Is ADHD Overdiagnosed?

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From Your Health Journal…..”This is an excellent article, as it really discusses in great length ADHD in children. The main focus is to find a middle ground for these types of children, so they can lead a normal life. The article questions whether these kids a medicated too early, as well as diagnosed too early. Some are even questioning if this is a disorder. To me, I feel that many need to recognize there are many different levels of ADHD. Not every child who has ADHD is going to be the ‘textbook’ case. Just as there are many different levels of peanut allergies (mild to severe – all with different implications), the same can apply to ADHD. Each case is different, and deserves the utmost attention and respect to help each individual child.”

From the article…..

Is ADHD over-diagnosed? Are we medicating children too quickly and frequently? Or are we simply doing a better job of recognizing and treating a pervasive disorder that afflicts almost one in ten children, and nearly as many adults?

That seems to be the current debate. Is there a middle ground between these two views, one in which parents and educators can find some consensus? I think there is.

Critics question whether ADHD should be seen as a disorder or just a natural human variation. They cite the limitations of a framework for diagnosis based on subjective impressions of symptoms rather than biological criteria used for many other medical problems.

Otherwise normal children are singled out because they don’t fit into regimented school environments, these critics say, and they worry about the side-effects of the stimulant medications used to treat ADHD and the cozy alliance between the psychiatric profession and the pharmaceutical industry.

Critics of the status quo also argue that ADHD is a social construction based on societal needs to enforce compliance and passivity in school-age children.

The diagnostic manual of the psychiatric profession relies on a list of symptoms without reference to underlying causal factors. If you have the symptoms, you have ADHD. The focus on medication as a primary treatment depends mainly on a body of research that some argue is far from robust. The long-term effects and unintended consequences of such medications are still open questions.

To read the full article…..Click here