Children Over Medication Research Paper

In this day and age, drugs are being prescribed without hesitation. In fact, many of these drugs are being prescribed for children with various disorders. One of these disorders is called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An estimated five to ten percent of children are diagnosed with this syndrome (Taylor 11). One of the methods to treat this disorder is to use stimulants, specifically Ritalin. This method is controversial because it has many side effects and its long-term effects are unknown. It can also lead to addiction. Approximately two to three percent of elementary school children are taking some kind of stimulant to treat ADHD (Taylor 64). Since so many children are taking this medication, new problems have arisen.

However, it is not the increasing number of Ritalin users that is the cause for concern but whether the reasons behind why more and more people are seeking this medication for their children. Parents are obsessed with improving their child’s performance and competitive nature. They strive for above average efforts even if average is their child’s best efforts. Average seems to be no longer acceptable. Mills disagrees with these new logics that have caused parents to seek out Ritalin instead of searching for different means to improve their child in school and at home. Mills would propose that the doctor refuse the medication for Ritalin. The doctor states that there is no medical need for the prescription and that Mike is completely healthy and shows no evidence of a disorder or illness. Parents are setting high expectations for children, eliminating their biological nature to simply be children. Ritalin will only alter a child’s natural personality and abilities. Mills would suggest that the parents use other methods of enhancement to help their child perform better. For example, therapy could help a child concentrate or one-on-one session with a tutor would help improve their child’s school performance without using unnatural medications to do

When a child has difficulties with paying attention, excessive talking, and is considered hyperactive, sometimes there is a problem that needs to be addressed by a pediatrician. In addition to these symptoms your local school district may tell you that your child should be tested for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The first thing parents should do is contact their child’s pediatrician, as a result your child’s pediatrician should conduct tests using detailed psychological and physical tests related to the diagnosis of ADHD. Therefore, determining if your State Medicaid Program has prior authorizations to prescription medications to treat ADHD do they actively

“Because of Ritalin’s similarity to cocaine, some believe it to be a gateway drug, but studies have shown that Ritalin users are less likely to experiment than those who were not prescribed Ritalin”. Gateway drugs are perceived to be a drug that may lead to the use of other, more addictive drugs. “Continued use and over prescribed use may in the long term

According to the video's statistic, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder increased to four thousand percent during the last decade. This labeling process seems to be almost a medical crime, where modern "Walter Freemans" easily manipulate and experiment the biochemical processes in the developing child's brain by using strong mood stabilizers and antipsychotic drugs. Nevertheless, it puzzled me why so many doctors do not want to start with a mild therapeutical approach. For example, in many other countries treating childhood's behavior problems with pharmaceutical substances is still almost a nonexistent practice. Instead of medications, other therapies are offered through special programs in school or kindergarten, where children learned to develop coping mechanisms.

“Up to one-third of the 3.4 million children and adolescents with depression in the United States may actually be experiencing the early onset of bipolar disorder.”, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The battle with bipolar disorder has a severe impact on the life of adolescents resulting in the need for medication. Medication is needed for adolescents with bipolar disorder due to the fact is has negative impact on social life, academics, and on physical health.Bipolar disorder is classified as a mood disorder in which people experience series of “manic highs” and “depressed low”.

The use of stimulant medications such as Ritalin or Adderall in children with the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continues to rise, albeit at a slower pace than in previous decades, a new study finds. The study authors tracked data on prescription in the US 1996 to 2008. They found that the use of drugs for ADHD was higher among children of 6-12 years and increased slightly from 4.2 percent in 1996 to 5.1 percent twelve years later. However, increase more pronounced occurred in older children, ages 13 and 18. In this group, the ADHD drugs increased more than double, from 2.3 percent in 1996 to 4.9 percent in 2008. The researchers said this reflects a greater understanding

It’s a natural phase in the evolution of your role as a parent. While your relationship with your teen will change, that doesn’t mean it becomes any less significant. In fact, your teen may need the security of your love and support more than ever now. The way you communicate with your adolescent and structure your family life can have a major impact on how your teen functions at home which can influence how your teen functions in other situations. The time and energy you devote to your other children, your significant other, and yourself can help keep the teen’s issues in perspective, a good thing for all of you. And the way you address school issues and advocate for your teenager’s educational needs can have a decisive impact on his or her success in school.

More specifically, wrongly diagnosing children with bipolar disorder has become the new trend which proves to be dangerous to children. There is self-help literature in the form of children’s books which highlight the symptoms found in children diagnosed with bipolar disease. These symptoms are the same symptoms doctors use to diagnose kids with bipolar disorder. Reading these books convinces parents that their child has bipolar disorder, which leads them to take their child to the doctors. Because bipolar disorder is the new trend, drug companies took this opportunity to persuade doctors to prescribe medication for this disorder. Doctors are now prescribing medication intended for adults to children, which in some cases may cause permanent damage or even death. Kaplan explains that many of the symptoms associated with bipolar disorder in children can be mistaken for symptoms of ADHD, ODD, or even normal child development (Kaplan p.56). The American Psychiatric Association is now requesting a more intense diagnosis be performed before taking any further

Since the 1990s, the amount of children who are diagnosed with a form of bipolar disorder have rocketed sky high. Children, like adults can possibly have neurological issues in the brain that does not allow them to function properly. These children are seen as hyperactive, aggressive people who are not able to control themselves mentally and emotionally. They can be described as a “ticking time bomb”, and people having to walk on eggshells around them, not knowing if it is going to be the euphoric or the depressed child, they are going to be dealing with. In this literature review, the following topics will be mentioned: the description of what bipolar disorder is; the types of bipolar disorders; the child’s state of mind in the disorder; the causes of bipolar disorder; The DSM-V criteria for diagnosing Bipolar disorder; and the treatment of the disorder.

Not being able to keep still, talking out of turn, and not being able to resist temptation are many traits of a child under the age of twelve; also, the symptoms of a child diagnosed with ADHD. Though there isn’t a test to determine whether or not a child has ADHD many psychiatrists are quick to incline that the child may have this behavioral disorder even though they could just be acting like children. Not only are psychiatrists too quick to diagnose they’re also quick to prescribe medications that have high risks of causing behavioral changes and disruption of the chemical balance within the brain. Children under the age of twelve should never be diagnosed and/or prescribed medication for attention deficit hyperactivity

Right now, at this very moment, somewhere in America, there is a commercial playing, advertising a prescription drug, while a family sits around and watches it or subconsciously takes in what the commercial has to offer while they stare at the bright screens of their cellular phones. The widespread media of prescription medicines, specifically amphetamines, sedatives, and tranquilizers, allow pills like ‘Xanax’ (a tranquilizer used to treat depression), Zoloft (antidepressant), or Adderall (a medication used to treat ADHD) to become trusted, widely known, household names.

There new diagnosis, a disorder that had only been recognized for adults. Bipolar disorder has seen a dramatic rise since as many doctors have rethought the original labels a kid faced. However many like the parents of Jacob weren’t so keen to the dramatic relabeling without much research and testing to back it. That debated for many years of their child’s life as many parents have that their child’s hyperactivity is not abnormal behavior. So the question begins is bipolar disorder just another misdiagnosis for a normal kid? Or is it for many an accurate label for the symptoms a child develops after the usage of combinations of unnecessary strong drugs. Jacob started his diagnosis with the concern of hyperactivity, which after heavy medication was followed by symptoms of anxiety, compulsive behaviors, tics, and mood disorder. These arguably weren’t a symptom of a disorder but that of treatment. While there is a rise in the diagnosis of children with many disorders including autism, anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder the question is raised, have we been not diagnosing kids who deserved one? Or are we over diagnosing now? The film addresses the explanation that there is a lot of confusion over diagnosis, especially with bipolar disorder in children. The explain you can tell the difference of tantrums that are normal vs abnormal behavior however the ones diagnosing many children are general doctors with the expertise to accurately diagnose with the pressures of parents wanting answers. This has lead to over pathologizing the guess and check method for prescriptions and prescriptions being given off

This goal will be met by several steps, the first of which is that researchers must push for legislation to be passed based on scientific research that regulates doctors’ abilities to prescribe Ritalin and make behavioral therapy mandatory as the first treatment option. Next, legislation should be passed that requires behavioral therapy to be covered by all insurance companies to allow families of all economic statuses to access this treatment. Finally, a treatment pathway should be established in accompany with researchers that begins with behavioral therapy and slowly increases the Ritalin prescription until the disorder is managed in each child. This solution will allow children with ADHD to undergo a consequence-free form of treatment first. If this therapy is effective or it is discovered that the child was misdiagnosed, the child will not have to take Ritalin and will therefore be saved from any negative side effects. If this therapy is not completely effective, Ritalin will be introduced to the child alongside therapy to minimize the side effects. This solution will aid in the treatment of children with ADHD and reduce the side effects of stimulant medication, therefore it will end the negative consequences of overdiagnosis, but not overdiagnosis itself. The main goal of this solution is to protect the children’s

Bernard Carroll, a former Duke University psychiatry department chairman, stated, “You've got all these young kids running around with this diagnosis (bipolar disorder), yet many of them have never, ever had a manic episode, which is the hallmark of bipolar disorder. Many of these kids have never had anything other than irritability.” Contrary to Dr. Carrol’s statement it is possible to have a form of bipolar disorder, early-onset bipolar disorder, in which the child does not have manic episodes. Per The Bipolar Child, a website meant to educate parents on early-onset bipolar disorder, “The majority of bipolar children experience a much more chronic, irritable course, with many shifts of mood in a day…”. This account proves that children, who are irritable, may have bipolar disorder, and can be diagnosed pending an appointment with a psychiatric specialist. Kelli Montgomery, a woman whose first child was a stillbirth, was told to take antidepressants by her physicians. She immediately attributed this to the doctors thinking that she had a mental disorder, stating, "I had no mental illness. I had never been medicated. I had not even suggested that I was depressed,” but the doctors were simply trying to help her. Per Fourth-Trimester.com, a website that helps grieving mothers, “The risk for depression greatly increases if there is an associated perinatal loss or other trauma.” This statement proves the doctor’s rational in prescribing antidepressants, but Kelli jumped the