*shock* Rytalin is not needed for ADHD
 

A shocking and amazing new study confirms what us country folk have known all along. Stop drugging kids - send them outside instead.

Here's a link to an old study. I just saw a "new" study on CBS...I guess this is finally making the news. They were saying that in most cases, a healthy dose of outdoor activity [and not in a cement jungle, in actual nature] was just as effective in children as a standard dose of ADD/ADHD medication. No mention of adults, though.

I find this particularly funny, since I remember a friend's mother always lamenting over my friend's ADHD. And how it seemed to get better during the summer, when she was away at camp. :P

I remember studies when I was in graduate school that suggested that ADHD drugs did not improve a child's learning ability, rather that the drugs made some children more manageable for the teacher and less disruptive to the class.

Many ADHD kids do great unmedicated in settings where they can learn at an individualized pace (if given the right type of input, guidance and reinforcement from the adults). In fact, some learn faster than "average" kids, because bright ADHD kids don't have to learn to wait patiently while the rest of the class catches up.

I think that ADHD isn't necessarily a "disorder," but a different way of processing information, and disrupting it unnecessarily, forcing the square peg child into the round peg world, doesn't always do them any favors.

amazing they had to do a study to figure that one out. :D I think ADD/ADHD is so over diagnosed. I do think many children have a problem but I wouldn't call it a disorder. I also wonder how much their nutrition, medication, vaccinatons, etc are a part of the problem.

I am a teacher of 18 years and have two children. I felt the same way that you do for years. I use to think that my middle schoolers, mainly boys, just needed more discipline from home. I would cringe every time that I found out that one of my students was on medication. Everything changed when I watched my son (who btw plays baseball, football, hunts, fishes, and loves to ride his bike every afternoon) have a huge drop in self esteem due to lack of success in the classroom. He has a high IQ, but has trouble focusing in class, as well as other issues. He use to cried himself to sleep wondering why he could not learn like the other children. We studied with him every night. I was always against medication and got advice for alternatives, tried different diets, and strategies with no success. I have done a lot of research. I resulted to a medication that helps with his focus issues, but does not affect his behavior, good or bad. I struggle with this every day. I think that when parents take it lightly, use it as a crutch, or don't try other things first, it is wrong. Thank you for enlightening me to more research and I look forward to looking into it.

There are so many misconceptions regarding ADHD and children diagnosed with it. As a mother of a special needs child (ADHD and CAPD) I find it incredibly offensive when people make blanket statements like "you must not be parenting properly" or "you are giving him too much sugar" or "adhd is a misdiagnosis" or "he's not getting enough exercise".

I can only speak for MY child, and I am telling you that his ADHD is not a PHYSICAL disorder, it is a NEUROLOGICAL one. He can run around until he is blue in the face and passes out from exhaustion, but his brain is still not able to slow down enough to process information properly. When I first knew my son had challenges he was around 2 yrs old, and like a lot of other ignorant (meaning uninformed or informed by word of mouth) people, I was anti-drugs. I modified different parts of his diet for two years (no progress). I read every book about ADHD I could get my hands on and tried behavioral modification techniques (some helpful but not to the extent necessary). I cried myself to sleep a lot of nights as a single mom filled with stress and worry that I couldn't parent properly. You can see why this might be a touchy issue with me.

When my son started school, he could not pay attention for more than a couple of minutes. Forced to sit still he would as best as possible, but his eyes would dart around quickly, unable to stop or slow down enough to process information properly. His impulsiveness led to classroom disruptions and him being removed from the room. He has never been defiant or mean spirited, rather, he is a kindhearted and sweet little boy who hates the thought of hurting somebody's feelings and sticks up for the underdog. After he was officially diagnosed ADHD and I had exhasted all efforts (he was failing school) I finally broke down and agreed to try medication.

My son takes Concerta, which is a time release form of Ritalin. Since being on it, he has been able to focus and concentrate in his classroom. He is finally progressing at learning. He is able to make friends (he was too hyper and spoke too quickly before so no kids wanted to play with him, which also translated into low self esteem). He started gaining confidence to try new things. He also had very little of the short term side effects some children get on medication. He was not a zombie, rather, he suddenly transformed into the 'normal' little boy that could have a conversation and interact with the rest of the world that hadn't been there before.

So, nobody can tell me that allowing my son to take medication for his DISORDER or you can call it DISABILITY (that is what it is) was the decision of a lazy or bad mom. ADHD does exist (3-5% of school-aged children). There is scientific research to back this up. I don't need the science though. I KNOW my own struggles with this issue, and I know how damaging it can be to spread misinformation without knowing what parents that have children diagnosed with this disorder go through on a daily basis.

I'm not saying the above study has no merits, as I haven't read it, but I just caution people about their comments and reactions to children with ADHD.

I see it sort of like ear infections/antibiotics, from a medical standpoint.

There are a lot of ear infections that will go away on their own without use of antibiotics. Antibiotics have side effects that can be problematic, and there are greater societal issues with overuse of antibiotics (like resistant strains developing). A lot of kids would do just fine if they were allowed to heal on their own.

BUT...two key points to look at in this light. The fact that your child might be able to get better eventually without an antibiotic doesn't make the ear hurt any less, and for some kids/infections, antibiotics are really required, or at least, will make things a WHOLE lot better in a way that "watch and wait" can't. A severe ear infection can cause lots of complications, including and up to hearing loss, bone loss in the jaw, etc. Telling a parent that "Well, lots of kids get better WITHOUT antibiotics" can be 100% factually accurate, but completely useless to that parent...not all kids are "most kids".

I tend to think about ADHD in this light - are drugs necessary for everyone? Probably not. Are they overprescribed? I think probably. But are there kids out there that ABSOLUTELY need medications in order to function normally? Yes. And telling the parents of those children that, for a lot of kids, medications aren't necessary may, again, be factually accurate, but can also be dismissive of the real children and real experiences and real medical condition that some families face.

mandallin-I really liked your analogy.

Unless someone experiences these things personally, it is hard to understand. I know this because I was easy to inappropriately judge others prior to having the personal experience. Now, I often have to explain my decisions to others and plan to use your analogy. Thanks!

I realize that my post definitely didn't really represent my entire opinion, and it came out sounding way more anti-medication that I meant to imply. I worked in social service with young children and teens for most of my career. I've seen alot of kids helped by ADHD medications, and I've also seen teachers and parents wanting to medicate an inconvenient child. I was onced asked by a mom of a toddler how she could persuade their pediatritian to prescribe ritalin. She wasn't really very happy with my recommendation that she not consider medication until school age (which at the time, at least was the common consensus, that the risks outweighed any possible benefits before school age).

I'm not sure if I agree with general practice physicians prescribing psych and behavior drugs, but it's relatively common. General practioners rather than psychiatrists are prescribing antidepressants and attention deficit medications, not only to adults, but to children. Some doctors that do so are very self-educated, but some don't even know how the side effect profiles differ between children and adults.

The pendulum so often swings to the extremes when the topic of ADHD diagnosis and medication comes up. It seems that there's usually a tendency to want to medicate everyone, or no one. I don't think it's that simple.

Some ADHD kids do amazingly well with alternatives to medications, and some don't. Medication helps some kids with ADHD, and some kids the medication is more helpful to the teacher than the child.

My concern is much like my concern with the weight loss "industry," in that too often a "one size fits all" approach is pushed. I've also worked with kids whose parents were being pressured by the teachers and even school boards to put the kids on medications. One case in which the school expelled a child, and refused to accept him back in class until he was on medication, despite the child's parents and doctor being against the idea.

It is a decision to be given alot of thought, and I really do think that most doctors and most parents are NOT making snap judgements. It's just that some of the extreme examples are so sensational, it tends to give people very polarized opinions on the subject. It is easy to have an extreme opinion, when you don't have to live it 24/7.

Carrie77, I know just where you're coming from. My 15-year-old son has been different since birth and, while not hyperactive, is incredibly inattentive still with a very abnormal processing speed (60th percentile) despite having a well above average verbal IQ. The pain that his school problems have caused him (and, therefore, me) is immeasurable. We tried all sorts of things before trying medication and, unfortunately, he couldn't tolerate the two meds that were tried (one of which his father is on) in second grade. Because of the stress of trying to manage in a regular classroom, he went to a special ed school for three years for a respite -where he didn't need medications due to their extraordinary teaching methods - until he became bored, tired of being with a lot of kids with serious emotional/behavioral problems, and was ready to take the stress of being in a mainstream school again.
Now he's a teen and doesn't want to try a stimulant medication, because - like some of us - he thinks these are over-used, etc. Unfortunately, I think he could really benefit from another trial and I'm really concerned, not so much about school - since he's learned how to advocate for himself and knows his strengths and feels pretty good about himself -, but about how he's going to negotiate the rest of the world safely - like driving and later living independently.
It is hard to understand if you haven't lived it. I know I struggled for years to understand it in my husband and now in my son. But I do believe it's a very real physiological difference that has a huge impact on how one functions in school, work, socially, etc. I think in a different family and/or different time, my son could have felt like a real failure, been at greater risk for illicit drug and alcohol use, dropped out of school, gone to prison, etc (all things that have happened to my brother whose ADHD went unrecognized in the 1960s/70s).
Kaplods - I agree with you that there are great strengths that come with thinking differently. Both husband and son have amazing artistic talents and ways of looking at the world. But, I don't think my husband's lost that since he's been on Ritalin. I'm not sure how it would have affected him if he had started it as a child; but I'm inclined to think it would have given him more choices in life. As it turns out, he's been very happy and successful, but again he had an incredibly supportive family (and a mother who was just as scatter-brained and creative) who didn't mind that he got Cs in school, etc.

Wow this sparked quite the little debate.

There are a lot of kids that need the meds...and there are those that don't. I'll give two examples

1) Hubby's friend : He was on a megalo dose of ritalin for ADHD all through grade school and high school. He would go to school, then come home and lock himself in front of a compie. Well...round about 19, he headed off to enlist. Those weeks spent at boot camp...we'll just say he no longer needed meds. He said after spending the entire day outdoors or in physical activity, he never felt more "focused".

2) Friends : I had a few friends in grade school who lived on farms. Back breaking, awful work that would have them dragging their feet to bed as soon as the sun went down. All of them still needed ritalin. They would flit from project to project throughout the day - at school and home - and couldn't learn to read or do math.

Anyway, the current number is 2 million kids are on ritalin. Someone else mentioned that parents want to medicate "inconvenient" children - which is true. In grade school, I remember how many kids were on the 5 on-2 off schedule.

The really unfortunate thing is that, as a culture, we usually jump to medication before we look to simple, free, non-drug related solutions - like telling a hyperactive grade schooler to read or do their homework in the back yard. The kids sit in front of TVs or computers for hours on end, rather than enjoying nature, something that is absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of our bodies.

We also try to force children to be calm, when, seriously, what 8 year old is calm? They're little balls of energy. But a lot of parents {not pointing fingers to anyone who has or will post here, just speaking from experience with my daughter's peers} assume that if their 8 year old never sits still they NEED medication before trying to divert the energy into something else.

When I did an internship as a senior (so 1987) in a residential children's home for developmentally delayed children and adolescents, we had a lot of kids on ritalin, but they also periodically had the medications stopped (drug holidays), to make sure the drugs were effective. At the time, I thought this was routine for all patients on such drugs, that even a kid at home would be put on drug holidays (not only to see what happens, but because these drugs stunt growth, taking the summer "off" could allow the child a much needed growth spurt).

As an adult who had an accidental drug holiday from NSAIDs when I ran out of prescription drug coverage, I found out that they were causing my asthma symptoms (a fairly common side effect), and yet all those years, a doctor had never suggested a break from the NSAIDs to see if they were causing the asthma symptoms (they just kept adding more and more asthma drugs).

I'm on several medications that I'm very grateful for, and yet I don't understand why taking away the NSAIDs weren't considered before prescribing asthma medication. I mean arthritis pain is bad, but not being able to breath is very much worse. By giving up my NSAIDS, I was able to stop taking three medications for asthma and stop taking allergy medication daily, and now only use a few days during season change.

It bothers me that medication isn't always monitored very well. I think alot of the "horror stories," do make some people very leery of medication at all. And having had the experience with the asthma meds, I definitely do understand the reaction. I mean, even the pulmonologist I had to see to get the CPAP for the sleep apnea, didn't catch the possible NSAID/asthma connection, and I wonder why on earth not?

If I hadn't made the connection, I'm sure I'd still be on a lot of unnecessary
meds, and still having nearly year-round bronchitis and my yearly bout of pneumonia.

Wow, this sounds exactly like what I went through with my son Nick. I knew things were different for him from even earlier on. He was smart, but very inattentive. I had trouble with him being in day care while I was trying to go back to school when he was 2 or 3. I eventually just took him out of there after they told me they couldn't do anything with him. I too would cry myself to sleep worried about how he was going to go to school. After the first few weeks in Kindergarten it was worse that I imagined. There was no way he could focus or sit still and was being a constant distraction in the class. I had to come get him early so many times. It's very frustrating when you do everything you know how to teach him and it seems like it never registers for more than a few mins. I blamed myself too, I was a horrible mother blah blah. I finally had to break down and get him checked out. He was tested for Autism as well as ADD/ADHD. He was diagnosed with ADHD and we started on the painful journey of finding the right meds for him. After about a year of trying different kinds, we ended up on Concerta as well. It was like night and day once we found the right med. He was actually able to make the A and AB honor roll the past two years in school. Our relationship has improved so much as well. He still has some social issues but he is working on that, and gaining confidence. I am not saying he has it easy. He still has extra classes at school to help him catch up and stay on track, but I can't image where we would be if it weren't for the meds.

So while I do believe there are plenty of parents that put their kids on meds
as a convenience, I know there are just as many that struggle with the decision every day. Even as well as he is doing, I still worry what the lasting effects of the meds will be and if he will ever be able to function without them

The biggest problem I have now, is that he hates most foods. He was picky from the day he was born, wouldn't even take the breast. It's gotten worse as his gotten older and the meds really don't help(that's the one side effect I have noticed) . Even off the meds he doesn't like different foods, but he will eat a little bit more than he does when he is on them. It's a constant struggle to get enough good food in him and keep him healthy. I try to get him to eat new foods but he hates it so much that by the time he gets it in his mouth he is already gagging and puking it out. So that's kind of pointless. People say he will grow out of it, but I don't think so.

Ok, I need to get to bed. It was nice to hear from some other mothers that have been through and are going through this. It's a thing I don't really talk about much because it's a touchy subject and I rather avoid other peoples judgement.

I find the op incredibly insensitive. I'm going to go call my aunt right now to ler her know she is overmedicating my cousin. She should just send him outside to play - that will fix him right up!

Makes me furious - watch something on TV and then decide you know my aunt is just a lousy parent. Nice to know she's being judged by people that don't know her or her child!

*shock* Tact is not needed for messageboards!

Regardless of any scientific study, nothing is going to be true for 100% of the population. Although I do think our culture tends over medicate (everything!), I also think that some people really need medication. Nothing is really cut and dry when dealing with the science of the human body. We're all a bit different.

I saw an interesting opinion piece the other day about ADHD on Reality Sandwich (I think.) The author was talking about the THEORY that ADHD is an evolutionary reaction of the brain to technology. So much information is thrown at us these days and at a rapid pace. So much more then 100 years ago. The author felt that ADHD was not a disability or disorder, but the brain evolving to deal with all this information. The article really made me think. Maybe we are looking at ADHD the wrong way?

I do not want to pass judgment on parents who medicate vs. those who don't. I have friends who medicate their kids. I have a child w/ ADHD and I don't medficate him because he also has other issues. I have been a teacher who had students that didn't learn without meds and I have seen students medicated to the point of zombiehood (when I was student teaching and volunteering) and it was very sad.

Here's what I have found with my own son, and I don't want to spark any anger, criticism or controversy. It is just my own experience with him.

He is 9 years old and our school has been pressuring us for 3 years now to put him on adhd meds. After tons of research, this year, we did some testing on him and found out he actually has a huge problem with yeast, heavy metal toxicity (mercury) and some other issues. He has been on Diflucan, which is an anti-fungal medication, many vitamins and a gluten free, casein free, mostly organic, free from preservative/color/additive, artificial flavors diet. He is doing SO MUCH BETTER. Our school finally has seen the light! We still have other issues and problems to tackle, but he is no longer the same child he was before. A have seen a major advance. Much of what I do is "natural," but the antifungal meds are meds, but I feel like they treat his medical problem...the reason he is unbalanced. Again, I'm not criticising children w/ ADHD. It's so easy to offend others when posting in black and white. If you heard my tone, you would hear me saying this in a very nice, kind, gentle way. :) I just know my son is healthier and that if I gave my son adhd meds, I would just be masking the actual problem, rather than treating it.

The reason I post this here is just in case anyone is interested in more information. It took many years for me to find out about it and I know I would have liked to know about this a long time ago! :)

No parent wants to give their child meds. Nothing is easy in what I'm doing. It's tough, but not impossible. We all do the best we can though and my heart goes out to anyone who has a child with special needs, because I understand the struggle.

Wow. Sorry. I made no mention of "good" or "bad" parents. The intent was actually the medical establishment and the socialized over medication of children. Doctors, not parents, considering parents actually can't prescribe their kids with Ritalin. Sensitive often?

I totally agree with this....
the problem is not the child but the setting that they are in (sociologist speaking)

I have ADHD have since I was a kid.... I find that the medications do help me focus in an environment where it is important that I sit still..... but at the same time I am way better at multi-tasking and having fifteen different things on my plate (not dinner plate) than most....

its a different way of processing and if our society wasn't so **** bent on sitting still, acting appropriately (the ole protestant ethic kinda stuff.... ok I can't help myself I am a sociologist) then it wouldn't matter if a kid bounced in his chair or wanted to do the end first or whatever other silly things we ADHD folks do.....

as far as medications Ritalin is old school, there are new and far better medications out there..... I use medication when I am sitting in class or in a situation where I will annoy others and have to focus ie. meetings..... but the medications that exist now are very different than the old world ritalins and dexadrines

The thing is that is adhd overdiagnosed yeah I do think so.... I saw it in my college students.... are some doctors diagnosing ADHD for parents who really just need to discipline their children? yeah sure probably ..... BUT sit down and talk to any adult with ADHD and we all do the same stupid stuff..... when I have a student with ADHD come into my office I know exactly what he is going to tell me he/she does before they open their mouths. I know its going to take them an extra fifteen minutes when they get an exam to just calm down and work their way through it.... I can watch them tap and spin and moan and do all of the same things that I tend to do.....



s

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for stating this. I could not agree more.


I have actually been diagnosed with OCD, but I knew it before the diagnosis ever happened. However, I choose NOT to medicate for it. My SIL, on the other hand, is a hypochondriac, and is on every medication known to man-INCLUDING antidepressants for "depression". This woman is about as depressed as a Jack Russel terrier. :rofl:

I completely disagree with a general practitioner passing out behavioral drugs. How can someone you go and visit once in a blue moon truly know if you have ADD, ADHD, OCD, depression, or whatever? They only know what you tell them...it is different in a therapy situation, where the professional is seeing, observing, and talking with the patient on a regular basis-and is actually much more familiar with the signs and treatments.

I do realize that some kids indeed do need medication-but just like antidepressants, ADD and ADHD medications are WAY overprescribed. 5 kids taking them in a classroom of 20-25 is WAY too many. WAY too many.

Some kids truly have this disorder, but not this many.

It isn't just with ADD or ADHD, or even antidepressants-but with ALL medications anymore. People want to treat the symptoms, but often not looking into solving the actual problem.

MY FIL takes blood pressure meds...when he never even tried (and wasn't even influenced by his doctor) to change his diet and exercise habits, to see if it could be corrected that way, first.

My MIL has a bad back, and is on numerous meds. Instead of doing the core strengthening exercises, and losing her excess weight to correct the issue (the doctor told her it WOULD help) she takes the pills.

We are, as a society, medicating for EVERYTHING. The scary thing, is that half of these have side effects that are worse than the reason that we are taking it in the first place. :lol:

Part of the problem, is the commercials all over the place. When I was a kid, there were never prescription drug commercials! Now, people see them all day, and get convinced that they have disorders and need these things. Part of it is self diagnosis, and there are doctors that hand out the drugs just because the patient asks for them...not because the doctor observes a problem and suggests it.

Just wanted to point out, as a biologist, that ADHD cannot be "evolution" of the brain to new technology. Evolution takes a lot longer than 30 years, 50 years, or 100 years. So whoever was advancing that "theory" ought to get out their textbooks and review what they are talking about.

Jay

FWIW I am incredibly upset by this thread.

I was diagnoised with minimal brain dysfunction in 1969. they had just changed the name of the disorder from minimal brain DAMAGE the year before. Ya know what they call it now? ADHD!

ADHD is a neurobiochemical imbalance in a person's brain. SADLY I can't take medication for it as i have too many side effects. I eat no sugar and no processed foods or red dyes. I get daily exercise and yet I can't put two thoughts together in a row.

i guess i'm sensitive often too.

ladybugnessa-

I don't think that you, or some of the others being diagnose with ADHD is the same thing as some of the children who are being given these drugs for being "hyper". This, and it is sad to say, IS happening often...and as it has been said in this thread, is sometimes suggested by the teachers and schools, to help them with hyper, unruly children at times.

I think that there ARE indeed genuine cases of ADD, ADHD, autism, depression, sleep problems, and everything else under the sun-but the fact remains that society is on more medications now than ever before. I simply don't believe that everyone has THIS much wrong with them. My SIL and MIL have a pharmacy in their purses...and nothing is really wrong with either of them, other than they go to the doctor and complain constantly. Doctors give drugs out like candy anymore...and they shouldn't, especially with antidepressant and ADD/ADHD drugs.

My MIL complains about citrus fruits hurting her stomach, and how sensitive her stomach is, and how she can't eat the citrus because of the all of the acid. The fact is, is that if she looked at the side effects of the 15 medications that she takes on a daily basis, stomach irritation is a side effect of at least half of them. Yet, she wants to blame the fruit for her stomach pain. ;)

I don't think that medication is an all or nothing thing. I am not against it. I think that it IS there for medical neccessity, and sometimes it IS needed. However, I don't believe that 5 out of 20 kids in a class should be on it, and I don't believe that someone should be able to go into a doctor's office and come out with Prozac or Paxil without anyone really looking into the problem. The medication IS there because sometimes it is needed...but way too many people are "needing" it.

I don't really think the original poster was being insensitive, but I do understand that there really is a need for medication sometimes. However, as another poster said, the percentage of kids with ADHD is something like 3-5%. I'm sure the percentage of kids on medication is probably higher, but I don't really know. I suppose it seems that way to me because as a high school teacher I get lots of IEPs for my students that indicate they have ADHD and need special accommodations. I have to tell you, quite a few of the accommodations are absolute nonsense. A small percentage of kids really seem to need them, and the rest just have parents who don't seem to want their kids to have to actually DO anything on their own. Sorry if that sounds insensitive, but it's true. Many parents seem to think laziness is a disorder, and they just find someone who will call it ADHD so their kid can get special treatment that isn't needed at all.

There really is something to the advice to get outside, though. Kids just don't do that as often these days, it seems, and it's a shame.

aphil,

I totally agree about the medication problem. Sadly I too have a speical needs child with a form of Autisim he has PDD-NOS but he's 24 now. I live and breathe this stuff.

My one ADHD son in school (age 22) does not like to take his antidepressants or his stimulant meds... they do help him but he gets so much negativity about it from friends and such that he'd rather suffer...

as for too many meds two of my best girlfriends are morbidly obese and both are diabetic. when I even SUGGEST that eating better and getting some exercise might help, i'm told point blank "that's what pills are for"

so yes the "drugs can fix anything" mentality does abound.

Where do these stats come from? Are they new numbers or old numbers? Who did the study? What criteria was included in the study? Most importantly, who backed the study? If the numbers are old, could the numbers be higher now? Who is dx'g these kids? If many of these kids do not have adhd why are they being dx'd as such? Are the docs, the parents or both at fault? Not asking you specifically, LM, just wondering out loud. Statistics are tricky things and thrown around rather freely.

As a teacher who also must deal w/IEPs are you free to interject that you don't think that a particular child needs an IEP? I know they have a dx from a doc but was just wondering if you are allowed to voice your opinion. Personally, I'm always grateful when my son's teachers do voice their opinion. I may not always agree with them but I'm always glad to hear what they have to say as it often give us food for thought.

Hat Trick-

I think that many doctors pass out drugs when they have no business doing so. It is much easier to give a diabetic drugs, than it is to have them lose weight, eat better, exercise, etc.

I know of MANY people who have gotten antidepressants from their doctor when suffering from a divorce, a death, or some other similar circumstance. Anti-depressants were NOT meant to be given under these circumstances. They were meant for the people who actually have the chemical imbalance that causes anxiety/depression/bipolar disorder/obsessive compulsive disorder and other chemical imbalances. They were not meant for a normal person to take, during a time when they are SUPPOSED to be upset. Just because a doctor gives it, doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do.

Some children are diagnose with ADD or ADHD after much, much study...but others are taken into a physician for the first time, and given drugs. It isn't the same thing.

Just because you get it from a doctor, doesn't mean that it is okay, or right, or that the diagnosis was even correct. There are good mechanics and bad ones, good hair stylists and bad ones, and the same goes for doctors. We have a doctor in our area that EVERYONE knows is the doctor to go to if you want antidepressants or "legal speed" to lose weight. He'll give drugs to anyone...and he has a well known reputation for it.

As far as my experience goes with school, and kids having trouble-part of it is the change in workload in this generation. When I was in 4th grade, we had recess, we often did crafts and interactive activities, and so on during the day. My daughter is in 4th grade, and I kid you not-some of her spelling words are cytoplasm, invertebrate, and words like that. She has homework in at least 2 subjects EVERY NIGHT. When I was in 4th grade, I had homework only when there was a special thing going on, like the science fair. I didn't have regular homework on a nightly basis until junior high school.

They are packing in more and more and more at a younger age, and everyone wonders why the kids can't concentrate. There are less and less artistic and physical activities in school and we are pushing them and pushing them. My 2nd grade child has homework every night. SECOND GRADE!!! I told my husband that in 2nd grade, we were pasting cotton balls onto paper plates to make Santa Claus' beard! :lol:

I HAVE complained to the school about this, too.

Your first sentence is so smug and know it all and infuriating.

"A shocking and amazing new study confirms what us country folk have known all along. Stop drugging kids - send them outside instead."

I don't think I'm being overly insensitive at all. You start a post basically saying every parent that medicates is wrong and instead parents should do what you KNOW to be right - send them outside. I have family members who struggle with this every day, to see their pain dismisses so freaking cavalierly - just send them outside! The doctors, the special tutor, the diet changes - they are just stupid parents who don't know what good country people know!

Reading it again - I'm still furious. I'm out of this thread, but I definitely won't forget it.

[long]

That's not what I said [or meant] at all. You're again ignoring that only doctors, not parents, can medicate a child with Ritalin.


36paws
Re : Society
That's the main problem. We expect kids to sit down and shut up, and to not disturb anyone. It's also interesting to note that most kids {in my experience} with ADD/ADHD were actually very quick learners, when taught in a way that complimented the way their brains work.

Aphil
Re : GPs prescribing
That's the biggest problem. Most of the issues that psychiatric/behavioral drugs are being prescribed for require much more extensive testing than a GP is either willing or capable of giving. I suffered with migraines for years, and my GP just handed me a Rx and said have a good day. Years later, I visited a neurologist, who informed me that I would need X, Y and Z tests to properly diagnose it. The GPs should be referring, not prescribing.

ladybugnessa
*hug* I'm sorry! The intent was not to upset, but to bring up something that has been of particular importance to me in recent years. I've said multiple times in this thread that some individuals need the medication; similarly, as aphil pointed out, many people need antidepressants. The problem I not-too-politically addressed was the overuse of drugs as crutches.

The public schools in my area have a "doctor" who is in charge of doping up the kids. Teachers will tell parents of children with "behavioral disorders" to go to the doc for ADD/ADHD "testing". Problem 1 - teachers making medical diagnosis. Problem 2 - not exploring other alternatives. A kid who is "rowdy" in class may be bored, either because they don't understand or they already know what's being taught.

This doctor has worked "for" the districts for 20 years, and my parents were actually referred to him when I was 7 years old. I don't have ADD, I needed to be in an accelerated class. My father approached the administrator about it, and was told that she [admin] understood, but they didn't have a class that met my needs, so the ritalin would help me "function" within normal boundaries.

Hat Trick
I'm sorry to hear that happened with your son; unfortunately, that's far too common. That's one of the reasons I think these studies are so important. Parents should be made aware and given the option to try medication-free cures before drugging kids up.

Re : judging
Believe me, I wasn't judging parents. I was judging the doctors.

Re : statistics
I got a "2 million" kids number from an article that collected the number of minor patients prescribed Ritalin each year. That's usually where those stats come from.

Re : parents and meds
I asked my last doc for a swab for my daughter's sinus pain. She looked at me funny and said "It's an infection." I informed her that I would rather be sure before giving her antibs and contributing to MRSA. It really put her off - she told me to not give her the medication, and to come back when the "infection" got worse. Turns out, I was right to err on the side of caution and it was a virus. Within the week, her pain was gone.

Parents are conditioned to give their kids whatever Rx the doc hands them, because it makes them "bad parents" not to. Which is why I can't blame parents for the over-medication problem; what parent will say "no" to a magic pill that will improve their child's life?

LisaMarie
Thanks. :)

I think the study methods might be a little questionable. Certainly, the conclusion in the thread title is COMPLETELY unsupported by the actual study.

In reading it in detail, it doesn't appear that they took 400 kids with ADHD diagnoses, gave half of them a medication and took half outside to play, and looked at outcomes. Instead, they had parents fill out questionnaires describing the kinds of outdoor activities kids did, and their symptoms afterward. This fails to account for all KINDS of variables that could affect ADHD symptoms...for example, if you're playing outside, how much focus do you need to use, how stressed are you, how impacted is your schedule that day?

I'd wonder if kids whose parents were taking them outside to play had less going on that day, so they self-reported the child's ADHD symptoms as being less severe (how you interpret a child acting when you're at home, watching a movie with nothing else to do that is very pressing might be different from your interpretation of behavior when you are trying to get dinner on the table, trying to pay bills, trying to help the child with homework). The problem with using parental self-reporting is that it is so SUBJECTIVE...and this study has NO measures of actual symptoms, only parent interpretation of symptoms.

I think it is pushing it (OK, more than pushing it) to extrapolate from this kind of study that "Ritalin is not needed for ADHD". And because this topic is kind of fraught with tension (as ANY topic would be that involves people judging or criticizing the decisions a parent makes for their child and that child's health), it has the potential to offend parents who are trying to make the best choices they can for their children to take this study and extrapolate to that conclusion. The most this study can really conclude is that "Parent report/interpret symptoms as less severe in their own children with ADHD after those children experience time outside in nature".

As for a recent study, I can't find anything...though yesterday, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK did make a recommendation that the use of such drugs should be only in severe cases and never in children under 5...and I think MOST of us here are agreeing that limiting use of the drugs to kids who really need them is a good thing.

As an aside, you do know that when the school year is extended to year-round, kids get the same amount of vacation, it is just split up so it is not all clustered in the summer, right? And that retention rates are better from grade to grade. My sister, a teacher, would love to see year-round school in her area b/c she routinely spends most of September re-teaching what the kids supposedly learned in the previous grade.

My husband has adult ADHD ans he takes a non-stimulant medication for it. Can kids take non-stimulants? He takes Strattera.

And I agree with other posters that there are a lot of doctors out there who will give anyone a pill for anything. My FIL had a triple by-pass and the doctor didn't suggest he stop eating about a stick of butter per day and smoking cigars - he just gave FIL Lipitor. Yet, the commercials for these drugs stress that they are intended for those people for whom diet and exercise are not enough.

Tho most obvious problem with that study design is that the findings could also mean that kids with ADHD who are able to handle outdoor activities are also able to do better without meds. The first doesn't have to cause the second. They may *both* be caused by some third factor. That's why a prospective interventional study would be needed. These kinds of studies aren't bad. You have to start somewhere before you move on the more expensive study designs. But the conclusions are wild.

When I was a high school freshman (14), in german class we learned about some of the alternative scheduling the german schools did from our pen pals. Some schools had half days on Saturday, and the overall school day was shorter, they also had more frequent, but shorter "holidays."

At the time, I envied the system, because the school days and the school year seemed so unbearably long, while my pen pal was getting two or three weeks off every month or so, it seemed.

Even having to go to school on Saturday didn't seem so horrible, since (at least for my penpal) the Saturday classes were "fun things" like music and art.

I think "letting kids be kids," is great, but I think spreading out the free time, would allow them "recoup" time throughout the school year, not just after 9 months of crazy hard work. Just like adults in their work life, I believe shorter work days and more frequent vacations are generally much less stressful, and more conducive to learning (and having fun doing it) rather than longer hours and fewer, but longer long breaks. This allows kids relaxation times all year round. I think it would take more pressure off kids, and let the work pace be more reasonable.

Mandalinn did a great job addressing the problem with the conclusion of the study! (she'd get an A in my research design class!). The headline "Nature helps fight ADHD" is even misleading. It suggests a causal connection between being outside and reduced symptoms, yet the only research design that can show a causal relationship is an experiment, which wasn't done here.

All we can conclude is what parents report, which could be affected by many other factors.

And I didn't see mention in the study of whether any of the kids were taking meds or not...so we can't really say whether it was needed or not...

I don't know a lot about ADHD, but like so many other issues, there are lots of complex factors at work.

Not to go off topic, but I've certainly experienced the issue, as a teacher, of kids forgetting a lot over the summer. Year-round school is supposed to fix this, but it doesn't. My best friend has been a 4th grade teacher at a year-round school for over 7 years. Her students routinely come back from their month-long vacations (every 3 months) with a big loss of memory about what they last learned. So she spends even more time reviewing than she would if they just had one vacation. Not to mention that they really never get a chance to relax and recover from the stresses of school. Basically, year-round schooling is a way to deal with a lack of facilities. It allows more children to attend the same school. But it's not a good thing for the kids. :(

I grew up overseas where we had year round school before it was even a concept in the States.

It's a MUCH better way to school, and it absolutely let's kids be kids. It makes returning to school after a holiday much easier and it doesn't create such a shock.

I'd fully support year-round schooling in the US.

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Year-round schooling depends on how and why it is done. My youngest did it in 6th grade and it was a PITA. It was about overcrowding rather than for the kids benefit. Many parents couldn't get all their kids on the same schedule and those of us who were single or had two working parents were caught with child care problems.

This also needs to be considered within the scope of work schedules. That is supposedly why kids have the summer off, due to agricultural schedules.:shrug: IDK about that, but we have been scheduling family vacations around it for a few generations. But what can happen is a family with kids on 3 different year round schedules and families getting no time off together.