Medicating Kids Documentary Analysis

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a condition many children and young adult are diagnosed with today. ADHD is caused by the lack of focus, being overactive, or not being able to control certain behavior. There are many symptoms shown that can lead towards the diagnoses of ADHD, but there are no test that can be used to diagnose the disorder in children and young adults. As more people seem to develop the issue, the central question of, “Is the disorder even needed?”, comes to mind. One side of the argument sides with the many people that believe this deficiency can have a major impact on ones life, effecting their social and learning skills and medicine is highly advised. The other side believes that it is all psychology behind the diagnosis. This side believes that the medicine prescribed is being abused. Many say kids are taking these drugs such as adderall and vyvance to increase and help focus their behavior. It is believed that this is an issue because the kids that are taking these medications are kids that may not need them. Since there is technically no official test that leads to ADHD, it can basically be diagnosed towards anyone. Being a teenager in high school, the temptation to not abuse these kinds of drugs only increases throughout high school. If the government were to prevent society from being able to be prescribed this drug it would have a huge effect on American culture. It is important to grasp a good understanding of both sides of this

The very first step in deciding if prescription medication is the right choice for a child is knowing with certainty that the child has a real medical condition. Studies show that close to one in five children are misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) (Sherlock, Tracy). If it is suspected that a child suffers from ADD it is important that the child receive extensive testing to make certain the diagnosis is accurate. There are several tests that can be administered by a specialist including: a general physical, a neurological exam, a comprehensive interview with the child and others in a position of care for the child, an observation of the child’s everyday activities, and psychological tests to measure IQ and social and

The dangers and possible harmful effects that these medications hold for a young child will not help the parents feel too convinced about the usage of medication. As stated in Time this month, “We know that kids are not just little adults, they metabolize medications differently” (Kluger, et al). Parents might feel scared or reluctant to administer medication after hearing assertions about the dangers. Parents worry enough about their kids everyday without the use of a strong medication. The tendency to assume that doctors fear the usage of medication in children is overwhelming. It is more than clear to see why parents, or anyone affected by this 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

Although there are some reasons for children to take medications for their health, they should not be treated with antidepressants for many reasons. Many remember the trend in the 1960s and 1970s that inspired the film Valley of the Dolls. Housewives were taking Valium as if it were candy. Today, things have changed. The Antidrug commercials urge parents to get help and their children off drugs too. At the same time, parents are on the other hand urged to keep their children in check. In this pill popping society, children who misbehave are no longer tolerated. There is no more "boys will be boys" mentality anymore and children who misbehave and are disruptive are often recommended Ritalin or some other drug to make the Teachers day a bit

to unnecessarily overprescribe medications to their pediatric patients. Of these prescription drugs, opioid pain killers, antibiotics, and psychiatric medications are the most commonly overprescribed in child care. For example, opioid prescriptions have increased 300 percent in the past seventeen years (Boerner 20), over 50 million unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions are written each year (Murray 266), and 6.4 million psychiatric prescriptions are given to children between the ages of four and seventeen each year (Johnson 19). The overprescribing of these medications leads to children experiencing unnecessary side effects, increases the chances of addictions, and encourages drug resistance. In this essay, I will be proposing that there should be a (i) government enforced set of extensive regulations and checklists that each patient must fulfill before receiving a prescription and (ii) governmental laws prohibiting careless prescribing by doctors and hold doctors more accountable for the prescriptions they write.

Psychotropic medications, also referred to as psychiatric or psychotherapeutic medications, are used to treat psychiatric disorders, such as: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They have been used for many years and oftentimes come with dangerous side effects. The side effects that often occur in children taking these medications can include: fainting, blurred vision, vomiting, extreme weight gain, and even death ("Seroquel information,” n.d.). The use of psychotropic medication to treat mental disorders in children and adolescents is highly controversial because of ethical viewpoints (i.e. parents “drugging” their children to calm them down) and potentially

Kids ages 5-7 are taking pills all over the world that could lead to more damage. About 57% of kids with A.D.H.D have one other psychiatric disorder. Boys are four times more likely to have A.D.H.D than girls. My brother has A.D.H.D and he is like a robot, or a person with no humor or no thoughts when he is on medication. So I think that kids should not be medicated because they have A.D.H.D.

Medications used to treat this condition come with risks, and parents often wish to avoid them for this reason. For those who do choose medication for their child, the worry that the medication will be used improperly is present. For these reasons, parents often look for alternatives when it comes to treating their child.

The author begins by giving their own experience with their kin, and how they chose to avoid the teacher’s assertion. This transitions into how “…kids with IQs in the top 5 to 10 percent… are especially at risk for [an] ADHD misdiagnosis,” (Hosta). Moving forward the author asserts that giving children medication, is equivalent to abusing drugs. Consequently, with this assertion, the author maintains a demonization of medication, and uses fear mongering tactics to convince parents not to medicate their

Only 1 in 100 parents report that their child has used a cognitive enhancement drugs, this shows how much parents are unaware of the misuse of medications.”

Many of my friends back when I was younger got prescribed with ADD medications. There had been no testing just a quick observation. I knew even back then that the diagnosis was wrong for most of them. I could not understand why their mothers would pay the money for drugs their children have not proven to need. The media claims though that drugs will help your child and the doctors paid by the big pharma will persuade a mother that has her hands full.

While parents have their kids engaged into the drug treatment they should be aware of the long term effects on the kids. We have to take into consideration that your brain isn’t fully developed until you are twenty six years old, but we are giving these drugs to kids as young as

Are young children early on exposed to psychotropic medications due to lack of medical attention? Do millions of children in these countries really have ADD or ADHD? These questions arise all over North America, Great Britain, and Australia. Drugging of children at young ages is the result of self-diagnoses, teacher diagnoses, and lack of medical care and treatment for children with the “disease” of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In the documentary The Drugging of our Children, Gary Null, Forever Living Products, 2005, DVD Web, brings about the argument. Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s children began to be put on many

Children’s parents or caretakers should determine what their children are being exposed to. The choices must be based their maturity level. However, if they were just based on the children’s maturity level, some human beings may not be able to decide