Medicating Kids

I work in a clinic, and I see SO MANY kids being prescribed medication for ADHD.  A lot of these kids are very little, 3, 4, 5, 6....  Do you think kids should be prescribed and diagnosed at such a young age?  Do you think these diagnoses are legit?  Would you medicate your own child if you received this diagnosis?

My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was six. From the time he was 9 months old, he had loud screeching episodes, temper tantrums, stealing (that came later, when he was 4, right through 4th grade), openly defiant behavior. He was kicked out of one pre-school. I put him in a family-type daycare with a pre-school component because the teacher-child ratio was much smaller. His behavior was so out of control, there is no way to properly parent him. Punishment either didn't work, or only worked for about a week. I had to push the envelop on punishing this child because of his out of control behavior. Although many toddlers have temper tantrums, and mis-behave, there comes a time when you look at a particular child and say, "his mis-behavior is way over the top".

I am one parent who is not afraid to parent my kids, and I'm very happy to say that my hard work (with the help of medicine, as an aid) has completely turned this child around. He is doing well in school, he is smart, polite, respectful, and the best kid I know (I know this because we are constantly receiving compliments on how well behaved our children are.) He is now 12, btw.

Anyways, about 2 months ago, my son was hospitalized for being unresponsive after having a fever for 2 days. Every test imaginable was done. Of course, they took him off his ADHD medicine that he had been on since he was 6. After a very abnormal EEG, it was determined that he was suffering from petit mal seizures about every minute, that lasts 10-15 seconds. The neurologist suspects that he was having them throughout his childhood and it may have caused his bad behavior. If any of you have a child like this, many childhood disorders mimic ADHD. It's just that ADHD is a common fallback when tests come back negative for other disabilities. So, we're experimenting with anti-seizure medicine and hopefully will get it right before he goes back to school in the fall. Luckily, his behavior hasn't changed, but his focus and attention is lacking, slightly. He's old enough now that he can tell me what he's experiencing for side-effects, and he notices when he's unable to focus.

I was using the ADHD diagnosis when he was younger to get him services he so desperately needed with the school. I used the medicine to calm the behavior down enough so I could (along with the school) work with him, teaching him how to act properly in social situations. Many kids with ADHD have social deficits. They have trouble reading cues from other people, and this was one of his deficits. Our last IEP meeting with the school, just about 2 weeks ago, was the best one yet. In the past 3 years, he has grown intil a responsible, mature, boy. In each of those 3 years, I have seen dramatic improvement in both his studies, and his social environment. He has a ton of friends. He goes to b-day parties and sleep overs.

He has seen so many specialists over the years (including 2 neurologists), and this seizure disorder slid under the radar.

He and I have a really great relationship, and he knows he can count on me to advocate for him when he runs into trouble with peers, or school.

Thank you for reading this far. It's been quite the rocky road for the past 11 years, but my point is, that if you suspect there is something not quite right with your child, then you need to push for the tests, do your research on other childhood disorders and suggest them to the specialists. Ask for explanations of why they don't want to perform a specific test. Because there are children who need help to make them successful, and if medicine helps them out, then so be it. Medicine was the last thing I wanted to give my child, but I was walking around like I had been hit by a train, and he was starting to fail in school, in kindergarten, no less!

If you read this far, you must be bored at work :-), so I'll stop.

When I was school aged no kids were medicated.  30 seconds with a paddle solved the problems nicely.

It's not all about discipline by the parents, either.  Take a look at the world we live in - it is a short attention span world.  We watch television, especially kids shows, and there is 7 minutes of show, 7 30 second commercials, then another 7 minutes of show, followed by another round of commercials.  We have electronics out the kazoo, none requiring an attention span of more than a few minutes.  Billboards are designed to be read in a few seconds.  E-mail has replaced letters or even phone calls.  We can't even take the time to spell things correctly when we text!

If we were to be honest, I'd suspect that the majority of the population in the US had some form of short attention span!

And the school day is longer now than it was even when I was in school a generation ago.  Full day kindergarten???  My parents had the option of paying for me to go to half-day kindergarten - it wasn't required by the state or the district.  We had nearly an hour of recess every day, and PE every other day.  When I was working in the schools a couple of years ago, recess was the teacher's "option", was rarely more than 20 minutes, and PE was once a week.  Of course the kids are going to be antsy!

There is no simple finger to point here.  Yes, some kids need medication for ADHD, and some that are medicated don't need it.  If the doctor is worth his salt, he will notice the kids that don't need it because their behavior will get worse, not better.  The medication is basically a form of speed - the kids who have ADHD act up because their brain is basically going to sleep and they are trying to wake it up.  The kids who take it and don't need it act up - basically like they are on a big caffiene high.  I could tell when some of my kids in my class who needed their medicine hadn't taken it, and beleive me, they were better off with it.  And there are the parents who take their kid's medicine, but that's a whole 'nother issue!

Alibsam: "Mention it to the pediatrician and you walk out with a prescription."

This is what I am seeing more often than not.  Usually the diagnosis of ADHD is based on parents and teachers rating scales, which are totally subjective.  Sometimes even when the rating scales don't indicate ADHD, they are prescribed stimulant drugs on an "empirical trial," which just means we'll give you these drugs and see if they make the behavior stop even though we can't diagnose your kid with ADHD.  In some instances they do do some quite intensive psychological and academic testing, but even that I don't think can be considered completely reliable.

The thing I am afraid of most, though, is that the more kids we medicate, the more our standards of "normal" change.  I am afraid that for parents who take a stand and say "No, I will not mediate my child," that their child will, in a sense, have a handicap because the others are all on medication and have "an edge," even if it because of a drug.  It's almost like when all the body builders take steroids and you don't, you just can't compete.  THAT is what I am afraid of.  This is like science fiction happening today, it's really spooky.

And let us not overlook the fact the the raise in medication applies to adults as well.  Generally speaking we are a medicated society.  Why in the world do they advertise prescription medicine on TV?

Original Post by trhawley:

When I was school aged no kids were medicated.  30 seconds with a paddle solved the problems nicely.

But kids with real problems - ADHD, ASD, Asperger's - probably didn't get any better, and wound up be shuffled out of school to "special" schools that didn't do much better to really help them, or wound up pumping them full of drugs so they could say "whew, problem solved", instead of actually trying to analyze and correct their behavior.

I understand the issue with lack of discipline with some children, but falling back on "we just need to start paddling our kids" is just as much a cop out as people who fall back on medication when it's not needed.

My youngest son has ASD, and my oldest was given what's called an "educational diagnosis" of autism (probably Asperger's if we took him to a neurologist).  Neither are severe cases, so if anyone even suggested medication for them, I would certainly question their judgement and motivations.

What has worked with them is not medication, not corporal punishment, not isolation - but an effort to understand their behavior, what triggers it, and giving them, the kids, the power to understand and modify their behavior when needed.  It's called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and while used mainly for special needs kids, I think it is a great thing for ANY parent or teacher to learn.

Just my .02.....

Original Post by trhawley:

And let us not overlook the fact the the raise in medication applies to adults as well.  Generally speaking we are a medicated society.  Why in the world do they advertise prescription medicine on TV?

ha ha, that's what we need instead, give the adults some valium and the kids wont seem so bad.

Original Post by kathygator:

Will not be surprised to find out that many cases of ADHD, Autism, Aspergers, (and other unprecedented outbr eaks in behavioral conditions) will be found to have resulted from the evils done to our food and water supply. 

The neurologist who diagnosed our youngest son with ASD said that he was positive that environment played a key role in the increased rate of  ASD and similar disorders. However, he also said that if he could actually prove it, he would get the Nobel Prize.

Needless to say, I'm a big advocate of research.

I do think it's overprescribed and that a lot of kids on it could be off if other things were done first.  Sad fact is some people just want the easy out.  As a parent I can understand wanting everything to be easy but anything truly worth it in life takes some sweat.

A more regulated evaluation process could be the answer there but honestly I think a lot of people might just lie to get their kids on the meds regardless.  I didn't want my kids on medication and did everything to avoid it but in the end when I knew my best wasn't good enough it took a lot to get the school on board.  They just kept saying the kids were lazy and not working to potential and tried to pass the buck to us doing more at home.  We had them on the feingold plan, zero red dye, very limited sugar, going to the park and sports to curb the extra energy and still it wasn't getting things done.

Evaluation wasn't a snap thing.  We had paperwork for the teachers to do and then had to speak with their counselor at school.  My doctor talked to their coaches and counselor also.  We had to log a week of food and exercise in addition to all the checklists.  The school counselor had paperwork for us also (as well as their teachers)  and after all that 2 of 3 were put on medication.  1 of them (our most extreme) was student of the month and on the honor roll for the final marking period.  We never thought it would be possible with him.

He doesn't fidget in school anymore and it's amazing the change his teacher saw.  He was getting by but now his potential is almost limitless.  My other daughter was very hyper at home and now that's mostly curbed.  They're on a low dose and more or less "off" by dinner time so it's just a matter of keeping them active so they're not bouncing off the walls on me at bedtime.  My oldest is doing yoga and meditation to help her learn to focus and was put on fish oil and it's making a difference.  

Original Post by santonacci:

Original Post by kathygator:

Will not be surprised to find out that many cases of ADHD, Autism, Aspergers, (and other unprecedented outbr eaks in behavioral conditions) will be found to have resulted from the evils done to our food and water supply. 

The neurologist who diagnosed our youngest son with ASD said that he was positive that environment played a key role in the increased rate of  ASD and similar disorders. However, he also said that if he could actually prove it, he would get the Nobel Prize.

Needless to say, I'm a big advocate of research.

 Hear that Monsanto? We're coming for you.

Original Post by lindinig:

My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was six. From the time he was 9 months old, he had loud screeching episodes, temper tantrums, stealing (that came later, when he was 4, right through 4th grade), openly defiant behavior. He was kicked out of one pre-school. I put him in a family-type daycare with a pre-school component because the teacher-child ratio was much smaller. His behavior was so out of control, there is no way to properly parent him. Punishment either didn't work, or only worked for about a week. I had to push the envelop on punishing this child because of his out of control behavior. Although many toddlers have temper tantrums, and mis-behave, there comes a time when you look at a particular child and say, "his mis-behavior is way over the top".

I am one parent who is not afraid to parent my kids, and I'm very happy to say that my hard work (with the help of medicine, as an aid) has completely turned this child around. He is doing well in school, he is smart, polite, respectful, and the best kid I know (I know this because we are constantly receiving compliments on how well behaved our children are.) He is now 12, btw.

Anyways, about 2 months ago, my son was hospitalized for being unresponsive after having a fever for 2 days. Every test imaginable was done. Of course, they took him off his ADHD medicine that he had been on since he was 6. After a very abnormal EEG, it was determined that he was suffering from petit mal seizures about every minute, that lasts 10-15 seconds. The neurologist suspects that he was having them throughout his childhood and it may have caused his bad behavior. If any of you have a child like this, many childhood disorders mimic ADHD. It's just that ADHD is a common fallback when tests come back negative for other disabilities. So, we're experimenting with anti-seizure medicine and hopefully will get it right before he goes back to school in the fall. Luckily, his behavior hasn't changed, but his focus and attention is lacking, slightly. He's old enough now that he can tell me what he's experiencing for side-effects, and he notices when he's unable to focus.

I was using the ADHD diagnosis when he was younger to get him services he so desperately needed with the school. I used the medicine to calm the behavior down enough so I could (along with the school) work with him, teaching him how to act properly in social situations. Many kids with ADHD have social deficits. They have trouble reading cues from other people, and this was one of his deficits. Our last IEP meeting with the school, just about 2 weeks ago, was the best one yet. In the past 3 years, he has grown intil a responsible, mature, boy. In each of those 3 years, I have seen dramatic improvement in both his studies, and his social environment. He has a ton of friends. He goes to b-day parties and sleep overs.

He has seen so many specialists over the years (including 2 neurologists), and this seizure disorder slid under the radar.

He and I have a really great relationship, and he knows he can count on me to advocate for him when he runs into trouble with peers, or school.

Thank you for reading this far. It's been quite the rocky road for the past 11 years, but my point is, that if you suspect there is something not quite right with your child, then you need to push for the tests, do your research on other childhood disorders and suggest them to the specialists. Ask for explanations of why they don't want to perform a specific test. Because there are children who need help to make them successful, and if medicine helps them out, then so be it. Medicine was the last thing I wanted to give my child, but I was walking around like I had been hit by a train, and he was starting to fail in school, in kindergarten, no less!

If you read this far, you must be bored at work :-), so I'll stop.

 

 

 You Rock MOM :-)

My son is dyslexic and ADHD and no one in Elementary School even acknowledged the dyslexicia and one of the side effects is ADHD like behavior.  My son is now getting the attention for that and he is a Freshmen in High School.

I am also a Cub Scout leader and out of 28 boys from 1st - 5th, 10 of them have Autism and/or ADHD.  Working in small grouops like Cub Scout Dens really helps the boys learn how to behave and achieve.  The Cub Scout Motto is "Do your Best" and i have seen alot of improvement in skills and behaviors from September to June.

Good Luck

I do think it's over-prescribed...

I think educators start to flip out if a child doesn't act anything but "normal"  and then sends the child to the doctor. When what may be needed at the time, is for the teacher to change their teaching style to adjust to the child's needs...

I have been a member of CC for a long time now but rarely participate in the forums (although I love reading them- there are a lot of knowledgeable people here!).  As a school psychologist in training, I thought it would be appropriate for me to put in my two cents about this issue. 

Just as some background information about me (since my profile is not updated) I have my Master's degree in psychology and am starting my school psychology internship in the fall, after which I will become a fully liscensed school psychologist.  I have worked with many children with ADHD and other psychological disorders, and have had intensive education and training in this area.

I agree with many of the comments people have made, specifically that ADHD medication is over prescriped and that the disorder is over diagnosed.  I believe that someone mentioned that the problem lies within the assessment process, and I would have to agree with that.  For a child to be diagnosed with ADHD the symptoms have to be present prior to the age of 7, and the behaviors have to occur across at least two different settings (e.g., home, school, community, etc.) 

One of the main problems with the assessment process is that most parents take their children to a medical doctor for an ADHD evaluation.  There are a number of problems with this:

First, medical doctors are frequently too busy to conduct an extensive evaluation.  Much of the ADHD evaluation data is dependent on parent and teacher report, which may not be accurate, and often times conflict.  There are more objective evaluation techniques, such as formal observations, intelligence testing, and academic achievement testing; however, a medical doctor rarely conducts such an extensive evaluation, resulting in an incomplete evaluation, possible misdiagnosis, and misprescribed ADHD medication. 

Second, medical doctors have frequently had little to no training in behavioral and psychological disorders, therefore they do what they know- prescribe medication.  A knowledgeable doctor would refer the child to a psychologist for further evaluation. 

Third, a proper ADHD evaluation takes TIME!  Many children recieve an ADHD diagnosis upon their first visit to a medical doctor's office, which is not enough time for the professional to adequately assess the child. 

Fourth, there are three different types of ADHD diagnoses.  There can be the hyperactive type, the inattentive type, and the combined (hyperactive + inattentive) type.  Most children fall into the combined type category, and very few are given a diagnosis of the inattentive type.  This is because hyperactivity is more noticeable and more problematic in school.  A child who is rowdy and always out of his or her seat is more of a problem to a teacher than a child who sits quietly at his or her desk, even though they are not paying attention to anything the teacher is saying.  The point here is that medical doctors have no way of assessing for the inattentive type in the clinical setting.  A formal observation of the child in his or her natural environment is required- and this is often ignored by medical doctors during the assessment process. 

The problems with the assessment process has paved the way for the other problems mentioned in this forum, specifically over medicating.  I know that some of you are pro meds and some are anti meds; however, I would like to make one thing very clear: ADHD is a neurological disorder, and does not result from one's environment.  Translation: **** parenting does not cause ADHD!!!!!  Kids with ADHD are not "just acting out" or "trouble makers"- they have a legitimate psychological disorder that is best treated with medication.  That being said, many children with ADHD have comorbid psychological disorders, especially behavioral disorders such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and/or Conduct Disorder (CD).  Translation: **** parenting usually plays a role in ODD and CD.  Empirically-supported treatment of such behavior disorders are behavior managment strategies (i.e., not medication).  Because ADHD is not a behavioral disorder, it cannot be effectively treated with behavior management strategies.  Research has continually shown medication to be the most efficacious method for treating ADHD.

The bottom line is that ADHD is a legitimate disorder, and although children are frequently misdiagnosed and improperly medicated, for children who truly do have ADHD, medication does wonders.  It helps them stay focused during school, pay attention to the task at hand, complete work at school and at home, and get along better socially, just to name a few benefits.  If I had a child who was diagnosed with ADHD I would absolutely provide him or her with medication.    

I hope that I did not come across as "lectury," but I did want to clear up a few things that I noticed people commenting about.  Thanks for reading and please let me know if you have any questions- I would be happy to answer them!

GREAT post Leximunk.  Thank you for sharing!!  I totally agree.

Hi

I don't know if anybody can answer the following question but my step son has been diagnosed with adhd - he lives in Norway and we live in the UK.  My husband (his father) has not had any say into his condition and whether he goes on medication or not, he hasn't signed any forms to agree for his son to be medicated but his ex wife had taken it upon herself to medicate the child and even though we havent seen him for six months my husband speaks to him very regularly and says that he had changed so much in his personality - basically he is like a zombie - my husband is at his wits end and doesnt know what to do - please can anybody tell us whether my husband has a legal right to have access to his doctors reports and whether he should have had a say in whether his son was medicated or not.  The medication is a sister drug to Ritalin.

Many thanks - I do hope somebody out there can help!!!!

Original Post by tigger1404:

please can anybody tell us whether my husband has a legal right to have access to his doctors reports and whether he should have had a say in whether his son was medicated or not. 

Well, that would largely depend on the terms of the custody agreement your husband and his ex-wife have.  I don't know what legal restrictions there are in the UK or Norway, but I know in the US most courts uphold the right of the custodial parent to make medical decisions for the child.

It would probably be best to consult a lawyer that specializes in family practice and/or custody issues.

I read most of the comments on the first page. In some cases parents are just putting kids in meds to make their lives easier. On the other side there are children out there that really need the meds.

I have always been one to really limit sweets, snacks, caffeine etc. My kids have always been on a tight schedule when it came to meal times, they drink a ton of water, no video games etc. Yet my youngest still had an over abundance of energy. It was like he never stopped moving until he almost literally just fell out. He would run in circles, get up running through the house, etc he could not sit still until he passed out somewhere. And no we did try and stop it but it never seemed to do any good. When he went to bed at night he would be up in his room laughing, playing, just having a good ole' time for hours. From about 7:30pm to midnight he was wide awake. About midnight he would pass out then be back awake in about 2 hours and cycle like that and be up and running ready to go at 6am. He did not take naps during the day and just wide out all day long. We cycled like this for a long long time.

When he started school he teachers noticed this same type behavior. I resisted for a long long time until a few things happened. Teachers were afraid to hold paper for him to practice cutting because he would not or could not concentrate on what he was doing. More than once he almost cut one of his teachers because he was not paying attention to what was happening. Then I was called and told that my son had gotten up from rest time and took off running and literally ran over a sleeping little girl because of he just wild out. This is when we really started talking about him seeing a doctor.

I filled out a questionnaire of behaviors as did the teachers and we took all the data to a doctor (his doctor) to evaluate. In the end of it all he was dxed as being ADHD.

The meds help quite a bit but not totally but he is better.

I have two boys with the dx of ADHD/Autism.  I am also a nurse.  I didn't just jump on the medication band wagon like it is suggested by some posters here. And by the way I am in no way shape or form a bad parent, or a  lazy parent, and I don't medicate my boys for my own convenience.  Seriously, unless you live with hyperactivity everyday, you can not judge any parent for making the decision to start their children on medication.  I don't care what "normal" behavior is, I don't care what other parents do, I do know what is working for my children.  The medication does not give them an "edge" over other children, because, hey, ADHD is not just about being a little rambunctious at times. It has a lot of different factors and deficits that have nothing to do with activity level. The suggestion that  hitting my kids because their brain is not wired right seems pointless and stupid, thinking that I can control their behaviors with dirty looks or sever punishments shows how little that person knows about this disorder and how to effectively treat it.  I provide clean, healthy food, and we are vegetarians.  My husband is a stay at home dad by choice and is with them everyday,  and both of us are very active in the boy's school, activities, and therapies. Assuming that someone is a bad parent because they are treating their children's disorder is baffling. The support group that I follow is full of parents doing the same things, and more Sounds to me that some of these posters are reading too many magazine articles and forming judgements against parents who are just trying to do their best for their kids.  I have been attacked by random people for medicating by boys, because they look "normal" and if I was just a better parent, I could get them to act "normal" .

 The final reason I started my oldest on medication was after a very bad day, He laid in his bed and cried, he told me that he tries to be good, but is always bad.  These behaviors can't always be controlled with punishments, and with hyperactivity you are always punishing, and their fragile self-esteem is effected the rest of there lives.  My husband also dx ADHD, went through childhood being punished for everything, at school they also used a board to spank him for his misbehaviors, he tried to commit suicide at the age of 12, because he thought that everyone hated him and that he was a burden to have around.  And let's not forget about the undiagnosed ADHD adults, self medicating with drugs and alcohol and all the studies that show that untreated ADHD can lead to substance abuse problems and other personality disorders.  Do I think it is over dx, maybe, or maybe we have better education about indicators of childhood disorders, "in the good old days" they probably would have dismissed my children as problem students with bad parents and yes, "sent to work in the fields". Now they are going to go on to live a productive life, on medication.  It is ignorant statements made by people that don't understand these disorders that hinder awareness, and promote predigest against mental disorders in general.  People take pills for weight loss, for diabetes, for heart conditions, what is wrong with treating ADHD?  Why is that judged and looked down upon?  And just like those conditions it is not all about the pill, therapies and diet are addressed too. I have never met a parent that is treating ADHD with medication that is not also treating with different therapies, and that is not being followed by a doctor. Ok now I'm ranting, but those statements truly hurt me, and I'm sure it would hurt any parent that have children struggling with ADHD.

I had pretty much the experience that ladyduece had, plus I took them to specialists, like most parents.  I work with many doctors, and doctors, in general, don't prescribe a medication like it is being depicted in some comments. That is just not true. So the point is here, stop judging these parents, and if you are truly are concerned about the rise in ADHD and Autism, start advocating for the cure and cause.

To the last two posters: No one here said ADHD wasn't real. Most people said the meds are WAY over-prescribed. You're getting defensive and no one attacked you. If you don't think the meds are over-prescribed, well, then that's just a different story. 

alibsam, I know that those comments are not intended to be offensive, but the comments are offensive none the less. And I don't think that I am being defensive, I'm just trying to spread some understanding, and maybe stop some judging and generalizations.  I really don't think that children are mindlessly given medication to please parents, it is true that ADHD medication would not help, or even worsen the behaviors of children that were given it and are not ADHD.  So why would a "lazy" parent give it to them, it's costly, and not easy to get insurances to pay for, and you have to get the prescription direct from doctor's office, why is it  easier to deal with side effects, remembering to give it every day, going through the dx process, and dealing with special education, IEP meetings, constant communications from schools and doctors, why is that an easier option?  I, and most parents, don't want this. I think, and this is my opinion, that when we see this increase in medicating children for these type of disorders scares people, and instead of being outraged at the increase and no scientific explanation, we blame the parents, so we don't have to believe that there might be something wrong with our environment, food, medications etc...... why are we not screaming to find the cause? why, instead of putting pressure on the parents who are just trying deal with their kids, why don't we put pressure on doctors and scientists to figure out what is causing it and  better ways to treat it? Instead of asking do you think it is right that we are medicating and dx our children so young, maybe we should ask the government to treat the increase in dx and medication serious, and push for explanations?  We should all, parents of ADHD kids or not be very concerned about this increase not from a bad parenting point of view, but as the parents of this coming generation, and the grandparents of the next.

If you really think that it is just a parenting issue, instead of shunning and judging, jump in and help.  Many moms and dads are overwhelmed by being parents, and if you think that a few hours with you will improve the child life then do it. I bet that mom would enjoy a much needed break.