Is Adhd over-Diagnosed Among School Children

ADHD is a disorder that many psychiatrists, parents, and teachers are now labeling normal childhood behaviors as mental disorders. So you have to be careful with your children from now on as well.

Attention Deficit hyperactive disorder is a prevalent and ever rising affliction in modern societies. “According to the American Psychiatric Association (2009), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders in school-aged children(Saemi 179)”.While the initial response to handling the syndrome is to medicate it and continually medicate to stem the Simpsons. This is not a temporary instance to cure the disease just a never ending cycle. It is my belief that not only is the medication over prescribed, but the alternative methods are to quickly overlooked. To clarify, I do not argue that the medication is uncalled for and should be removed. Only that everyone who has the condition should be

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) seems to be the affliction of this generation of children. It seems more prevalent every year. However, diagnosis criteria for ADHD is so subjective, what qualifies, who qualifies? There is no specific clinical cause for ADHD but it obviously exists. So many questions remain to be answered about ADHD. Are more children really being diagnosed with ADHD annually and is it really on the rise as it appears? Are too many children being wrongly diagnosed with ADHD as an easy way out because of other behavioral problems? And when ADHD is properly diagnosed are we overmedicating our children to make it easier for parents and teachers to cope? How often are other afflictions

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.

A study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health came to the conclusion that medication alone showed the most promising long-term effects for treatment of this disorder since it quickly took care of symptoms that behavioral therapy could not fix in the same amount of time if at all (“A.D.H.D. Experts Re-evaluate Study’s Zeal for Drugs.”). Even though there are those who abuse ADHD medication, taking away the medication would prove disastrous to those with the disorder because of how well the prescriptions do treat symptoms associated with ADHD. The disorder is real and many children do have ADHD and the need to treat it as a real disorder is further proven by what happens in the adult lives of some of these children with ADHD. According to Dr. William Barbaresi, the complications for children diagnosed with ADHD does not stop in childhood as previously thought but a new long-term study found that not only did 29% of those diagnosed with ADHD as children still had the disorder but that 57% of those with ADHD as children had other psychiatric disorders (Jaslow). So it is not only a disorder for children but adults as well along with being a good indicator that the person could have other psychiatric disorders later in life making it very important to diagnose and treat as a real disorder to discourage further complications. Many opinions from doctors and parents have been heard on this

This overdiagnosis is mainly in elementary aged children. Parents will bring in their kids that are only acting out and being hyper because of lack of discipline. According to Dr. Daniel F. Conner, who is a psychiatry professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, says that while there is scientific information out there about ADHD, many of us really don’t understand it (Reynolds 2). This is why there is such an over diagnosis, or misdiagnosis of ADHD, especially in children. Many parents think that it is mostly a behavioral thing and as soon as their kids start acting out, they rush them to the doctor. The doctor then just prescribes ADHD medicine to make it quick and the parents leave happy. This is not always the case with ADHD. It is much more than just a behavior thing, there are many things that ADHD actually is and that lies in the

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is becoming more known as more people have been diagnosed, children and adult both suffer with disorder, making daily life tasks more difficult to deal with. People with ADHD suffer with concetration issues, forgetfulness, and many other problems. There are also many types of treatment for ADHD, such as medication. Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, and Jeanne Segal gathered togther to write the article, "ADD/ADHD Medications." The

I think that adhd is being overdiagnosed. Some of the cases that are not adhd can be hard to see because the diagnosis can be hard and some can almost be the same the same. In some cases there has been heart attacks,stroke, and even sudden death. It is being overdiagnosed big time . We need to stop it now so more people don’t die.

Whether or not ADHD is a true illness is subjected to debate. Despite the continuous efforts of experts in updating ADHD criteria within the DSM, the diagnosis for it continues to be controversial due to over reliance on vague evidences obtained from perceived irregularities in a patient’s mood and behaviour (Szasz, 2008). I believe ADHD, particularly in children, should not be considered legitimate illness.

Families who have children with ADHD often experience much higher anxiety and stress levels. A large number of children, almost half, will exhibit signs of ADHD by the age of four. However, most children are not diagnosed until he or she reaches elementary school. The behaviors that are associated with ADHD in children put them at risk for a host of other problems and complications such as completing their education, alcohol and other drug abuse, and an increased risk for delinquency. There has been much research on ADHD in recent years and many different types of medications and interventions have proven to be quite helpful. With the proper diagnosis and treatment, children with ADHD can learn to cope with the daily demands of the classroom, social situations, family interactions, and life in general.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD, has become a well-known disorder that our ears hear lightly and many don’t think twice about. Although, ADHD is presented in over 11,000,000 people that are living in the United States (Frank, 2017). ADHD is prevalent in both women and men of all various ages. Once one has this disorder, it stays with them forever. However, many therapists as well as psychologist believe that this disorder is over diagnosed and leads into false and inaccurate prescriptions. Due to ADHD being primarily diagnosed at the age of 7 (Holland, 2014), the main symptoms leading into the identity of ADHD are hyper activity, being easily distracted, acting out, daydreaming, physical

Indeed, many infeasible suggestions have been made in an attempt to solve the problem of overdiagnosis. It has been suggested that in order to combat this problem, a reliable test for ADHD should be developed (Power, 2013). While this idea would effectively stop the problem, developing a test quickly is not feasible. Copious amounts of research is still needed in order to form a valid test. Because ADHD is a neurological disorder, there are many stigmas surrounding it that suggest it is not a true disorder. Due to this, many believe no treatment is needed. These people suggest that children diagnosed with ADHD should not take any kind of medication and that those children currently taking Ritalin should be completely taken off of it. This suggestion

There are many negatives involved in ADHD, but what’s often overlooked, are the positives. One of these positives is the fact that this disorder is very manageable and treatable. We have an extended amount of knowledge from numerous studies that have been done since the disorder was discovered. From these studies we now know that this disorder can affect people in many ways and be a burden on someone if not treated properly.

The statistics are stunning, an estimated 6.4 million school-age children (ages 4 – 17) have received a medical diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Have you ever wondered what it is like to be diagnosed with ADHD? Take a moment and put yourself in the place of a child who has received this diagnosis. Imagine what it is like to be the boy or girl who can’t stop screaming, fighting or fidgeting. The child who stares and does not focus. Imagine the parents of an ADHD child, who takes their child out in public and he/she begins running around, climbing on objects, knocking things over or just screams so people think you are mistreating him/her. I think that children with this type of behavior should be put on medication

Even though Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, has received a lot of attention in recent years, many children and adults are not receiving treatment. A reason could be due to the misconceptions or myths that plague this disorder. Many people have heard some of the following myths: ADHD isn’t a real condition, only boys have ADHD, ADHD is over diagnosed, kids with ADHD will outgrow it, these myths barely skim the surface of all that is existing. ADHD is a medical condition per the “National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Psychiatric Association, both boys and girls can have ADHD however, it is more than twice as likely to be diagnosed in boys” (Morin 1). While many