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.'
Attention Deficit pioneer admits misdiagnosis rife NEWS.com.au
March 11, 2007 12:37am
The psychiatrist who identified ADD has admitted up to 30 per cent of those diagnosed with it may not have the condition.
In Australia, 80,000 children have been diagnosed with the condition and studies have shown a "heavy" use of medication, such as Ritalin.
Dr Robert Spitzer, who classified ADD, has admitted many youngsters may have been misdiagnosed.
"They may simply be showing normal signs of being happy or sad," Dr Spitzer, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, New York, said.
The use of drugs to treat ADD has more than tripled since 1993, with Australians among the heavy users, according to researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Melbourne adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg said Dr Spitzer's admission was not surprising because "there is a tendency to put children in a pharmaceutical straitjacket".
"We know children who are distressed and do not have the vocabulary (to express it) act out with very hyperactive behaviour," he said.
Dr Carr-Gregg said ADD might be a "cry from the heart" about something happening in a child's life.
"Every parent must make sure their child is properly assessed by a pediatrician," he said.
He did not believe ADD misdiagnoses were as high as 30 per cent in Australia because of the "judicious" approach of local doctors.
Australian Medical Association vice-president Dr Choong-Siew Yong said ADD had "always been controversial".
He said symptoms sometimes overlapped and it could be difficult to determine what was normal or abnormal behaviour.
If the inventor of this 'disease' says its 30% misdiagnosis then the real rate is probably 90%.
My Grand Ma always said we just needed to learn how to sit down and be quiet. Many kids these days have to have the TV, playstation, or computer going while they listen to music. Anything mundane as listening to a teacher is not nearly enough stimulation to keep their attention.
The wisdom of our parents quite often proves to be the truth, despite the hysterical pronouncements of so many modern 'experts'.
They may actually have to deal with what generations of teachers before them had to deal with - an active, rambunctious, normal kid
Isn't Spitzer the same guy who had homosexuality removed from the DSM back in the 70's and recently expressed his regrets at doing so?
Wow, South Park was way ahead on this story.
Not being a Doctor and totaled unqualified to screw up this generation of children I' take a stab at his number.
It's probably more like 90% +
"Mom List" ping :-)
I do wonder, could this guy end up getting sued by millions who were put on this drug unnecessarily? I myself was put on ritalin and I had to be taken off of it because of the suicidal feelings I experienced.
"He did not believe ADD misdiagnoses were as high as 30 per cent in Australia because of the "judicious" approach of local doctors."
And teachers and paranoid parents.
I do wonder, could this guy end up getting sued by millions who were put on this drug unnecessarily? I myself was put on ritalin and I had to be taken off of it because of the suicidal feelings I experienced.
"He did not believe ADD misdiagnoses were as high as 30 per cent in Australia because of the "judicious" approach of local doctors."
And teachers and paranoid parents.
Your Grandma probably also sent you outside to play and burn off some of your energy. Like you say, many kids are involved in all kinds of lethargic pastimes and rarely get a good workout. On top of it, the stress present from having screwed up family life is a factor, too. Absent mothers due to second careers, split-up families from divorce, lousy diets due to irregular meals and fast food, media saturation and feminist/leftist ideology ruling in the classroom all make for some serious steam needing release.
Well then, I guess we'll just have to modify the definition of "happy" and "sad", won't we?
"Not being a Doctor and totaled unqualified to screw up this generation of children I' take a stab at his number."
A high percentage of 'Doctors' I have paid for the privledge of seeing were quacks. They made money off pushing the latest pill and rarely actually listened to their patients.
"Your Grandma probably also sent you outside to play and burn off some of your energy.'
how'd ya know!
Health and Science Ping :-)
At some point, we all have a common Grandma. ;)
Strange how I and all my contemporaries went through K-12 without ever encountering anyone with "ADD." Whenever a kid misbehaved, he was scolded by the teacher. If he continued to misbehave, he went to the principal's office and then when he got home his dad would "take him aside." No "ADD." No regiment of hand-wringing, bed-wetting "grief counselors" to comfort the poor ADD victim while threatening the school board with law suits. No legion of psychiatrists prescribing oceans of anti-psychotics to kids who just needed a good spanking. How did we ever do it?
One little guy had a problem with self control and discipline.
I went through potty training, punching (by him), etc.
When it came time for him to be admitted to kindergarten he was a well behaved child, but, his mom told me that the school would not accept him unless he was on Ritalin.
Four years of hard work down the tubes. So sad.
Absolutely correct. Ritalin has taken the place of paddles and vigorous exercise.
Before this thread goes completely haywire, I have this to say:
Follow the money
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