Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

COMMENT ON OVER DIAGNOSIS

This comment is to any parent who questions whether their 2-5 year olds have ADD/ADHD, or any child, of any age, that is being incorrectly diagnosed with anything and everything these so called professionals and teachers come up with because these children don't fall into what they call the "norm". Whatever that is.  Have we all as parents just given up on raising our children and let the pharmacuetical companies do that for us? We have allowed schools to pressure us into medicating our children so that their jobs can be made easier, which is why I have homeschooled my wrongly diagnosed son, and not just one diagnosis, but many, which were all wrong, but they sure did try to throw out as many as they could. I know there are some children that do truely need medication, but the other 90% DO NOT.

It is a cop out, and our children have to pay the consequences with the horrible side affects of these meds. Please think about it before you allow someone else to decide your childs future. My son will be 18 soon, and he is a wonderful, kind, happy, young man. And my diagnosis for him back then was, he was an individual, and no 2 are alike.
29 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
973741 tn?1342342773
I did want to just comment as well that I am not anti medication and have seen wonderful results in many that have taken it----  but think the  utmost caution should be used in young children.  In my area, they try not to diagnose/medicate kids before the age of 6.
Helpful - 0
973741 tn?1342342773
In all honesty, I agree.  I think that age range you give of 2 to 5 is too young for medication and I'd be hestitant to use it on my beloved kids.  My son WAS diagnosed with sensory integration disorder at 4 but medication isn't involved with the treatment of that.  Occupational therapy is done and this is basically physical activity that calms or wakes up the nervous system and behavioral management along with other things like fine motor/gross motor skills that a lot of sensory kids lack.  That early intervention put my son on the right track after struggling so much early on. He's never taken medication----  we stayed on the sensory path with great success.  My point is, working with a child that has add/adhd should involve much more than medication.  And when they are little (especially preschool years and early elementary) and you suspect add/adhd, there are many things parents can do to help a child that should be considered.  Just my opinion.  
Helpful - 0
2056978 tn?1330570947
Now that I think about it, I am just gonna have to say that I am completely against children of the ages 2-5 being prescribed stimulants for ADD/ADHD treatment whether they truly have the disorder or not. The child's focus/ inattention and hyperactivity at that age is not at all a good reason for them to have to take a Schedule II drug.
Helpful - 0
2056978 tn?1330570947
I like the quote you included about the line between personality and pathology. However, i don't believe taking medication for a disorder is right or wrong if the disorder is correctly diagnosed and if other types of therapy haven't helped.  I believe that is up to each individual who is dealing with or has a child with a disorder to do what they think is best of course. I just think we should all be very cautious in terms of diagnosis because there isn't a clearly defined line between a child's "personality" or "pathology," when there is no single test for ADD/ADHD. The criteria for diagnosis is the presence of a certain number of symptoms and the ruling out of other possible causes of those symptoms. For a young child, it's not easy to know for sure whether your child's inattention/hyperactivity is normal or abnormal.
    When it is not obvious that the child's behavior crosses the line, another option is to wait and see if the behavior persists when the child is in grade school and if it is disruptive.
   When/if medication is the only option, I'd personally look into the meds' physical and long term side effects rather than just how effective it is reported to be in treating the child's ADD/ADHD symptoms. There are non-stimulant drugs such as Strattera that can treat ADD/ADHD.
  
Helpful - 0
2021410 tn?1330940183
here here
Helpful - 0
2021410 tn?1330940183
Melissa0116 you are amazing. as you speak the truth to the right people, they will listen. i have witnessed much of the exact same environmental barriers from being labeled.  i am the only person in my family with equal views such as yours. when i was 17 i started to tell my mother what i feared for so much of my childhood, and that is stimulants had a nullifying effect on my mind body and soul.  she broke down crying and right then i new she feared the same for her son all this time.  i have gained much expertise from stimulants but i weened off them when i was 16 and i was literally not the same ever again.  i will never forget your true actions expressed in this post, because you truely are educated on this debilitating subject.  if anyone ever doubts you (including your special son) remind yourself that your not the only one to make the correct environmental changes for your family...and thier children....and their grandchildren....and their grandchildren......
Helpful - 0
2021410 tn?1330940183
thank you vako23 for your great influence.  the numbers of children and adults on meds is rising in the millions.  the middle class is targeted systematically. i believe if i was home schooled i would be great. i also was in a secluded room for most of my schooling and i am very deprived in academics due to chemical induced behaviors and routines.

In a Congressional hearing,  July 15, 1996, Rep. Christopher Shays observed:

“In ADHD, we are trying to draw the line between personality and pathology, and we are placing millions of children and adults on either side of the social, medical and legal boundary that divides the healthy from the sick.  We should do so only with the greatest care, and with particular reticence to make our children medical patients...”

      at the young age of 2 i was diagnosed with localized scleroderma(auto immune disease) after receiving multiple vacccines.  a scar across my chest and left forehead was aquired and this resulted in a disorderly insecure social complex that would grow throughout the years.  thankfully i found jesus at an early age to achieve something that is over looked by most "adhd" sufferers(families equally included), called spiritual growth.  we all have a deep spiritual connection with the earth moon sun and even the stars(this effects the ingestion of any substance in the body). what i mean to say is that our bodies reject these drugs if ingested daily and our chemical producing glands are constantly preparing for adulthood with this substance.   i was suppressed by flawless systematic big pharma at the age of 6 through extensive tests, anti-social seclusion at school and home, prejudice from agnostic beings, and the over-stimulation(atrophy) of my mind, body and, soul. they pulled me away from Jesus and i am innocent of this. we all are. the biggest question i have to face on a regular basis is that of our own making; AM I CONDEMNED TO HELL FROM MY ALTERED BIOLOGICAL, AND SPIRITUAL ABUSE THROUGH THE IMPORTANT YEARS OF GROWTH(ADOLESCENT SPIRITUAL GROWTH) BY DEFAULT? OR IS IT JUST MY PARENTS? OR IS IT JUST BIG PHARMA SUPPORTERS(PARENTS INCLUDED)? IS THIS REALLY THE MARK OF THE BEAST?   here i am at 23 expressing what millions of CHILDREN are trying to say to their parents and doctors but are too young to even know what to say.  we have the spiritual power to refuse such demonic accusations on gods work.  i will leave you with this important quote:
     "Our institutions are established that the sick may be treated by hygienic methods, discarding almost entirely the use of drugs. There is a terrible account to be rendered to God by men who have so little regard for human life as to treat the body ruthlessly, in dealing out drugs. . . . We are not excusable if, through ignorance, we destroy God's building by taking into the stomach poisonous drugs under a variety of names we do not understand. It is our duty to refuse all such prescriptions. We want sanitariums where maladies may be cured by nature's own provisions, and where the people may be taught how to treat themselves when sick; where they will learn to eat temperately of wholesome food, and to be educated to discard all narcotics, tea, coffee, fermented wines, and stimulants of all kinds, and the flesh of dead animals." - Ellen White
Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
You take offense where none is meant. I don't doubt that there are cases where nothing seems to help but medication. I do believe that these cases are rare. I read your posts and for the most part we are in agreement.
Helpful - 0
189897 tn?1441126518
COMMUNITY LEADER
   Ok, allmymarbles does have a point.  Many people who have posted on this forum have either used these meds or given it to their kids.  And any one who has had a positive experience might well favor the medical approach and post accordingly.  Just as those who have had a bad medical approach will also post their experiences.  But it does mean that many of the posters have been involved with the medical approach - one way or the other.  I apologize  for taking it personally.
Helpful - 0
189897 tn?1441126518
COMMUNITY LEADER
    As the main poster on this forum, I have never advocated a pill approach.  In over 2000 posts I have always said that information is the most important aspect.  I have always said that the "pill" is just one part of a possible treatment, and not the most important part of that treatment.
    Consequently, I am upset at your generalization that there are two distinct attitudes on this forum.  I try very hard to make sure that parents are directed to information that will help them make good decisions - what ever they may be.  Its not my place to decide that for them.
  
Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
It is obvious from the many threads on this forum that there are two distinct attitudes concerning the handling of the child diagnosed as having ADD/ADHD. There is the pill approach, aimed at eliminating symptoms, and the behavioral approach which seeks to treat and hopefully eliminate the cause of the problem.

As to whether or not a child has ADD or ADHD is a related issue. That this diagnosis is pervasive only in the United States, it is necessary that we examine the cause of this anomaly. And it is important that we do so, given the extreme measures often employed in treatment
Helpful - 0
973741 tn?1342342773
By the way, I will say something to the first line of the original thread.  I think ages 2 to 5 are very young to have a child diagnosed for add/adhd.  And drugs in children that young do worry me.  However, my son was diagnosed with sensory integration disorder at 4 and that put him on the path to success.  The help we were able to give him once we got to the root cause of his issues made all the difference in the world.  No drugs involved, just attention to the nervous system.  peace
Helpful - 0
973741 tn?1342342773
I'm so glad that we as parents have options!  That is what the world is about, making informed decisions that are of best benefit to your child!  Luck to all doing the best they can to parent a child who struggles!
Helpful - 0
535822 tn?1443976780
Thank you allmymarbles couldnt have put it better myself I also thought you were speaking in general not directing it at anyone person..I also deplore this emphasis on 'disorders 'and the drugs they do pump into children  ..I agree it is all to do with finances  and the psyching up of people.. ..
Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
You are putting words in my mouth. I speak of no particular child and no particular parent, but only of the prevalence of this diagnosis which is at variance with the rest of the world.

To offer a generalized support when the diagnosis is in doubt does a disservice to those concerned. What I question is not the parents for succumbing to pressure by persons presumed to be more knowledgeable than they, but to those who apply the pressure. More and more, and this goes beyond the diagnosis we are discussing, there is an increasing resort to drugs to treat conditions that can be handled in a less dangerous manner.

Big drug houses and their ad and detail men spend untold billions psyching up the public, and the medical community, to accept and promote these treatments. The sort of advertising we see on television was once considered unethical and was banned. It should be again.
Helpful - 0
973741 tn?1342342773
I must say that I find it insulting to suggest that my son's developmental delay which is very similar to adhd in terms of how it presents is made up and actually a result of my poor parenting skills.  

I don't believe it helps to alienate or demonize the parents that struggle with helping their kids.  

It is one thing to suggest a child should not be medicated because who really WANTS to give their kid drugs but another to say that add/adhd is a made up diagnosis by parents who provide a rotten home life.  

I have no financial involvement in any diagnosis but am a mother that does the best she can to make my son's world a happy and healthy place for him.  I would tell him----------  that those who present nothing but negativity are not healthy people to be around.  

Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
If ADD/ADHD is so prevalent, why isn't it a problem in other developed countries? That is a very embarrassing question for those who are financially involved in this sort of diagnosis.
Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
Before diagnoses are made, a thorough evaluation of the home is in order. Abnormal behavior may not be abnormal if it is engendered by the child's home upbringing. On this forum, when speaking of children with ADD, very little attention is given to its home life.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
If you look at the Notes section of the Nurse’s Edition of the psychiatric Diagnostics and Statistics Manual IV under both ADD and ADHD you will see that they both start with, and I quote:

“Cannot be proven to exist in laboratory conditions.”

And yet millions of children are drugged every day with US FDA Class II drugs (this is the same classification as cocaine and heroine) and millions more are treated as if they have this invented “disease “.

What fantastic job those snake-oil salesmen have done…
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am a special education teacher and we have many wonderful parents who do everything to help their child, awesome teachers who accommodate the child, but they are still not successful. The people who say ADHD is not real or medication is rediculous have obviously never worked with a child with ADHD (maybe the child they did work with or their own child had something else...many mental health or behavioral disorders have similar symptoms of ADHD). .

With that being said, both of my children are diagnosed with ADHD and they have a strong family history on my husbands side of the family (all the men, including their father).  My oldest son was diagnosed at 5 and we tried medication (meditate, focalin, concerta) and all of them caused mild seizures (screaming uncontrollably for 20+ minutes when the medication left his system). I gave up on medication and homeschooled him for the remainder of kindergarten. During that time I worked with a behavioral specialist and in first grade he returned to school. We worked very closely with the teachers and did everything research suggested was effective. For 2 years my son never develop friendships, never went a day without getting into trouble (impulsiveness) and failed all tests (but could answer the questions if asked orally). In third grade we drove 100 miles to see a pediatric pshcologist who partnered with a neurologist. The neurologist suggested Vyvance and the psychiatrist said it was obvious medication was the only choice left to help him. The neurologist did a few brain scans when he took each medication and Vyvance was the only stimulant medication that did not cause seizures. Both of my boys have been on Vyvance for 2 years. They have NO side effects. They eat, no belly aches, no neurological problems and they both are making straight A's!

To answe your question, yes in some cases medication is needed but I think general doctors should not be able to prescribe ADHD medication. Just like you wouldnt go to your general doctor if you had a heart attack, because a heart doctor knows the heart inside and out. A pediatric psychologist can make sure the child is properly diagnosed and medication is monitored more closely (and how it responds to the body). Every child is different and every child has their own needs. One medication may be aweful for one child but a blessing for the other.
Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
Cheers. I came to the same conclusion vis-a-vis one of my daughters. She is a highly unique and intelligent individual and I never let anyone dumb her down. Every day she surprises me. Imagine what she would have been like if I had drugged her!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Obviously the system must be very different in the US to the UK. Here in the UK we have severe UNDER recognition of ADHD and the trauma it causes to children and parents.

Even so, there will be very few pre school children who are given medication in the UK. It is amazing how differently the problems that children with ADHD have are viewed.

How people choose to manage their child with ADHD is a personal matter and I think it is wrong to suggest that all medication is wrong. For some, along with good behaviour management, medication is an excellent, and in some places vital, tool in the toolbox.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you very much for putting this out there,hope and pray people read this.

I myself have seen what the medicines can do to a child and how it changes them.

The side effects to these medicines are not worth it,and the school and teachers need to realize these things.
My son has been in a school where the teacher should not be teaching ,would call and ask me to come get him if he did things she couldn't handle and would call my son a liar er. And also pushed for us to put him on medicine so she could handle him.

The thing now is that after putting him on two different medicine adderall and then concerta,back in 2006 he started having seizures,witch can be a side effect from both medicines.Witch he was taken off of right away.And never put back on anything.Ans still having seiuzres every even thou on medicines and the VNS put in June 24th this year.

My son is now being home school because he needs it and is best for him at this time,and seem to be doing better with the one on one with a teacher from the school coming to our home for 2 hours a day Monday threw  Friday.
Helpful - 0
189897 tn?1441126518
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hey Melissa,
   Its nice to hear from you again.  And thanks for a wake up call.  I sometimes forget that not all schools, school districts, and states are the same.  I over generalized.  I agree with virtually everything you said.  It is sad that in the rush for test score competency some (many, most ?) schools are completely forgetting the human side of the equation.  I do blame the state and federal government for a lot of this.
   I am sorry to hear that your own school is doing such a poor job.  Do keep in mind that (mainly because of size and thus more choice), middle schools  and high schools can do a more acceptable job helping kids (without shoving them into a corner) then elementary schools.  So do check up on those choices as they become available.  The curriculum does get tougher (mainly math) as your child ages.  If I can be of any help to you either in curriculum or getting the schools to listen to you, please let me know.
  Hi Vako23,
  Kinda realized that I overgeneralized and definitely got defensive myself. I'm sorry.  I found it interesting that you mentioned a career as an advocate.  I have sat in meetings in our kinda small district here in California where the parents brought in a child advocate.  It really made everybody sit up and pay attention to what was being said.  Most parents that go to special ed. meetings really have no clue about the process (or even how they or the schools could help their child).  I think that advocates could have a very useful function in schools.  In many ways, that is what we are doing here.   I look forward to more of your posts.
Helpful - 0
2
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the ADHD Community

Top Children's Development Answerers
189897 tn?1441126518
San Pedro, CA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Fearing autism, many parents aren't vaccinating their kids. Can doctors reverse this dangerous trend?
Yummy eats that will keep your child healthy and happy
What to expect in your growing baby
Is the PS3 the new Prozac … or causing ADHD in your kid?
Autism expert Dr. Richard Graff weighs in on the vaccine-autism media scandal.
Could your home be a haven for toxins that can cause ADHD?