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Are drugs for treating attention deficit disorder being over-prescribed to children today?
Are drugs for treating attention deficit disorder being over-prescribed to children today?
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| Yes | 86% | 115 votes | Total: 133 votes | |
| No | 14% | 18 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesWe live in a drug-oriented society. The American public is bombarded with subliminal messages that say drugs are needed for everything in order to live a happy and fulfilled life. There are drugs for sleep, for staying awake, for being socially awkward - you name it, there is a drug on the market for it. In the case of children, however, the line has been crossed.
Instead of respecting individuality and meeting the needs of the individual child, the system seeks to control children and cram then into a pre-conceived notion of what a "good" child is. ADD and ADHD are prime examples of over-diagnosed and over-medicated syndromes. Does attention-deficit disorder really exist? Maybe. I have known many parents over the years who had been told their child had ADD or ADHD and needed medication. Some of the parents conformed to the pressure. Others looked at alternative methods.
Diet is a critical factor in children that are considered hyperactive. Reading food labels reflects horrible things like Red Dye #40 and excessive high fructose corn syrup. Many ingredients allowed in United States food products are illegal in other countries because of documented ill-adverse health effects. Dietary change - eliminating foods with artificial colors, fragrances, etc. can make a significant difference in how a child interacts with his or her world on a daily basis.
Sugar is a well-recognized culprit in making kids (and adults) hyperactive and agitated. Significantly reducing sugar in all forms will reflect a much calmer person, whether adult or child. High fructose corn syrup is a significant offender.
Instead of insisting that the food we eat is healthier, the first reaction is to prescribe a drug. And when children are started on drugs at a young age, it creates a cycle that will result in them taking drugs throughout their entire life. What a reprehensible legacy for our children, who will be the leaders of tomorrow.
Attitudes have to change in order for positive change to be effected in this arena. People have to stop taking drugs. They have to stop believing the rhetoric of the drug companies who have brainwashed society into thinking drugs are necessary for happy living. The drug culture has to be stopped in its tracks. Prescribing drugs to children to make them fit into a certain mold should not be tolerated on any level. Parents need to learn parenting skills so that they can help their children learn and grow while respecting their individuality instead of giving them a drug to make them obedient and "good".
If your child's school is insisting on medication, consider changing your child's diet first. The best solution is to solve the problem without the use of drugs. Stop buying junk food with unhealthy additives. Feed your children a health, well-balanced diet and teach appropriate behavior by role-modeling. Drugs should be the last resort, not the first solution.
Learn more about this author, Rebecca Dyson.
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No
The debate about attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) is over. And the truth about ADHD and LD (learning disability)) is clear.
Just about every mainstream medical, psychological and educational organization in the U.S. concluded that ADHD is real and that children and adults with ADHD benefit from appropriate ADHD treatment.
Yet somehow, the world still seems to be filled with self-appointed ADD/ADHD "experts" who insist on burdening us with their ill-informed opinions and repeatedly asking, What is ADHD?
We've all heard the comments "ADHD is non-existent", "why don't they let kids be kids", "Drug companies invented ADHD so they could sell stimulants", "kids who run wild do so because of poor parenting", blah, blah, blah..
The comments made by these self-appointed "experts" are not only blatantly false, they cross the line between intelligent and stupid comments and inevitably end up on the stupid side.
ADHD has been proven to be a real neurobiological disorder. It is genetic and runs in families. Recent genetic studies have found an abnormal gene present in every person, child and adult, who participated in the study proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that ADHD is real and it is hereditary.
Despite all of this proof, critics continue to question the validity of the research and the inteeligence of those who did the research. These "experts" open their mouths and speak nonsense but some people listen and believe what they say. Misconceptions about ADHD and appropriate treatment will continue until these self-appointed "experts" are silenced.
The only people who are qualified to answer the question of whether or not drugs for attention deficit disorder are being over-prescribed for children today are those who have suffered the consequences of growing up with untreated ADHD, the parents raising a child with ADHD and the prescribing physician himself. It is NOT a question for those whose lives have not been touched by ADHD to answer.
Speaking as an ADDult myself I can say with conviction that drugs for attention deficit disorder are NOT being over-prescribed today. In fact, thanks to those ill-informed "experts" expressing their opinions, many parents don't take their children for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD for fear of being judged by these "experts" as being a parent who wants to "drug" their child into behaving instead of using discipline to control their behaviors.
Until the the opinionated, ill-informed "know it alls" take the time to do some research and learn the truth about ADHD before opening their mouths, many children with ADHD will go untreated suffer the consequences.
Those children will continue to suffer with poor grades in school, labelled as "stupid", "lazy", "irresponsible", "dumb", "retarded", and ostrasized by society for behaviors they cannot control.
The failures, and the low self esteem that follows as a result of repeated failure will guarantee them a life of trying and failing, frustration, and rejection by society - all which could have been avoided had they received appropriate treatment, beginning in childhood.
Is this right? Is this fair? A majority of uninformed, unqualified "experts" seem to think so.
Learn more about this author, Megan O'Brian.
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