Medicating Children with Behavioral and Psychological Disorders

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.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder(ADD) are two very public disorders, mainly among kids ranging in age from elementary school through college and on into adulthood. There are many different treatments developed now to help aid the effects that come with ADD/ADHD, the most common of which is medications. The two biggest brand name medications used to treat ADD and ADHD are Vyvanse and Adderall. Both of these medications are stimulant medications, which by definition from The Encyclopedia means, “Stimulant [medication is] any drug that excites any bodily function, but more specifically those that stimulate the brain and central nervous system. Stimulants induce alertness, elevated mood, wakefulness,

A central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, methylphenidate—more commonly known as Ritalin—is drug prescribed in the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) ((1)). AD/HD, by definition, is "developmentally inappropriate behavior, including poor attention skills, impulsivity, and hyperactivity" sustained for more than 6 months, appearing usually during childhood2

From the research, children with ADD/ADHD seem difficult to control and teach. It has been discovered that these children act different in home and school. At school, they have difficulties sitting still for a long time, blurting out, distracting others, and completing assignments in a timely manner. Joined with other children in the class, the teacher is unable to give them the one-on-one time that is needed to make sure everyone succeeds, academically. Most of the time, preschools children with ADD/ADHD fail their grade and do not learn the required information in education because of the common disorder that takes over their body and mind.

Today’s children in America have become a primary source of pharmaceutical financial gain. Up until the 1990’s children who were restless just needed physical activity, and children who were not paying attention in class were daydreaming. Presently, however, these same children are being diagnosed with ADD or Depression. They are being treated for these imagined ill-states of mental health with medicine that they do not need. More children today suffer from the side effects of the medication more so than the ‘condition’ itself. A few things to consider before allowing a child to be prescribed behavioral medication are ensuring a true diagnosis, exploring safe non-drug alternatives, and knowing the risks of behavioral medication for our children.

Clinical Case 2: Erica brings her fourteen-year-old son, Daniel, into my office. Erica states that Daniel was diagnosed with ADHD when he was ten, but she’s not sure if that accounts for all his behavioral issues. Erica mentioned that Daniel often does not follow through with his chores, fails to finish schoolwork, is often irritable, and “doesn’t want to listen.” She wants to know what other conditions can occur with ADHD. I mention that ADHD can be comorbid with disorders such as, tic, anxiety, and mood disorders. I emphasize that ADHD is frequently comorbid with disruptive behavior disorders, such as conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.

In the last past six to seven years, ADHA and Bi Polar disorder has become a trending illness amongnst the youth of the United States of Anerica. In the filmed docuetnary “The Medicated Child,'' Frontline addresses the use of medications on kids who supposedly have ADHD and Bi Polar like sysmtoms. In this iformational film, Frontline questions doctors and psychiatrists reasoning on why they prescribe children who they claim have these illness different variety of drug cocktails, and do they really know if that child have the illness at hand they are treating. In the piece Frontline producer, Marcela Garviria, captures the lives of several families who are dealing with these illnesses and the side effects medication therapies have on their children lives. Garviria also reveal the pharmaceutical gain on diagnosing and treating individuals with mental disorders with medication.

(“ADD”) (Kinman). This is because children with ADHD have a lower brain volume than children who do not, especially in regions of the brain responsible for attention and emotion (Kinman). Dopamine and norepinephrine are neurotransmitters that help send messages between areas of brain associated with attention and motivation. The brain of a person with ADHD may have less of these chemicals available. This may explain why someone with ADHD has trouble paying attention or performing repetitive tasks. (Kinman) When people with ADHD are prescribed methylphenidate (a stimulant), it helps increase the amount of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. This increase in the level of neurotransmitters seems to improve attentiveness and motivation. Inattentive type symptoms include daydreaming, becoming easily confused, having difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others, seeming not to listen when spoken to, and more. Hyperactive-impulsive type symptoms may include fidgeting, talking nonstop, have trouble sitting still for sustained periods of time, being very impatient and

An online article posted on the Scientific American Mind’s website. The focus of this article is about the function and effects of stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall on the human body. Because children with ADHD are hyperactive and impulsive, stimulant medication is prescribed because it stimulates parts of the brain that are responsible for attention and self-control (Higgins, 2009). According to the article, studies conducted on animals have shown that the active ingredient in these medicines, which is methylphenidate, puts the user at a higher risk for depression and anxiety in adulthood due to the function of the drugs on the brain. Due to this, the article supports the notion that doctors should be cautious when prescribing

The hypoactivity of dopamine then causes reduced attention, impaired working memory and poor behavioural organisation. Ritalin has been used to treat ADHD by blocking the neurotransmitters so they don’t reuptake dopamine, resulting in dopamine being in the system for longer. This means that there is increased motivation and attention, helping some of the symptoms that ADHD produces. There are many studies showing that Ritalin is an effective drug to treat ADHD, with studies showing that Ritalin decreases any abnormalities found in patients with ADHD (Hart et al., 2013; Spencer et al., 2013).

Another study that I have researched tried to answer the question by focusing on the long-term effect of stimulants like Adderall. Focusing on the addiction patients experienced and the increase of demand that addiction has driven pharmaceutical companies to keep producing this drug, to keep the addiction satisfied. The last study that I researched tried to answer the question by exposing the side effects of the stimulants and non-stimulants that are given to ADHD patients. Side effects such as sleep problems, eating issues, delayed growth and nausea are all due to these stimulants and non-stimulants increasing the levels of the brain too high or too low with dopamine and

One of the most common types of prescription drugs is a stimulant. Stimulants are a class of drug that elevates that mood of the user and increases their energy and alertness, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, nicotine, and methylenedioxymethamphetamine, which is also know as MDMA or ecstasy (NIDA, 2013). When a legitimate prescription for stimulants is written it is usually for disorders like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHA. ADHA is characterized by the inability to concentrate and being very hyperactive; it is estimated that eight percent of children ages four to seventeen and three to four and a half percent of adults suffer from ADHA (NIDA, 2009). The reason why

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.

Everyone has an opinion about the role of medication in treating ADHD symptoms which leads to this controversy. The results from the Multimodal Treatment Study (MTA) show that medication was the single most effective treatment (Peacock, 2002) . For more than 40 years, stimulant medication has been prescribed for ADHD. There is a lot of research showing that they are safe, effective and reduces the symptoms of ADHD while they are being taken (Dudley, 2005). On the other hand, results from the study also suggested that a combination of psychological and behavioral counseling with medication is the most effective overall treatment (Dudley, 2005). Although the study suggest the use of a combination of treatments, stimulant medication should be the first line of treatment based on effectiveness. In the past, ADHD treatment has typically focused on medications. The specific class of medication most commonly prescribed for ADHD is stimulants (Martin). Stimulant medication is the best and safest way to control ADHD symptoms. Eighty percent (80%) of children respond well to one of these medications ("ADHD Children and Medication", n.d.). Stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall are commonly prescribed, well-tolerated, act quickly and in most children, have few side effects

The video “The MEDICATED CHILD” was a great video. In the video it discuss how children were diagnosed with ADHD and were put on certain medication in the 1990’s. Later psychiatrist started diagnosing children mania depression. Also the video stated how many doctors would put a child on mania depression medication without diagnosing the child. Many of the medication given to the children were medicine used for adults who served from mania depression. Some of the medicine the children were taken causes other problems, such as a child being anxious or development anxiety. Another point that stood out to me when the doctor diagnose a 4 year with bipolar disorder. From my understanding it is hard to diagnose a child with bipolar and schizophrenia