Have hyperactive kids been misdiagnosed with ADD?
Posted on 03/10/2007 11:28:14 AM PST by Stoat
Have hyperactive kids been misdiagnosed with ADD?
The psychiatrist who identified attention deficit disorder - the condition blamed for the bad behaviour of hundreds of thousands of children - has admitted that many may not really be ill.
Dr Robert Spitzer said that up to 30 per cent of youngsters classified as suffering from disruptive and hyperactive conditions could have been misdiagnosed.
They may simply be showing perfectly normal signs of being happy or sad, he said.
'Many of these conditions might be normal reactions which are not really disorders,' he continued.
Dr Spitzer developed the bible of mental disorder classification in the 1970s and 1980s, which identified dozens of new conditions including ADD and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Since then hundreds of thousands of children have been diagnosed with ADD, a behavioural disorder linked to poor attention span, and ADHD, which adds an element of hyperactivity.
The disorders describe disruptive and restless behaviour that results in children having difficulty focusing their attention on specific tasks. ADHD is most commonly noticed at the age of five, and as many as one in 30 British children is said to have it.
It is often treated with drugs, with Ritalin being the most commonly prescribed.
Some scientists say ADHD is a genetic disorder that does not disappear with adulthood.
But sceptics believe the diagnosis is a 'biobabble' label, which has evolved from a soundbite culture that is too prepared to medicalise anti-social human traits.
Dr Spitzer, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York, now says the classification led to many people being diagnosed as medically disordered when their mood swings and behaviour were simply normal feelings of happiness and sadness.
In a BBC2 documentary series The Trap, which begins on Sunday, he says that between 20 and 30 per cent of mental disorder diagnoses may be incorrect.
His admission comes as figures show that the amount spent by the Health Service on drugs to treat ADHD and similar disorders in children trebled to £12 million in just five years, from 1999-2003.
Almost 400,000 British children aged between five and 19 are believed to be on the drugs - despite doctors' fears about side-effects.
That is the equivalent of every child in Britain each taking more than four doses of the drugs every year.
NHS guidelines recommend drug treatment for the most severely affected, although there have been reports of cardiovascular disorders, hallucinations and even suicidal thoughts.
There have been at least nine deaths reported to the UK's Medicinesand Healthcare products Regulatory Agency since Ritalin became available in the early 1990s.
But Dr Spitzer, who chaired the taskforce that compiled the international Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, said he is less concerned by wrong diagnoses and possible side-effects from drugs, than failing to prescribe them where needed.
'By and large the treatments for these disorders don't have serious side effects,' he told the Times Educational Supplement.
'I mean, some do, but they're not that serious, whereas the failure to treat can often be very hard on the child and on the family.'
He acknowledged that some parents put pressure on doctors to diagnose ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and prescribe drugs.
'We don't know to what extent that's been happening inappropriately,' he added.
Ian Graham, headmaster of Slindon College, an independent boys' boarding school near Arundel, West Sussex, has 20 out of 100 pupils diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and a few more with related diagnoses such as oppositional-defiant disorder.
About 17 of the boys are prescribed drugs including Ritalin, while the remainder have their condition controlled through diets that exclude chocolate, sweets or gluten.
The school also employs therapy techniques, and the old-fashioned tactic of getting pupils to run off their energy in outdoor activities.
Mr Graham said: 'I've never met a parent who is happy with the medication. They would all prefer not to use them, but to a man and woman, they all say they can't believe the change in their sons' ability to concentrate in lessons.'
What are you talking about? I made no mention of money, is this one of the strawmen you continually accuse others of utilizing?
Not going to go down in the mire with you.
You hit the nail on the head. My son was diagnosed ADHD back in the early 80's. I have no doubt that he does have this disorder. We attended several seminars and support group meetings. One of the doctors that facilitated one of our meetings, a neurologist from the Cleveland Clinic, talked about the differences in the brains of ADHD people vs. non-ADHD. It is a REAL thing. I used to be very skeptical til I did a lot of research. However....
It absolutely is over diagnosed. Additionally, I do not subscribe to drug therapies for this problem so readily. As you pointed out so rightly, the lifestyles of modern American families are not conducive to people with lots of energy to burn off. Even normal kids need to run and play. This does not occur anymore like it did years ago.
Lastly, one of the biggest problems with ADHD and why I think it seems so much more prevalent today is directly related to the helter-skelter lives most kids live now. Routine, stability, consistency, and so on are important for most people. When I was a child, we ate dinner at the same time every night, give or take maybe 15 minutes max. Nowadays, it's a miracle if families even sit down to a dinner. And, also, as you said, the screwed up family lives of many of today's children do not lend themselves to a very consistent or stable life.
I don't happen to believe it's so much the diet, though obviously lots of sugar, like in sodas, and, worse, caffeine, is not a good thing for children, but I think the family stability and having a routine is the big culprit here.
Sorry for rather long post.
"talked about the differences in the brains of ADHD people vs. non-ADHD. It is a REAL thing. "
It absolutely is.
Problem is, the only way to absolutely verify that it really is ADHD is with a brain scan. There are clinics which are starting to do this.
"I do not subscribe to drug therapies for this problem so readily."
The brain is constantly re-wiring itself and changing itself based on environmental stimulus. It has the capability to overcome ADHD in all but the worse cases IM(NS)HO. But it takes a long time, alot of work, and it is just downright difficult to do. Most parents work two jobs and don't have time or training to try and help a child re-wire their brain over a significant period of time. It's easier to just give them some medication, and the meds look like a miracle drug.
The problem is that the kids never learn how to cope and they are sentenced to a lifetime of meds with serious side effects, not to mention the meds tend to rob them of their childhood.
For interesting reading on this subject, there's a book called "Social Intelligence". It's not about ADHD, it's about how the brain works.
Rebecca's parents were not in their right minds. They were drugged by the same doctor who drugged their children. I suppose other parents who do this to their children have underlying reasons of their own.
I'm assuming the doctor will brought up on charges too, but maybe that's a bit optimistic.
No charges against the doctor yet, as far as I know. The doctor has taken a voluntary paid leave, pending results of the investigation. The facility she works for issued a statement backing her up, and claiming there was nothing wrong with her diagnoses and prescriptions. The parents have been brought up on charges though. Documents released to the court show they gave Rebecca the prescribed amount of drugs.
It's too late for Rebecca, but maybe this will serve as a lesson to other parents. They should know that when they subject their children to whatever quackery is the latest fad, their children aren't going to pick up the whole tab for them. Even though Rebecca's parents were victimized by the doctor, and made incapable of excercising good judgement, they will be punished for allowing this doctor to kill their daughter. What excuse does that leave for so-called competent parents? They may not care what price their children have to pay, but they'll care what price they have to pay, and maybe that will make them think twice before subjecting their children to such abuse. Or, maybe the fad will continue, with the excuse that this is an extraordinary case. The same way street drug abusers excuse away the accidental overdoses of their buddies. "Oh, he just didn't do it right. That can't happen to me. I'm better at doing drugs than he was."
"It didn't exist in my large parochial school classes of the 1950s and 60s"
Until the laws changed that kids had a right to a free and appropriate education, kids who misbehaved were kicked out of public school, and they most certainly were kicked out of private schools!
I was one of those naysayers who thought that good parenting solved problems like that, or if we only allowed our boys to act like boys they'd have an outlet for their energy.
I was WRONG. Somebody has to be at the far end of the spectrum. Right? I mean everyone gets depressed at some point, but we're not all labelled depressed. However, there are those people at the very far end of the spectrum who are so depressed they have to be hospitalized or take medications. There are some people at the far end of "this" spectrum for whom medication is a great help. The problem is that too many people in our society now view a large segment of kids as having a problem, instead of just acting like normal kids.
It's nice to talk with someone who actually is intelligent on this subject. When my son was in 5th or 6th grade, he was literally in tears one time because he was so frustrated about having ADHD; I just told him he was going to have to work harder to accommodate the problems it causes. Later when he was a teen, I emphasized that many, many times. My advice was to accept it, work hard, and not use it as an excuse.
Unfortunately there are FAR too many people, including on this forum, who will refuse to EVER say those 3 simple words.
Bless you for your work with your children, (adopted or not, they are YOUR children) they are going to be wonderful adults because of their parents.
The problem is that too many people in our society now view a large segment of kids as having a problem, instead of just acting like normal kids.
What a mouthful you say there. So many people don't want to be around kids, even their own, that children have no idea how to behave in mixed (agewise) company. I grew up surrounded by adults and thus learned how to behave, so did my husband, and that is how our daughter is being raised. She's no angel, by any stretch of the imagination, but we are never embarrassed by taking her out in public.
As long as her grades are good - who am I to argue? Of course, she and I have different views on "good." To her anything less than an A in any project in any art class is a catastrophe of Biblical proportions; earning a D in other classes elicits "MOM! it's passing!" and a C is "MOM! I'm average! Go me!"
Deep breaths in.... long slow exhales out
Oh man am I in trouble.......B+ got me "BUT mom, it's ALMOST an A-"...........and she's only in the 3rd grade fercryinoutloud........
Thanks for the ping. I mssed this.
You're quite welcome. I confess that I'm astonished that this important story hasn't been covered more than it has.
Beyond the two articles I posted for this thread, I'm only seeing one of the articles reprinted by the Melbourne Herald Sun, with a different title
Doubt on ADD kids diagnosis
Doubt on ADD kids diagnosis Herald Sun
It seems that our British and Australian friends are quite a bit more up to date on reporting this earth-shattering admission by Dr. Spitzer; I have yet to see it mentioned in the American press. It's particularly strange considering that he's an American psychiatrist.
Considering how many, many children have potentially been misdiagnosed I hope that this issue gets more coverage than it has so that any misdiagnosed children might be offered alternate treatments, if indicated.
I think it's aided by parents who don't want to deal with bad behavior.
More parents are spending the majority of their time working, so when they get home and little Tammy and Jonny have just spent 8-10 hours in a rambuncious day care, little Tammy and Jonny have energy to expell and attention they crave from Mom and Dad.
However, Mom and Dad are stressed from long hours at work to pay for the outrageously expensive house and SUV they've enslaved their life to pay for, so they don't want to deal with hyper Tammy and Jonny.
Enter Dr. Pharmesuetical. He says Tammy and Jonny are ADHD and some magic pills will calm them down. Wallah...Tammy and Jonny get drugged. Now Tammy and Jonny aren't corrected for their behavior so they have a built in excuse to be wild. Tammy and Jonny also learn...if you feel stressed take drugs.
What a great future we're headed for when these drug dependant kids need to take up the slack and support America. UGH!
All that being said, I have heard of vastly different situations where the doctor took 10 minutes with the parent, and handed over a prescription. I have to doubt those situations.
"My college kid is discovering new-found uses for her ADHD symptoms and some mixed results. "
That is a great story. Your daughter has learned how to adapt, which is an invaluable skill in life.
I think that's the thing that alot of these kids who are put on meds never learn, is how to adapt. The meds take care of most of the symptoms so it looks like they are adapting, but many never really learn how to adapt to this world and how to be themselves (i.e., constantly in motion) in a world that wants them to slow down.
"Tammy and Jonny also learn...if you feel stressed take drugs."
Yeah, that's the downside with this whole meds thing. It's teaching drug dependence for a whole generation of people.
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