In the Wall Street Journal an article appeared which states that nearly one in ten U.S. children have ADHD.  This journal cited a government survey which said that there has been a sizeable increase in the number of U.S. children with ADHD from a few years earlier.  Researches think this might be explained by growing awareness and better screening.  The new study found that about two/thirds of the children who have ADHD are on medication.  The estimate comes from a survey released that found an increase in ADHD of about 22% from 2003 to the most recent survey in 2007 – 2008. 

     The Center for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed parents of children ages four through seventeen in both studies.  In the latest survey 9.5% said a doctor or health care provider had told them that there child had ADHD.  This early study found that fewer than 8% have been diagnosed with ADHD.  Study lead author Suzanne Visser of the CDC suggests greater awareness and stepped-up screening efforts might be part of the explanation.  “Regardless of what is undergirding this, we know more parents are telling us their children have ADHD”, Ms. Visser said.  An increase in diagnosis was seen in kids of all races and family income levels, and across all regions of the country except the west.  The survey covered 73,000 children. 

     As an education/clinician, I have seen anxiety, fatigue, depression, food allergies, and Auditory Processing Disorder all misdiagnosed as ADHD.  A brief assessment for ADHD including behavior rating scales, perhaps continuous performance tests, and anxiety measure can be helpful.  Other evaluations sometimes are needed.  A tailored psychological battery which does not require a lot of time can make a major difference in getting the right treatment.  In my experience in working with children, it is my opinion that parents are the ones who are primarily in need of treatment when it comes to symptoms of ADHD. 

     Parenting is hard work.  I think that we are probably going to need new diagnostic criteria which can be called Parent Deficit Disorder.  If not Parent Deficit, we should have a new diagnosis of School Deficit Disorder.  I have had many children who have been brought to my attention with the statement that their teacher thinks that the child has ADHD because he fidgets in his seat and cannot pay attention.  Schools and teachers expect children to sit still and be attentive for hours on end, and not speak.  If they fidget or daydream or talk in class, the first thing that the school states is that  the child has a disorder.  These are children who cannot sit still and function in the traditional school setting. 

     Rather than accepting the differences in children, the school tends to punish the offenders by removing the one thing that might actually help these children, which is an active learning environment in which children can fully participate, not just passively be filled with knowledge.  Teachers in school are telling parents that their child needs to be evaluated and put on medication.  Parents believe them.  It is a sad state of affairs if children need to be medicated to go to school.  I have found that a solution is not drugs or punishment. 

     What the children need is a different learning environment.  One that involves more physical activity and exercise.  Most schools, due to many factors, have a one size fits all style of teaching.  Children, like all of us, have different needs.  Another factor is the insanity caused by television, the internet, and all the media, which continuously tells us that there are medications to improve all social situations, including ADHD. 

     The media should be held responsible for distributing misinformation to unsuspecting and mostly desperate parents.  The public is looking for a quick fix to justify the personal failings with their children and in their parenting techniques.  Some parents hold the school and teachers responsible for their child’s condition.  When a child expresses symptoms or behavior that can be found consistent with the criteria for diagnosis ADHD, one needs to look for other explanations, not for a moniker such as ADHD and a quick fix such as medication. 

     The symptoms of behavior may be a warning of what lies ahead.  But by no means should a child be medicated without a thorough diagnostic evaluation that includes observation, interview with parents, teachers and other family members, possibly some testing, and certainly sufficient time spent with the child in order to come to a reasonable diagnosis.  By no means should a child be medicated based on the expression of hyperactivity or lack of attention without a complete understanding of what is motivating the behavior or the symptoms. 

     Most often we treat symptoms and not the causes.  Until we begin to understand how complex the role of parenting is, how difficult a child’s environment is, and how stressors affect them, this condition will continue to be misdiagnosed and mistreated

 

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