News from the USA is making me scratch my head

[BuxomDiva]

First I see an article about doctors prescribing ADHD meds because they have to do something to change the behaviour of the children since they can’t change the conditions in overcrowded classrooms.

Watching Anderson Cooper, I hear a story of a 2 year old being diagnosed with ADHD. TWO? Isn’t that WAY too young for this diagnosis?

Years ago I read about the state of Florida where teachers are empowered to “diagnose” ADHD and the state will take children away from the parents if they refuse to medicate.

What the ???

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[Ginniebean]

I went looking for the article and it’s a NYT piece, unfortunately it’s uninformed and ignorant and this happens all too often. I think it’s important to realize that there is a great deal of resistance to adhd as a legitimate condition and there are groups out there who have a well organized misinformation campaign about adhd. These campaigns have undermined confidence in the medical professional and smear the ethics of professionals who diagnosed the condition.

There is no state that allows teachers to diagnose any child with any psychiatric condition. That would be a legitimate lawsuit in the making for practicing without a license.

However, teachers are on the front line for adhd screening and it is their duty to assist in the identification of students who are struggling and suggest an assessment needs to be made. What this translates into is a parent reporting “my child’s teacher diagnosed my child with adhd and there’s nothing wrong with him/her they just want my kid medicated. It’s a game of Chinese whispers run amok.

As for a two year old being diagnosed, that would be very rare and in extreme circumstances. It’s most certainly not the norm but it sure would make for a good fear mongering headline.

In, the NYT opinion piece facts are somewhat less than evident. What the editorials is saying is that parents of adhd children can’t afford behaviour therapy and therefore have no recourse but to medicate because the child is too disruptive. Studies have clearly shown that behaviour therapy works but it doesn’t sustain, therapy in conjunction with medication has a high level of success. As I see it this opinion piece is like so many others that trivializes the neurological underpinnings of adhd and continues to misinformation that this is a maladaptive form of behaviour that can be treated with discipline and modification techniques. They are doing the children no favour and tend to instill unnecessary fear in parents. Which is the end game of many adhd detractors. Media picks up their talking points and parrots them without any due diligence in getting their facts straight.

Sorry if that was too long winded.

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[BuxomDiva]

I’ll have to look for the story but I did read years ago that the state of Florida was taking kids away from their parents if they refused to medicate children based on what the teachers were saying.

The two year old was in Texas I believe; it was the toddler killed by his aunt who weighed over half a ton at the ton at the time. Originally the aunt confessed to murdering the child by falling on him but it has since come out that the boy was killed by a blow from his mother. A terrible tragedy all around!

Long winded? Honey that would be the pot calling the kettle black! Thanks for your reply.

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