By Umesh Jain
Just read an article by Miriam Stoppard in the Mirror who talks about the fact that children are being overprescribed ADHD medications but goes on to say that the solution is Exercise because she has a child with ADHD and she knows that works.
The logic here is that having an experience of something, in this case an n = 1, gives you the right to make a qualified judgment but in the hands of someone who makes their living writing, then this gives you an open door to infect people with your judgment.
She is not wrong. Exercise works as we have talked about in our blogs and our videos but it is part of a balanced approach which may also include medications to facilitate the process. Absolutely, exercise is important but it is not an exclusivity. That is where she is wrong. This is not an all-or-nothing game.
Journalists, like their employers, have to sell ads. To sell ads they have to be controversial. To be controversial they have to say something people will be offended by or interested in. Again, this is another example of Internet littering. The very fact that I am responding to her might be construed as an example of more information noise but I hope my purpose is that we should be simply outraged in general with irresponsible journalists and boycott the Mirror for promoting it.
Then there is Facebook….the slithering weasel underneath. To make a comment to Ms. Stoppard, I have to download the App for the Mirror and, of course, that exposes all of my Facebook friends (I have only 2 incidentally) to this. Facebook figures that my friends would be similar to me so exposes them to the marketing junk they want to send to me…..social information littering. I am glad to see Facebook stock plummet. I hope others are similarly outraged. Let’s hear from you.
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Greetings n salutations Dr. Jain,
Very well spoken. I like the comments members have added too. I’ve decided not to post many of about my last 4, 5, or 9?? responses in the forums lately. I’ve just been too scattered, and I would be just as guilty yet less destructive as this writer you’re talking about. Not making sense is very embarrassing too. Especially when I get lazy/wreckless about editing my quirky writing. Fortunately I’m kinda harmless.
I made it to another Dr.’s apt. on time today. A little adjustment to one prescription. An increase back to 2 times a day from one of wellbutrin. I thought of another saying to communicate the role of our medications in living with ADD/ADHD in the doctors office. “The ritalin is just the transportation to University, I need to use the medication at the right time, just like getting on the bus. Then spend the rest of the day in classes. Be at the bus stop on time (medication, dosages) to get me home where I can do my homework.”
The bulk of the work is after I get off the bus, not the bus.
I’m grateful there’s a bus.
I’ll post on the forums about the acute and painful stuff life has been dishing out to me recently. You could say it’s been like finals week in ADHD school the last 10-15? days or so, it might be a little bit obvious in some of my posts lately how stressful life has suddenly gotten. Sunday was the final, but I forgot to take my dang 5 mg of ritalin before the “test”. It wasn’t a complete disaster. But remembering to take that medication and do lot’s of other new habits I’ve been learning at University of totallyadd.com would have made the day much easier for me and the family member/offspring I was with. There was some progress, I just wanted more on this Fathers day, it’s sometimes a disaster day for some of us. What a long hard struggle so many of us have ahead of us. If I imagine not having the resources of this web site, I think I would probably puke just from the the stage fright like terror of dealing with all the so called normal people in my life.
Define normal… sheesh. DGMS
I’m super grateful to have this place where I get encouraged to stay the course, not give up, and It’s great to find someone who agrees with me about all the language and opinion pollution on the Internet. It’s just not safe for the gullible. Or even just mildly idiotic. (justaliljoke)
I read an old response that I wrote to another blog of yours right before this one. It was refreshing to find a good one, it made sense, I was fairly sane that day. I’ve been running into a lot of posts written by me that I wish I could undo lately. I mostly read, cuz I’m unable to write much. It helps to know that it’s not likely my occasional careless writing/clowning will do any real damage like this published writer is capable of. Just to be clear, I’m not actually filled with shame or mortified by my recent backsliding into “ADHD hell”. It’s more like I know there are a few cats in this camp that care. So I’m just checking in to say I’m okay, n doing better.
I have survived another Fathers day.
On to the next thread…
Thanks for taking the time to share with us.
Robbo
I was so overwhelmed by school, friends, electronics, conflicts, etc. that to help me gain perspective, I started blogging about my experiences since 2009. Then I was diagnosed with ADHD, which helped explain a lot of things. I continue to blog about how I get overwhelmed and try to learn something from my experiences. I also try to use humor to see life. Otherwise, my failures could really get me down. But, luckily, I think with ADHD, I have short memory, so I don’t let things keep me down for too long. Chk. out my blog at http://www.belowtheasianstandards.xanga.com The title is a fun way to poke fun at the model minority standard that I continue to fail to meet!!
Yes it is the same Miriam Stoppard as I mentioned below. The offending piece in the Mirro written by M.S. Is below – she is or was a medic – her text is in quotation marks – in case anyone whinges about plagiarism or copyright (she is entitled to her opinion, but it’s so hard to get this recognised in the UK that any negative press without foundation is irritating):
“I have been against the use of Ritalin, nicknamed the chemical cosh, for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ever since it became fashionable in the US for controlling difficult children.
There was no long-term safety data and there still isn’t.
That concerns me and on hearing that prescriptions of Ritalin in the UK have exploded over 10 years from 158,000 per annum to 661,463, I’m extremely worried.
The use of Ritalin, a psychiatric drug, is now widespread and the guidelines state it should not be given to preschool children.
The Association of Educational Psychologists say there’s been a substantial increase in its use in under-sixes and, in some cases, under-threes.
This is shocking, especially as there are alternative approaches to ADHD that work.
Ritalin is a psychostimulant and besides being used to treat ADHD it’s also used to counteract narcolepsy (uncontrollably falling asleep), depression and obesity.
One of the worst aspects of Ritalin use in children is that there’s a popular trend to combine it with antidepressants.
This is despite there being no information about the effect that such a cocktail of drugs could have on a child’s developing brain.
One of the reasons I am against the use of psychostimulant drugs in children is that their beneficial effects on behaviour are not maintained in the long term.
This necessitates stronger and stronger doses being given. It’s becoming common for a child to be given stronger doses than recommended to kick-start them in the morning and last through the day.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Parents of children with ADHD will be wagging their fingers and accusing me of not understanding how energy-sapping a child with ADHD can be.
Well, I do, I had one. And there’s another way.
Just getting your child outdoors will help. The park, the playground, anywhere but indoors will improve your child’s symptoms by 30%.
With ADHD affecting around three to five children per 100, we must embrace solutions other than a chemical cosh.
Symptoms of ADHD – overactive, impulsive behaviour and difficulty in concentrating – are common to most kids from time to time.
And while teachers and parents who are unable to control them call for medical help, resorting to heavy drugs is only storing up trouble in the future.”
Is this the same Miriam Stoppard (Dr) who wrote a book on the menopause and said the only way to ‘treat’ this natural change was to pump yourself full of hormones because it’s nothing more than a hormone deficit that can be ‘cured’? It’s interesting if it is…double standards somewhere then.
Of course it could be a different Miriam Stoppard.
But you are right – n=1 isn’t good replication.
My black dog likes to fight other dogs – conclusion? All back dogs are vicious. I don’t think so…
…outraged because Ms. Stoppard is disseminating inaccurate information? Or because The Mirror now requires readers wishing to comment on articles to use their FB accounts?
In the first instance, I agree it is not appropriate for a journalist to opine on medical issues, particularly medications, (unless s/he has the appropriate qualifications). She certainly has the right to do a piece on ADD, but she should stick to reporting. If she feels compelled to editorialize, she should find a credentialed professional to do it for her: ” Dr. John Doe, a neurologist who specializes in ADD, says…” If she can’t find one, she ought to stand down.
In the second instance, you need to set up a separate FB account to be used exclusively for public venting. That way, none of your “friends” will see your posts or other unwanted advertising. And be warned: While you’re ripping “the slithering weasel,” Rick and Patrick are probably busy organizing a new “Totally ADD” Facebook page.