A Million Kids Misdiagnosed with ADHD? 711
Jamie was one of several people who submitted links to a story proclaiming that as many as a
million kids were misdiagnosed with ADHD simply for being the youngest and therefore least mature in their classes. Worse still, I wonder how many of those kids are permanently put on drugs.
Re:Sigh (Score:1, Interesting)
Well you get legal drugs for uni years, so where's the harm?
Pseudoscience in 3, 2, 1... (Score:1, Interesting)
*** First things first: I don't doubt that a great many children have been misdiagnosed with ADHD or that the U.S. is a non-thinking, pill-popping kind of place. ***
HOWEVA, I'm still bracing myself for the Slashdot pseudoscientists who will come a-rushin' out of the woodwork this morning. They'll immediately throw the baby out with the bathwater and trash EVERYTHING related to psychiatry. They'll insist that nearly all psychiatric diagnoses are horse dung and that The Man (or whoever) just wants a drugged-up, compliant populace.
Aside: What is it about certain I.T. types? Dubious brilliance in one tiny area of the (I.T.) world leads them to believe that they'd be logical experts in wholly different fields.
Special case (Score:5, Interesting)
No, that's not allowed anymore. (Score:4, Interesting)
My fiance's son was recently accused of having ADHD by the social-workers masquerading as "teachers" at his school. See, unlike his older siblings, he doesn't LIKE school. It's not fun to him. He'd rather be outside running around, or shootin' zombies on the PS3, or just hanging out with Mom.
However, in today's Brave New World of elementary school, being "unhappy" is NOT ALLOWED and is a symptom of ADHD and depression. The "teachers" (and I will put quotes around the name because they were nothing more than armchair social workers) were hell-bent on getting him on ADHD. Not a single one of them was a medical doctor. But, they had all their ministry of education created "information sheets" that gave them a nice formula for identifying potential ADHD cases in the classes. And like the dutiful little Nazis they were, they religiously hunted down every kid that just wasn't happy enough for "further evaluation."
Fortunately, our family doctor did not agree. He put a stop to this nonsense. Maybe he's one of the few, but our doctor said "Maybe he just doesn't like going to school?" Someone give that man a candy apple for stating the bloody obvious.
Like it or not, ADHD is an industry. A LOT of money is being made off the over-prescription of Ritalin. Children are being unfairly "accused" of ADHD simply because they don't fit some happy shiny ideal that no child should ever be if they are truly healthy.
I HATED school when I was a kid. The popular vernacular for elementary school in my day was "jail." I guess nowadays I would have been dragged off and drugged up for daring to crack a frown at the teacher.
Re:Sigh (Score:5, Interesting)
Sometimes a tough call.
I'm 35 now and got diagnosed with adhd 2 years ago.
I've been through some counseling and training via a "adhd for adults" program and started taking meds.
Man, has my life changed! For the better that is.....
Suddenly the things I do (or don't do) make a lot more sense. I've started learning and understanding my own behavior a lot better. The medication (Concerta supplemented with Ritalin) make me feel and act a lot more "normal" (whatever that is). I can now actually watch a complete movie without getting distracted and bored within 10 minutes. I can focus on my work and jobs a lot better, get things done a whole lot more..
So, for me getting that diagnose now in this stage of my life is almost a revelation...
But!
When I think of my childhood, I wouldn't have wanted that.
Yes, I was a annoying little son of a....Got bored very fast, always busy, with, well.. being busy.
I'm sure a lot of teachers would have executed me on the spot if they had the chance to do so. Later on I became a true wildchild. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll? Hah, that's what pussies do so to speak..
But I enjoyed every moment of it, wouldn't have wanted to miss that for a second.
Of course, I would never have known if I'd had started taking meds at a much younger age. But still... Looking back, I don't regret it.
I was just a kid, being a kid, though on natural steroids..
I'm glad they let me be.
My stepson.... (Score:4, Interesting)
My stepson has been tested twice for ADHD and both times they came out negative. The tests were recommended by his 1st and 3rd grade teachers (he is going into 7th now). He is one of the youngest kids in his class. However, he is in the gifted and talented program, has a high IQ and is currently reading books about the String Theory. We seek out teachers that can handle a child that is, probably, overall, smarter than they are. If we encounter a teacher who asks him to be tested, we show them the original 2 results. Then they can either suck it up or ask to have him moved to another class.
Alan
my son almost was one (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Sigh again (Score:2, Interesting)
Some people even take medication to the extreme and seem to be of the opinion that all children should behave in almost exactly the same manner and any deviation should result in drugging them until they fit the mold. Having a variety of personalities should be considered a positive rather than a negative. Diversity should not be feared in behavior any more than in physical appearance.
Re:Is it just me? (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem isn't really the extra energy. It's the distractions that affect the ability to focus. Having ADHD is, for me, like having six alarm clocks, each going off at random intervals of no more than five minutes. The medications are like earmuffs. I can ignore the distracting ideas, and focus on my work. Unfortunately, the medications also dull any "good" distractions for me, so I've trained myself over 7 years to not take them and still be focused.
Now I live with the distractions, and try not to annoy my coworkers too much with my occasional random ideas. I still move around much more than my coworkers and keep a messier desk, but at least I can work on my own.
Re:Sigh again (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Sigh again (Score:3, Interesting)
- Ideas run through his mind unrelated to the task at hand, serving only to confuse and frustrate.
- Shortly before a group of kids went from being pissed off and distracted to being happier and focused.
Based on my own experience.
Re:SHOCKING! (Score:3, Interesting)
I think a lot of parents have problems with the idea that their kids might not actually be as bright or as successful as they themselves have been. Broadly speaking, we tend to be optimists when it comes to our children and to assume that they'll exceed our own achievements. Of course, this doesn't always happen. I'm sure we all know of cases of intelligent, successful parents with at least one child who is either stupid or so badly behaved that he or she is incapable of learning properly.
So when such a child (particularly an only-child, from my experience) starts to fall behind at school, the parents start to cast around for a reason that doesn't involve the kid not being particularly clever. A medical diagnosis is one of the best ways to achieve this, at least in terms of having some way of explaining to friends why little Johnny just came home with D grades again. ADHD is certainly one of the most common, though dyslexia gives it a good run for its money. That isn't to say that neither condition is real (because both are), but it is to say that both conditions are rarer than records indicate.
I remember when I was doing my undergraduate studies, I spent the holidays doing tech-support and admin work in a local doctors' surgery (boring, but fairly well paid as student jobs go). You may have heard of the abbreviations that used to appear on doctors' notes in the UK in the days before the data protection act; abbreviations that conveyed the kind of message that was useful to a doctor meeting the patient for the first time, but too unflattering to state outright. These were real enough and there was one of these that was used to convey "this kid is basically a bit dim, but I've made up some fictitious syndrome to satisfy the parents". I can't for the life of me remember what the abbreviation was - I want to say NSS (non-specific stupidity), but I suspect that's my memory being coloured by this book [amazon.co.uk]. Obviously, this was back in the days when most of the population had never used the internet; you wouldn't get away with it these days due to the proliferation of behavioural disorder related websites.
Re:No, that's not allowed anymore. (Score:3, Interesting)
Ok this is getting a bit off topic about ADHD, but the teachers...well let me tell you. They dragged my fiance in for "face to face meetings" over this non-issue several times. After a while, they simply stopped listening to her, the parent of this child. It didn't matter to them that she works really damn hard with her kid to convince him he should be taking school more seriously, or working with him nightly on his homework assignments. It didn't matter to them at all that she had some better ideas on how to get him to take school more seriously on the teacher's side of the blackboard. All they cared about was getting him diagnosed and drugged, and Mom's opinion did NOT matter. They were so sure the doctor was just going to wrtie up a scrip for Ritalin (which, he did not). They had official letters written up for the doctor and everything. Fortunately he just said "WTF..I have patients who really have this disease. Yours does not. These teachers are fools."
I'm not here to say ADHD does not exist. I am here to say that if a million were wrongfully "diagnosed," the problem isn't just the doctors writing the prescriptions. The school systems are guilty as hell, and as someone else said, borderline practicing medicine without a damn license.
Re:Sigh (Score:2, Interesting)
No, parent is correct as to whether it's a stimulant or depressive; it's a stimulant.
As to the mechanism, you're almost right. Ritalin actually increases the level of dopamine in the brain, which improves the neural signal-to-noise ratio and cuts down on 'background firing' in the brain.
The term you're looking for isn't 'depressing' that part of the brain. It's 'antagonist'. The mechanism you're describing is for a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. SSRIs are seratonin receptor antagonists; they prevent the reuptake of serotonin. Ritalin is similarly a dopamine receptor antagonist.
(Disclaimer: my wife is a psychological specializing in drug addictions.)
Re:ADHD is real (Score:3, Interesting)
Amazingly, the drugs worked wonders. She was still the same silly, sweet, loving girl but now was able to focus at school and we could get through homework time without fighting and tears. She just finished 6th grade...straight A's across the board taking all GT (gifted and talented) classes. My youngest son was also diagnosed and he's done great as well.
Our middle child is not ADHD. He gets in trouble, acts up, occasionally bounces off the walls, but his behavior is different than his sibs. When he needs to he can pay attention, do his homework, and maintain a level of self control that the other can't.
When there's no school (weekends, holidays, summer break) we don't give our kids the meds. We just roll with the chaos and when it gets out of hand we divide and conquer...they all have their own rooms and splitting them up for a while brings the energy level down. Now I know what my mom went through with me...she used to say, "I hope you have kids just like you!"
The uninformed think ADHD is about lazy parents and teachers. It's not. Discipline is strict in our house. Our kids are in an amazing school in a great school district. I was against the diagnosis, against the drugs, but accepting the diagnosis has turned things around in a huge way.
Medical corruption (Score:5, Interesting)
Friend of mine is Doctor working for the UK National Heath Service and he's told me about how they can be offered cash incentives for prescribing certain drugs, particularly antidepressants. Consequently you go to the doctor with any vague symptoms there is a good chance you will walk away with low dosage Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRI).
The cash incentives avoid being bribes in a cunning way. If a doctor prescribes enough of a certain pill he gets invited to conferences where they apparently give them more information about the drugs they prescribe. Of course this is out of work hours and the drug companies feel they should compensate the doctors for their time, usually cash in hand with jaw dropping amounts and somehow the after parties end up in hotels with coke and hookers. ''Prescribe our drug and you can come to the next party! ''
I wish I didn't believe him but first hand I went to the doctors with a headache and lethargy and walked away with a months worth of venlafaxine though I never took them after reading the side effects list. 3 years later I passed all the tests to join the Intelligence Core in the British Army but failed the medical because I had apparently previously been diagnosed with depression.
Re:SHOCKING! (Score:4, Interesting)
Can't really say I'm all that surprised. The more responsible/seasoned parents out there pretty much called b.s. on this long ago and actually discipline their kids instead of medicating them.
I presume most of these diagnoses are based on kids simply being kids. They're packed with energy and ready for playtime at a moment's notice. The early years of schooling is/was geared towards training them to control that behavoir. What the heck happened?
My wife and I have two sons, ages 5 and 3. We long suspected our 5yr old of having/developing ADHD. We held off any official diagnosis or medication until the last few months, and the difference is quite noticeable. You need to understand that you're making a big mistake by equating ADHD with "kids need discipline". It's not that at all. Our 5yr old son can be behaving perfectly well (no discipline needed) yet still generally annoying the crap out of us (to be perfectly honest) when he's completely off meds. And don't get me wrong -- of course we love him dearly, and he's incredibly bright -- but before any medication, he could have difficulty holding his own attention long enough to complete a sentence, repeating a sentence fragment several times, then forgetting how to finish the phrase. "Daddy? Daddy, I want to go to ... I want to go .... can I..? ..." This is just one example of one symptom of his ADHD and I won't go into his entire behavior history and how the diagnosis was confirmed by our pediatrician.
For many kids with ADHD, the correct type/dosage of medication is like throwing them a lifesaver in rough waters. From your post, I'll assume you're not a medical professional, nor do you have children or close friends with children with ADHD. Though I shouldn't let online comments get under my skin, I'll tell you I take umbrage at your suggestion that I'm merely not providing discipline to my kids. I can assure you they get plenty of playtime, structure, discipline and so on. But when you're doing everything else right, and the ADHD remains, the logical step is to seek treatment of one kind or another. Medication may not be right for everyone, but it helps many.
Re:My stepson.... (Score:5, Interesting)
so is he smart enough to realise that string theory is bullshit ?
Re:Sigh (Score:3, Interesting)
As something with idiopathic hypersomnia, I can say without question that it is a stimulant. I take that paired with Nuvigil (recently switched from Provigil - don't even get me onto *that* particular racket!) to stay awake, along with caffeine capsules.
The case of the shakes that I get every once in a while is most DEFINITELY in line with a stimulant.
Re:Source please (Score:3, Interesting)
Searching for "ritalin stimulant" and "ritalin" depressant" both come back with results saying that ritalin is a stimulant. Even Wikipedia says its a stimulant.
When you give amphetamines/methylphenidate to individuals with AD[H]D it can have a depressant effect on them.
http://www.google.com/search?q=ritalin+zombie [google.com]
http://www.google.com/search?q=adderall+zombie [google.com]
Ironically, some antidepressants do the same thing since they work through similar mechanisms.
Re:Sigh (Score:3, Interesting)
As an adult who went 28 years before getting ADHD medication, I rather liked the whole "no appetite" thing :)
I think it's important for ADHD kids to learn to deal with their differences (note: imho ADHD is not a disorder, or a problem, or a deficiency, we're just a particular set of personality traits that do not do well in modern social norms that require most people to sit still and perform repetitive tasks all day every day) without medication. After I was diagnosed at 28, friends who have ADHD kids started asking me about medication and such. I strongly suggested they avoid it as long as they can; I think it's important for the kids to be able to recognize the differences in their own behavior when using medication, and to learn to cope with their tendencies without it first.
I took Concerta for four months, then stopped. I learned how much of a difference it made in me, and learned to recognize in the morning when I was going to have a particularly ADHD day. When I start the day like that, I pick up a coffee on the way to work. That's all the stimulant I need.
Re:SHOCKING! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Sigh again (Score:5, Interesting)
I have two questions:
- What would happen to him if he didn't take the medication?
- When was the medication invented?
I was diagnosed with ADHD in my adult years (mid 30's). Also dyslexia.
Anyways, I spent most of early school years being extremely frustrated. People didn't seem to understand the points of what I was saying. I didn't play well with others. I could do better if I applied myself. Don't seem to pay attention. etc.
In my teenage years, nothing really changed.
In my 20's I discovery herion and that it makes me feel so good that none of the frustration of dealing with people matter.
In my 30's, after 15 years of being a junkie and trying to stop being a junkie, I get to start seeing a shrink at the methadone clinic. We figure out that I'm ADHD (well, he figured that one out) and dyslexic (i started to notice something was wrong), got me on meds, and I had no problem getting off methadone and staying clean since then.
My life would be different now if I had found out about my ADHD (and dyslexia, and well, depression) back in my youth and if I had gotten medication for it. How different, no idea. Probably better in the long run, even though I don't really have any complaints.
By society's "norm" i'm a waste. disabled, living off the government.
By my goals, I have a my own place, a cat, computers, internet. I'm a slacker, taking this life off.
So, if i probably would of known about my problems, and taken meds, I'd probably be married, have 2.5 fat kids, probably have 3 cats, some crappy IT job, lots of bills, stress and ulcers. And worse, I'd probably work for microsoft.
Seriously, I can't say what my life would of been like, but I can safely say this:
My life has been better since I started taking meds for the ADHD.
Re:Sigh again (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm finally considering going on something for my Masters. I made it through all of mechanical engineering just on account that I was 'smart'. I've been able to get good reviews at work even though I feel like I only work 2 hours a day. The rest I spend on slashdot and fark or elsewhere on the internet. But somehow the ADHD has kept it such that I'll work in spurts and and surf and still get more work done than my peers.
It seems that /. has a different group consensus on ADHD (thankfully) but there are some places that think it is made up. That it's just 'kids being kids'. If you spend an hour with me in a 'boring' situation that I don't have my internet pacifier, I start making up things to do. Below is something that I wrote for another website on ADHD:
ADHD indeed does suck. On Welbutrin right now, but at times it makes me near manic. I mean I'm VERY productive but short term memory is nill (I can't remember where I would set a screw driver) and wouldn't work on something for more than 10 minutes at a time. (Opposed to 30 seconds at a time and switching jobs), I honestly would forget words and speaking came out like I had tics, but it's helped a bit.
My adult test for ADHD is sex. As long as I have a 'task' which is her pleasure. I'm all into it. I'm concentrating on something. There is however, no such thing as relaxing. Because as soon as I'm told to 'relax' and it's my turn, ADHD kicks in. "Ooh MyTurn.This feels good, hrm I wonder what that car sound was, cars I wonder where I parked my car, oh yeah in the garage next to that BMW, I wonder if I could get a free test ride. shiat losing erection, she looks like it's her, think sexy thoughts think sexy thoughts. Hrm, last time I had sex, that was last weekend, last weekend oh that was before I went to work, work I wonder if that simulation was finished running, crap I have a meeting on Monday, Monday that's labor day, no work labor day, labor day, stupid unions, probably the only thing they've ever given us, union contract expiring at work".
Repeat. There is a reason sex can take up to 45 minutes and NO it is not fun.
The only exception is when I either haven't had it in a LONG time (Long distance GF) or it's the first time with someone. Even the second time my brain goes "heh, already done this. What else is can I think about."
Only thing worse is when I've been cramming for a final on a subject and the brain tries to incorporate the two. Clutch friction plates, rotational intertia, wave motion, hell I have a sex.c file somewhere in my brain. "No baby, it's not you, I just can't figure out the switch statements for this subroutine."
THAT is ADHD.
The Welbutrin is so so. I think it severely affects my short term memory. When I'm taking it I can't multi-task because I'll forget what the other task was, so it does sort of force me to work on one thing. However at times it makes me talk like a stroke victim because I can't even speak.
Re:Sigh again (Score:3, Interesting)
Easy, chief. Given a million misdiagnoses, it sounds like it's a highly misunderstood condition - and that's the point. Doctors and parents are so unfamiliar with what real ADHD looks like that they've slapped the wrong tag on it a million times.
ADD and ADHD are spectrum disorders.
If you match a certain number of symptoms, a doctor can say you've got the disorder.
The problem is that 99% of doctors/parents do not follow up with (or do not have available to them) a full evaluation.
Back in the day a relative of mine was diagnosed, then went to a psychologist who subjected him to hours of tests.
Everything from "click the mouse when the X pops up on the screen" to "I'm going to read these numbers and I want you to repeat them to me backwards"
It's a tragedy that most treatment plans start with a short questionnaire and end with a perscription for drugs.
Most kids with ADD/ADHD have learning issues stemming from their condition and drugs do nothing to fix that.
Re:SHOCKING! (Score:3, Interesting)
The diagnosis is not made on energy levels. We have 3 kids, all equally energetic. Two were diagnosed with ADHD (I fought the diagnosis...see a reply I made elsewhere in this thread for details). The difference? Ability to focus and to control impulses.
Medicine has made a huge difference in their school lives. On non-school days they don't get meds...that level of focus and control is generally not needed outside of school.
Last year my non-ADHD son's teacher requested a conference about my son's behavior...during the first week of school. ADHD was never considered for him, however. In his case he needed an outlet for his creativity and energy. Keeping him busy is the best strategy for him...that and parental threats. It's different with my other two. We tried everything, over years, with my daughter to no avail. She loves school, isn't bored, but couldn't focus. I'm not talking about being somewhat distracted. She took distracted to a new level. The right meds flipped a switch and there have been no issues since.
It's likely I've carried ADHD into adulthood so I'm very sympathetic to their plight. I know what it's like for them...more than once I've been tempted to "sample" their meds to help me focus at work. It would be nice to be able to pay attention to the task at hand for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.
Re:Sigh (Score:4, Interesting)
I think it's important for ADHD kids to learn to deal with their differences (note: imho ADHD is not a disorder, or a problem, or a deficiency, we're just a particular set of personality traits that do not do well in modern social norms that require most people to sit still and perform repetitive tasks all day every day) without medication.
There is at least one personality researcher that believes the same thing. I believe I heard David Keirsey refer to these types of medications as behavioral modification through narcotherapy, and claimed that there is a strong correlation between personality types and the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD.
He has an interesting article on his site called Drugged Obedience: http://www.keirsey.com/drugged_ob.aspx [keirsey.com]
Re:Sigh (Score:1, Interesting)
In This Thread: Express your superiority over straw-man parents with pat condemnations, supported by anecdotal evidence! Cast aspersion on the motives of medical professionals! Espouse cult-like belief in naturalistic practices! Argue small-mindedly with the parents of ADD-affected children! Make everyone get off your lawn!
Or, alternatively, shut your mouth when it comes to things you know nothing of.
Actually you should shut your mouth. My child is exactly the child this article is discussing, right at the youngest in the grade due to cut-off dates. And my child has been pushed to be diagnosed with ADHD from time to time. Some doctors DO push drugs - as an easy catch all solution, just like some teachers DO push to get kids drugged. It is very common. And something that I do know something about.
ADHD is a figment of an industry which profits from it. Seriously, we developed a whole "science" around preventing kids from acting normally. Kids progress at different rates, kids can be rough one year and better the next, kids can be antsy in class and be just fine, kids can be innatentive because they want to be playing and not studying. All things that are NORMAL for a child - yet we have an entire industry built around drugging them so that kids act more like adults. There is nothing good about that, at all. Never think for a moment that there is not a financial incentive to put a child on drugs for years. Just like teachers or parents might just want to take the "easy" way out and drug the child, the drug companies will push information that makes it seem like it is your only alternative.
I am not talking about naturalistic, homeopathy or any other crap. I am simply saying that some people really push to drug the "kid" right out of the kids.
Re:Medical corruption (Score:5, Interesting)
Friend of mine is Doctor working for the UK National Heath Service and he's told me about how they can be offered cash incentives for prescribing certain drugs, particularly antidepressants. Consequently you go to the doctor with any vague symptoms there is a good chance you will walk away with low dosage Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRI).
I went with non-vague symptoms, and the doctor said "I could prescribe you some drugs if you'd like, but I think you'll do better without any drugs. Instead, I want you to do some outside exercise every day."
3 years later I passed all the tests to join the Intelligence Core in the British Army but failed the medical because I had apparently previously been diagnosed with depression.
My doctor asked if I wanted my medical record updated. I said no. I'm not sure (I haven't seen my record since then) but presumably there's no record of my visits.
Re:Is it just me? (Score:3, Interesting)
Whoever wrote that had no clue.
First of all, in normal cases, even if there's an afternoon dose, it's timed so that the effect has worn off by the time the person goes to sleep. And for really serious cases (those who have serious sleep problems as a result of their ADHD), an additional dose of the stimulant before bedtime can make them sleep better and actually be better rested the next morning.
Oh ... lack of sleep worsens ADHD symptoms. I can basically tell every hour too few that my kid has had. In fact, enough sleep deprivation (especially if it is chronic) can even give an otherwise healthy person ADHD symptoms. Try sleeping 90 minutes less than you usually do, for a month or two.
Re:Medical corruption (Score:2, Interesting)
Your kid may not have it but ADD is real (Score:1, Interesting)
I have ADD you insensitive clod!
I didn't believe it was a real disorder either, my entire family was the same way. So I grew up suffering from ADD and never even knew it. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 30. Initially, I said there was no way I could have something that isn't even real. After thinking things over quite a bit and doing research (including talking to others with "adult ADD"), I began to be convinced that there really might be something wrong with me. Or at least "different" in a detrimental way.
So we began trying treatment, and the effectiveness of that treatment has convinced me definitively: ADD is real and I have it.
One of my great regrets in life is that I was not diagnoses as a child. If I could have started treatment before high school my life would have turned out so much differently. I don't regret where I have ended up, but I can recognize all the potential I once had to go so much further that my behavior sabotaged.
I am not defending the drug industry here, they are amoral capitalists and undoubtedly exploit children to maximize profits, but they also produce drugs that help people like me.
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Medical corruption (Score:4, Interesting)
My sister's ex' sister is a drug rep, and she was describing exactly what the GP says, except for "coke and hookers", but with coke being nearly unheard of around here, that's pretty consistent.
And just go visit any doctor, or if that's your family, just see what they're doing. Having all lapels in their coats, all pens and all pads bear the logo of a pharma company, then the walls covered in such posters, quite suggest there might be some way too tight relations...
Re:Sigh again (Score:2, Interesting)
I do have a kid and I see this with other parents. My son has always been encouraged to explore (and wear himself out). He's only 2, but has greater physical capability than some other kids who are older than him -- because those kids' parents are afraid their children will get hurt. When I take a walk with him he goes across the street on his on two feet (although I do have to prevent him from just stepping out, he hasn't quite learned the whole "look both ways" thing yet). A neighbor of ours has two kids, one of which is about 5 -- and is not allowed to cross the street, regardless of adult supervision.
Has he been injured? Yeah, it has happened a couple of times. Seriously injured? No. I try to be present without hovering *too* closely. I (and my wife) moderate his activity (such as running out into the street), but allow and in fact encourage him to be active. It can be a bit nerve-wracking at times (watching climb over empty and half-empty garbage bins that shift and tilt when he was about 1.5 years old) but it is also impressive what he *can* do when allowed. He's been walking on the edge of a concrete embankment since he was able to walk. At first he held a hand and went slowly. Now he trots along without issue. If he'd fallen it would've hurt and he'd've cried, but it wouldn't have been a serious or lasting injury (only about three feet).
My point is, I agree that many parents are over protective. I hurt deeply inside any time he *is* hurt, especially if I feel I should've been able to prevent it. But he hasn't broken any bones and has developed confidence in his abilities because he has proven them. He likes to play video games, but he also likes to play outside.
At the same time, I don't criticize the other parents. I know there are some who take exception to how I raise my son (OMG, he's outside walking without shoes! The world will end!) and as I don't appreciate their attempts at interference I try not to tell others how to raise theirs.
As a related aside: (house) cats are hunters and have a predator urge to hunt prey. They need both stimulation and release to satisfy this drive. This can be worked out through play, such as with a string, but if a cat is cooped up in a house without prey and isn't attended to -- well, it will work things out itself. It *needs* to dig at and claw and attack and bite. Some owners "treat" this behavior by declawing (otherwise known as mutilating -- cutting off their digits at a knuckle is barbaric) the cat. Or you can play with it -- particularly keeping an eye out for when it gets wild eyed and ears back, tensed and ready to pounce at anything.
I don't think the issue is that watching TV or playing video games overstimulates children, rather it is that children need to have good, strenuous physical activity to work out the natural need for it. Although ADHD is very real, I do think it is over diagnosed for a variety of reasons and, for a normal child, putting them on ritalin is the equivalent to declawing the cat. It addresses the behavior, not the underlying cause.
thoromyr
WTF? (Score:3, Interesting)
Inattentiveness is not necessarily a sign of ADHD -- it can also be a symptom of depression, trauma, or abuse, as mentioned in this article [cnn.com].
Re:Medical corruption (Score:3, Interesting)
If it's not clear, I was taking issue with the entirety of the statement I quoted.
I have talked about this precise issue with a fair few people on both side of the equation, reps and medics, and not a single one has ever been offered/offered money or inducements in kind to up their prescription rates or favour specific drugs.
Re:Medical corruption (Score:4, Interesting)
As a doctor, I concede there's a payroll for us at big pharma. I couldn't care less about all the pens and cheap gadgets they give us with the name of the medication. But they give us something else, which is something we're obliged to have and produce evidence of: CME (continuing medical education). When big pharma takes us to a seminar or conference that may or may not spin around its product, they're giving us for free something the law forces us to get and which would be very costly if we had to pay for it ourselves.
A second way of getting us into their payroll is by hiring us as co-investigators to do last-mile tests of medication. In that case, because we're generating information for them they have no issue in paying us for it.
Please. Erase the US-centrical image of doctors. Around the world we're in a much lower salary scale. In Spain, still a 1st world country, a doctor makes an average of US$ 3500 each month. And most things cost the same or more than in the US.