand, probably should have for academic reasons, so that he’d be able to get his work done without his mind being all over the place.
I think that this disorder is becoming over used in our society and it is becoming an excuse for kids that act up in and out of school. Kids that are disruptive in class and don't pay attention may very well have ADHD but i don't believe that it is a legitimate excuse for many. For instance, my cousin has very bad ADHD and you can tell when you meet him for the first time. He constantly interrupts you and always raises his voice when he feels like someone is trying to talk over him. He also strays off topic very easily. We could be talking about one thing with a group of people but once another idea pops into his head, he immediately blurts it out. He definitely does not think before he speaks. In his case, i believe it is ok to blame the ADHD but in other cases of kids being obnoxious in class, i don't think it is a legitimate excuse.
ReplyDeleteThe statistics given make it extremely clear that the misdiagnoses of ADHD is a common problem which affects about one million children and young adults each year. I believe that the age range should absolutely be narrower. Prior to 2001, the age range had 8 years subtracted to it, which I one-hundred percent believe that it should have been kept that way. Between the ages of four and five, how can you even tell if a child simply is adjusting to the classroom setting or if they do have ADHD? I believe the child's learning patterns should be analyzed over these years to see if there are any changes in the way they focus in class to determine if they have ADHD or not. Also, by adding six years to the other end of the spectrum gives teenagers the excuse to just tell themselves and other they think they have ADHD, because some of their other peers do have the legitimate problem. In high school there are so many distractions that are not directly correlated with ADHD, but these teenagers use the distractions as an excuse to get diagnosed and be prescribed with adderall-- especially if they have a big exam or a late night of studying. If the children and teenagers were not diagnosed with ADHD from the age range from 6-12, I believe there should be extra tests done to see if they do indeed have the disorder, especially if it will result in minimizing the misdiagnoses.
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