Being Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder ( Adhd ) Essay

In today's fast-paced society, it seems that prescription drugs are a more reasonable and reliable solution for children and adults than diet and exercise for the "disease" known as ADHD. Rather than take the time to play with their children, or institute a proper diet, it seems that increasing numbers of parents would rather treat their children's unexplained zest for life with pills and doctors. While there are some explanations and reasons for the diagnosis of this popular disease, most children are improperly diagnosed, and are therefore taking unneeded medication. This medication is costly and it can be argued those who benefit from the sale of these drugs most are the

“ADHD is the most extensively studied pediatric mental health disorder, yet controversy and public debate over the diagnosis and medication treatment of the disorder continue to exist.” (Connor D., P.1, 2011) Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often a debated subject when the method of treatment is being discussed because it has become a trending issue to over medicate children with ADHD. A fitting label for the trend is the anesthetization of our youth, caused by government agency expansion and pharmaceutical allowances, and blame parents not advocating for their child better.

Over the past couple of decades there has been a huge increase in the diagnosis and prescriptions given out for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. According to a news report done by USA Today over the past five years use of ADHD medications have risen 40% totaling 39.5 million individual prescriptions ("New findings," 2009). When statistics like this are seen it is only normal for someone to ask questions. People are becoming curious about the legitimacy of the disorder, and whether or not the treatments being given to individuals are appropriate. The argument seems to be strong on both sides of the fence, but the extensive research done on ADHD leaves it hard for one to believe that it is a made up disorder.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a neurobiological disorder. Recent research shows that the symptoms of ADD are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. (Rebecca Chapman Booth)

Attention Deficit Disorder otherwise known as ADD is a condition that refers to an individual’s inability to control their own behavior or impulse(McEwan 70). This can begin in early childhood and interfere with children’s ability to do well in school and social situations. These patients also have troubles blocking out noise or other stimuli in order to focus on a task or what is being said. ADD is a chronic problem that can be seen as early as infancy and can extend to adulthood. There are two types of Attention Deficit Disorder. The most common form is Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). The characteristic of this type is hyperactivity, which is seen before the child enters

In 2005, the CDC estimated the annual cost of ADHD to the United States to be between thirty-six to fifty-two billion dollars. This estimate takes into account not only medication costs, but those doctor’s visits and lost productivity. Cost of medication is the most significant factor, however, productivity lost by adults with the condition, or having to take off work to address a child’s behavioral incidences account for nearly four billion dollars (CDC 2015). The state of Indiana alone has more than eighty percent of youth diagnosed with the condition on pharmaceutical stimulants (CDC 2015). This provides evidence that a therapeutic approach that reduces the use of these costly stimulants and teaches individuals with the condition a viable, sustainable coping mechanism for their disorder is again a worthwhile pursuit.

We as people often take medications for any problem we may have, from headaches to conditions that are more serious. While most prescribed medication is necessary, some of it is not. Many children are being given medication when they don’t need it. According to a statistics report done by the National Institute of Mental Health, there has been a 21% increase in the number of children on psychiatric drugs from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010. These children are given drugs for emotional and/or behavioral problems. While some children do have conditions that require medication, many do not. The most common disorder for children in America is ADHD, according the CCHR, a report done by IMS Health, which is

Four percent of all children in the United States Of America are diagnosed with ADHD (“When Will America Just Say No”). From 2008-2012 the rate of children diagnosed with ADHD went up 30 percent ( While there are this many diagnoses’ not all of them are correctly given. Some people pretend to have ADHD so that they can abuse the medicine with it. This is one of the reasons people are divided at giving their child the medication and not. Although some people think their diagnoses is correct, a lot of times it’s not and it could be solved by making the test more complex because we don’t want children on medication they don’t need, it can have harsh side effects, and pretty much anyone who wants it can get it for their own reasons.

According to Eileen O’connor, 90% of children with ADHD stop taking medication once they reach adolescence. Most drugs do not have long-lasting effects and when children fail to take them, symptoms of their disorder come back. Because medication is a temporary solution, efforts should be taken to find a more permanent solution. Another problem with using medication as the sole treatment of behavioral disorders such as ADHD is that it becomes very expensive. In a study concerning the amount of people medicated for ADHD in a particular area, it was found that “the only children who had never received drug treatment were uninsured” (O’Connor). In many cases in the healthcare industry, people are prescribed medication unnecessarily. Many other people have a different problem, they need medication but can’t afford it. Not only does overmedication cost patients but it could also potentially have negative long term side effects. The long term implications of medication children for psychological disorders such as ADHD and depression are still widely unknown (Reynolds and Fletcher-Janzen). Medication has proven to be very useful in decreasing short term symptoms of a variety of disorders. Since the long term effects are still unknown, however, and because of the other reasons stated above, measures should be taken to decrease the rate of overmedication in the United

Are we really receiving the correct medication needed within our medicated society today? This article goes over some very important facts about Attention- Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It includes a lot of data and statistics about the disorder, including the shocking statistics that “approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011”, and “the percentage of children with an ADHD diagnosis continues to increase, from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and to 11.0% in 2011” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013). As of 2011, only 6.1% of children diagnosed with ADHD were taking medication for their diagnosed disorder, another statistic stated in the article (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013). The article also uses many graphs and charts to show geographic occurrence of current and past diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, along with those receiving or having received medication for their diagnosis. Lastly, the article also includes details and facts of injuries associated with a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, peer relationships with children diagnosed and their parents, as well as economic costs in regards to ambulatory rides, emergency room visits, and medication costs.

Why do kids require ADHD medicine? Guardians regularly struggle with a kid's conduct, thinking about whether their kid is quite recently boisterous or if there may be a medicinal cause to issues experienced in school and other inflexible settings. Progressively, guardians are finding an analysis—consideration shortfall hyperactivity issue (ADHD)— to represent a portion of the conduct issues that make child rearing an especially difficult action. As indicated by the medicinal group, ADHD is a neurological issue fundamentally described by negligence, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD is by and large identified in adolescence, however expanding quantities of people are being analyzed in adulthood. ADHD has gotten increment consideration in

Are we overmedicating our children? ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is considered a neurological disorder in childhood. According to the CDC in 2011, 5% of children have been diagnosed with ADHD and 6.1% of these children are being medicated with a stimulant. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC; 2014) Stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse. Children are medicated for ADHD as young as 2 and 3 years old. One has to wonder if we are simply medicating our children instead of providing a stable home environment along with proper therapy or counseling.

Over the past several decades, highly skilled professionals have attempted to address several issues regarding antipsychotic drugs used to treat school-aged children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The distribution of these ADHD medications have steadily increased over the years, which has, on one hand, presented a possible solution to the escalating diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and on the latter, brought into question the ethics and effectiveness of these medications. Health officials, parents, and the children themselves struggle to come to an agreement when deciding whether or not medication is the best solution.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, (AD/HD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impaired levels of inattention, disorganization, and hyperactivity- impulsivity. ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, while ADD stands for attention deficit disorder. ADHD is classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual under neurodevelopmental disorders. (DSM-5). ADHD has been on the rise in the United States of America. Not only has ADHD been on the rise here in the United States of America, but also in places such as Canada and Australia as well. The amount of diagnoses of ADHD has skyrocketed, but does that mean that every single person who has been diagnosed with ADHD/ADD has been properly diagnosed. In fact, some disorders mimic ADHD symptoms. Not only has ADHD been on the rise, but also depending on the country, AD/HD can mean many things. In particular, in France, AD/HD is considered to be a medical condition, unlike here in America, where it is considered to be a neurodevelopmental disorder, that is biological in nature.

If you look at the numbers about twenty -two percent of all those diagnosed with Attention Deficient Hyper Active disorder are school aged. That is nearly 5.1 million children and of these 3.5 million (or sixty-nine percent) are taking Medications. Pharmaceutical sales for common ADHD medications like Adderall and Ritalin have nearly doubled in the past five years (Hunt, Jeffery. 2016. Para 3). Then in the last ten years there has been an increase of sixty-seven percent in infant/child diagnoses and a forty-one percent increase in adults diagnosed. These numbers are not just for diagnosed persons but include those seen, diagnosed and treated for ADHD (Kataoka, Sheyl.2016). That is a sixteen percent increase since