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Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
  • Michael Gilbert · Psychologist at Syracuse City School District
    HERE ARE A COUPLE GREAT RESOURCES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE RELATED TO ADHD AND MEDICATIONS USED WITH CHILDREN..

    www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Medicating-ADHD-.pdf
    www.madinamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Medicating-Children-.pdf
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    · Follow Post · Edited · April 6 at 9:55am
       
      Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
    • Michael Gilbert · Psychologist at Syracuse City School District
      Psychostimulants in the treatment of children diagnosed with ADHD: Risks and mechanism of action. Int’l Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 12, 3-35

      Stated that one of the greatest risks of psychostimulants is that it will repress autonomous, spontaneous, social, playful behavior and will bring compliance, docility, obsessive, rote behavior. Major adverse reactions include permanent CNS damage and persistent brain dysfunction.

      Stimulants have two basic effects on animals & children regardless of their mental status.

      1. Stimulants reduce all spontaneous and social behavior.

      2. Stimulants enforce perseverative, obsessive compulsive, or over focused behavior. This makes the child more easily led or compelled to do rote, boring activities.

      This may be misinterpreted as “improved behavior”, where stimulants suppress a child’s ...behavior globally regardless of any diagnosis.

      Stimulants have a wide variety of adverse side effects including suppressing growth and biochemical imbalances in the developing brain that become permanent.

      "Adverse Events Associated with Drug Treatment of ADHD: Review of Postmarketing Safety Data," presented at the FDA's March 22, 2006, Pediatric Advisory Committee

      "The most important finding of this review is that signs and symptoms of psychosis or mania, particularly hallucinations, can occur in some patients with no identifiable risk factors, at usual doses of any of the drugs currently used to treat ADHD.“

      Between January 2000 and June 30, 2005, the FDA identified nearly 1,000 cases of psychosis or mania linked to the drugs in its own database and those from the drug makers themselves.

      United States Study

      Found children born just after the cutoff, who are relatively old-for-grade, have a significantly lower incidence of ADHD diagnosis and treatment compared with similar children born just before the cutoff date, who are relatively young-for-grade.

      Evans WN, Morrill MS, and Parente ST (2010). Measuring inappropriate medical diagnosis and treatment in survey data: The case of ADHD among school-age children. J Health Econ.; 29(5):657-73.

      British Columbia, CANADA

      The youngest children in the classroom are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) -- and prescribed medication -- than their peers in the same grade, according to a study just published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

      Researchers found that children were 39% more likely to be diagnosed and 48% more likely to be treated with medication for ADHD if born in December compared to January. Due to the Dec. 31 cut-off birth date for entry into school in British Columbia, children born in December would typically be almost a year younger than their classmates born in January.

      National Institute of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference- November 1998 Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

      Summary of Conclusions

      There is validity in the diagnosis of ADHD, defining a maladjustive cluster of characteristics.

      There is no valid test for ADHD.

      There is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction.

      Although the use of medication has been shown to improve core symptoms of ADHD, there has been little improvement shown in academic achievement or social skills.

      No conclusive evidence that short-term careful therapeutic use is harmful, however there are a number of possible side effects.

      There is little information on long-term effects. Psychostimulants (Ritalin) have abuse potential.

      A positive response to medication (decrease in core symptoms) cannot be used to validate a diagnosis of ADHD.

      After years of clinical research and experience with ADHD, our knowledge about the cause or causes of ADHD remain speculative. Consequently, we have no strategies for the prevention of ADHD.      See More
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      · Follow Post · April 6 at 10:04am
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • Lisa Firestone Derbaum · Old Dominion University
        I've only seen a few people address this, but could it be that we are asking too much of our children, too early? Findland had the highest literacy rate in the world and their educational system is radically different than ours. They don't begin formal education until the age of 7. They have shorter school days, with twice as many breaks for unstructured play, or recess. I started teaching first grade in 1990, before the No Child Left Behind Act turned education into a meat grinding business. Teaching and learning was fun and developmentally appropriate with lots of arts and crafts, music , and physical activities dispursed throughout the day. We taught them to love reading and to be curious learners. The curriculum was structured, and my students came out of first grade with a solid foundation in reading, writing, and math, but... we made time for fun. We explored teachable moments.Teachers today are not allowed the luxury of letting children be children. That same first grade curriculum has slowly become what we now expect of our kindergarten children. Our 5 year olds!! They are expected to be formally reading by the end of kindergarten now, or will be labeled "below grade level". There is very little time for unstructured play and socialization in kindergarten. Nap times, which some of the younger kids still desperately need, have been eliminated. Kindergarten is not fun! School is not fun! If you don't believe me, go spend a day observing a kindergarten classroom. It's ridiculous. Why would an active, curious little boy (or girl) want to be there? Why wouldn't they be acting out?? There is nothing wrong with them, they are victims of an out of control standards driven machine. It's the reason I left the classroom 10 years ago. Most 5 - 7 year old kids (particularly boys) are not mature enough to sit still for hours and hours in a passive learning capacity. So we label them and medicate them instead of asking ourselves if WE are the problem. I believe that 99% of teachers have the child's best interest in mind, after all most of us are mothers too, but the stakes are high my friend. Test scores are published in the newspapers. Schools can lose funding and teachers can lose jobs when test scores drop. Sadly it's our children who are paying the price for our madness. So how many of you who are posting here have taken up these issues with your state's education department? How many of you are out there advocating for kids and asking our elected government officials to stop the madness? See More
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        · 92 · Follow Post · March 29 at 10:37am
        • Eskie Machak · Newport News, Virginia
          I could not said it any better Lisa .How can we change the structure of education .Please parents,teachers please let them hear your thoughts on no child left behind.Lets be honest we are doing worse than before if we don't change this I can only say one thing god bless our children and god bless our teachers.
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          · 2 · March 30 at 6:26am
        • Jennifer Aspuria
          I completely agree. I thought that was a major component missing from the article. I think sometimes its the educational environment that needs to adjust to meet the needs of the child, not the child who needs to change to meet the expectations of the classroom.
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          · 19 · March 30 at 7:59am
        • Kent Anderson · Top Commenter · Wayne State University
          Finland.
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          · 4 · March 30 at 3:57pm
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • James Thurman Webb · President at Great Potential Press, Inc
        Glaser is correct about the overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of ADHD. A group that is particularly often misdiagnosed, in my professional experience as a psychologist, are gifted and talented children. I encourage you to look at the SENG Misdiagnosis Initiative (www.sengifted.org) for information, as well as the book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults.
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        · 30 · Follow Post · March 28 at 6:55am
        • Christiane Robinson · · Works at Freelance Translator/Writer
          I can confirm what you said, James, with regard to my DD.
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          · 2 · March 28 at 7:00am
        • Larry Cesare · Norwalk
          What's incredible to me is the frequency with which allegedly ADHD kids are given stimulant drugs that don't help and often exacerbate symptoms. Then other anxiolytic, hypnotic and antipsychotic drugs are added to counter the negative effects of a non-ADHD kid (gifted and talented or not) effectively being turned into a "speed freak" with even worse attention, impulse control and mood swing problems. Since the acid test of a true ADHD condition is whether or not stimulant meds actually help, I'm left incredulous by this increasingly frequent pattern. In light of the potential long-term impact on the child's self concept and well being, this seems to be a blatant violation of the notion of "do no harm."
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          · 8 · March 28 at 7:15am
        • James Melton · Top Commenter · Actor at Shepherd of the Hills Theater
          ADHD if left undiagnosed or untreated brings about the co-morbidity of depression and anxiety and is potentially devastating to a person. I know because I am one of those people and the stigma of this condition is a sad state of affairs. what is 10 years of crippling depression and social anxiety anyway? you are giving that person a stimulant that is no more harmfull than caffeine and that is the bad part about having ADHD.... says everyone else but the people who's life are changed do to medication AND therapy
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          · 21 · March 28 at 6:12pm
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • Michael Nichols · Top Commenter · GED
        I was 14 when I was diagnosed with Bipolar/ADHD and I never thought for
        one second that I had it. My father just passed away and I was very sad
        so my mom took me to see a doctor. Well I talked to the doctor for
        about 1 min by my self, Then he whipped out his pen and pad. Wrote me 3
        different scripts, one had just come on the market. I took all of them
        according to the bottle but about two weeks in I started getting pains
        in the back of my head. My mother told the doctor and he said " He is
        new to the drugs it will take time to adjust" well I stayed on them for
        another month until the pain had become so intense I could not
        function. I was taken back to the doctors and this time he changed my
        medications. This time its was better, No pains.. But this time I
        noticed that I was getting depressed about everything, everythi...ng. I
        would sleep all day, Years passed and now I was addicted to the
        medication, I thought I had to take it.. The doctor that gave them to
        me would never ask me how I was doing or how the meds where affecting
        me for 4 years.. Just wrote the script and that was all we talked
        about... Until I turned 18...... I was on my parents Insurance and back
        then 18 was the limit to stay on you parents plan, I did not know I had
        lost my insurance and went to my regular appointment as normal. This
        time was very different, When I walked into his office he looks at me
        and says "How come your insurance did not pay for your last visit" I
        said I do not know let me call my mom. My mom explained the situation
        to me and I told the doctor, At that time he said to me "I can no
        longer see you as a patient" Why? I asked, "I do not see a reason we
        need to continue you on your meds, you seem to be doing a lot better" But one
        week before he said I was full blow Bipolar, I couldn't pay anymore and
        now I was suddenly cured!! WOW just WOW.... As you could guessed I had
        my mind flooded with junk from him for years so just being cut off was
        doing a number on my mind and body. I went trough withdraws, Real
        withdraws.. I needed that medication so bad I thought, One month went
        by and I still was not my self. It took years for that crap he fed me
        to go away, Telling me I was Bipolar all those time I started to think he was right.
        I am now 30 and I
        wish I never took anything and also extremely mad at my mother for
        stuffing that stuff down my throat. I am also a father of two and would
        never take my kids a shrink... Now that I am older I see that doctors
        get paid from the companies to prescribe that companies medication. So
        they use kids a test dummies, What caused the pains in my neck? the
        doctor could not tell me, He had no idea even about these rare side
        affects... Its sad when parents cant be a parent and deal with there
        own kids, They have to take them to a doctor that fixes it with a flick
        of a pen.. thank you for hearing my story
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        · 25 · Follow Post · March 28 at 6:35pm
        • TJ Liberty Belle · Top Commenter
          Your personal experience is so valuable. You should read out to kids who have had this happen to them, let them know there's hope for normality when the reach an age to spit those pills out. Thanks for sharing.
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          · 4 · March 29 at 3:04pm
        • Dawn Bergh Schepers · Rosebank Collage
          Michael, I hear you and I feel for you, I really do, but don't be too harsh on your Mom. I was also a Mom of an "apparently ADHD" child and had my child on Ritalin for a while, until I discovered a book that wrote about some of the possible extreme side effects. Moms do what they think is best at the time and would never knowingly put their children in harm's way. And who would imagine that people in the medical profession would prescribe drugs that could be harmful to your child without letting you know about possible side effects and long term damage. We expect our doctors to tell us all we need to know, especially when it comes to our beloved children. Sadly that is not always the case
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          · 3 · March 30 at 6:41am
        • Katy Brown Solsky · · Founder and Producer at Dover Arts Market
          You story is compelling and unfortunate - I truly feel for you. But it's important not to mix apples and oranges. ADHD really does exist, and it is a fact that medication is the most effective intervention for most people with ADHD, when skillfully and conscientiously administered. It is dangerous to confuse these facts with the unfortunate fact that there are less then skillful prescribers out there (and indeed parents with less than stellar parenting skills...or with very challenging issues to conquer as parents). When these conversations about ADHD globalize in this way, and confuse issues, people who genuinely need help are caught in the crossfire and harmed by the incorrect stereotypes that are reinforced. I have ADHD, and I have a great prescriber who manages my small dosages of medication very well. I wish more people had access to such a great prescriber, and I genuinely wish that these conversations could stay on topic and stick to facts...though I realize it's hard when the media frequently refuses to acknowledge the facts.
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          · 11 · March 30 at 4:14pm
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • Gina Pera · Top Commenter · Works at Award-winning author of "Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?"
        This is one of the worst, most sensational, poorly researched, and self-aggrandizing pieces I've ever read in Esquire. Over 40 years of reading the magazine.

        First, the poor sources. Please...Hallowell again? He has published no research. I'm not even sure he reads it. He doesn't even take for his own ADHD the medication he claims is so effective. No wonder he says things he doesn't mean and has to backtrack. His statements about feminism ruining everything for boys....outrageous. He's entirely "off the cuff" on a subject that deserves more serious, considered respect. Moreover, how objective can someone be when he has the psychiatric condition that is being discussed -- and refuses treatment for it?

        Next, this article misses the point of "The ADHD Explosion book," cherry-picking bits to fit the author's bias. The prima...ry conclusion of that book is that the risks of ADHD going recognize in millions of Americans represents a significant public-health threat, and the expenditures required to provide proper detection and treatment is well worth the expense.

        Then, the thoughtless assumptions. When have "boys ever been boys" when it comes to education? Is anyone thinking The Little Rascals is some epitome of that thinking? I have news for you -- that was a TV show, and all those kids died early.

        Men are more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to perpetrate interpersonal violence, more likely to kill themselves with guns, more likely to start and want wars, and increasingly less likely to graduate from college. Let's be honest here and stop pretending that there are no problems with a subset of the male population's brains.

        For centuries, when boys and girls were educated separately, boys were harshly disciplined by tough taskmasters. Whips were common teaching tools. So were dunce caps. And expulsions. At least this was at a time when expelled pupils could pick up a trade or work manual labor. Is that what you all want for American boys? Guess what? That blue collar ship has sailed. Those jobs where you could rely solely on muscle and grit are mostly gone, unless you want to move to China.

        And who's to say all those whippings and "boards of education" were good for those boys? Perhaps they just inculcated a culture of violence that has made the United States too eager to go to war to serve rich men's interests. Too eager to throw American values like education and progress and invention under the bus so they can amass "collections" of guns. To eager to react with stupid, knee-jerk platitudes when they should pause, reflect, and think.

        This is the 21st Century. The knowledge economy. The information age. If you want your boys to be left out, if you want girls to continue to outpace them in college attendance and graduation, that's your right. Me, I want better for American children. I want them to have access to their own good brains, with healthy birthing processes, mothers who aren't deficient in key minerals and vitamins, fathers who haven't degraded their sperm by drinking too much alcohol, smoking too much pot, and eating junk food, and, yes, medical care and supportive strategies when they are diagnosed wtih ADHD.

        Couldn't Esquire have interviewed some real experts? Instead, you interview a few cranks far past their prime and a few grown men who have ADHD and have apparently resented the diagnosis all their lives, and some pharma spokespeople.

        Glasser might mean well, but his methods are idiosyncratic and, it must be said, profit-making and fear-mongering (e.g. his book "101 Reasons to Avoid Ritalin Like the Plague"). There is no proof that they work, and they especially do NOT work with ADHD. So he is in no way an "ADHD Expert" that you credit him being -- and that he credits himself as being. This is why we have scientific consensus, where psychologists and life scientists study these issues to see what work and what does not work, under controlled conditions.

        This is not journalism. This is fugue-state smattering of opinion and innuendo.

        Your editors have sunk so low, placing such a premium on web traffic, that you are willing to create more confusion and stigma for the very children you are claiming to "protect." I see right through you.        See More
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        · 20 · Follow Post · Edited · March 30 at 11:42am
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • B.a. Barakas · UMass Lowell
        Gendered schooling. Doesnt have to be separate buildings, just separate rooms. The kind of teacher that works best for boys would frighten the girls.
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        · 17 · Follow Post · March 27 at 10:32am
        • Mackenzie Vale
          I must give my thanks to Ashley, who posted here last week comment about system she uses to earn onlin℮... I've got my FIRST check total of $650, pretty cool.! I am so exicted, this is the first time i actually earned something. I am going to work even harder new and i can't wait for next week payment. You can try it for yourself>

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          · April 4 at 1:44pm
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • Mike Schoonover · Top Commenter · Monroe High School, St. Paul, MN
        want to see the cases of adhd drop like a rock?
        get rid of the federal entitlement for it.
        if you look at map of the USA that showed where all of the
        cases of adhd are you would see huge clusters concentrated
        around large cities in some states.
        hardly any in others.
        the ones with the low rates didn't opt in for the federal entitlement.
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        · 12 · Follow Post · March 27 at 8:59am
        • Sandi Martyn · Top Commenter
          Really? Will that total load of crap cure my son of his ADHD? Yeah, didn't think so. I would LOVE to have been right about it just being a "phase". For years, I said, "he's just a boy, that's how they are. Maybe you just don't know how to handle him, maybe your not a good enough teacher?" But no, it's not...so hopefully your demographical rearrangement will be the panacea my son needs. So, glad you got it all figured out.
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          · 16 · March 29 at 7:15pm
        • Gina Pera · Top Commenter · Works at Award-winning author of "Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?"
          Mike - what you fail to realize is that ADHD is highly heritable, and its symptoms and fallout become worse over each generation in which it goes unrecognized and untreated.

          We're talking entrenched poverty and substance abuse from generations of unrecognzied ADHD.

          It's about time these people are given a real "hand up" out of these nature-nurture cycles.
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          · 10 · March 30 at 11:46am
        • James Melton · Top Commenter · Actor at Shepherd of the Hills Theater
          except that ADHD is a real medical condition that effects 5 area's of your brain, brain scans confirm it, or do you doubt an xray that shows your broken bone? trying to connect politics to this in any way is nothing but harmfull to everyone.
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          · 6 · March 30 at 12:13pm
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • Linda La Scala
        Homeschool them, and they won't have to try to sit at a desk all day long!
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        · 12 · Follow Post · March 27 at 8:49pm
        • Evelyn Thompson
          And what about the parents who can't homeschool? Who have other, smaller children who need care, or elderly parents, who do shift work, who *need* to work to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table? Homeschooling is a nice option if you can manage it, but it shouldn't become the default solution for problems with kids. We have a national(ish) school system for kids, paid for with money from OUR TAXES; we have the right to expect it to do what it takes to educate nearly any child.
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          · 7 · March 30 at 12:02am
        • Gina Pera · Top Commenter · Works at Award-winning author of "Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?"
          Given that ADHD is highly genetic, it is unlikely that parents can do this for their children with ADHD. They are too disorganized themselves, or they are dealing with the financial fallout of one parent (or sometimes two) having ADHD.

          In cases of true ADHD, it is not the school that is the problem. Rather it is brain function. The school can provide accommodations to a degree, but when the child has poor reading comprehension or poor motor coordination to the point of being unable to write, that is not the school's responsibility.

          This really is an issue where people who know nothing about it should learn before offering their opinions.
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          · 10 · Edited · March 30 at 11:47am
        • Katy Brown Solsky · · Founder and Producer at Dover Arts Market
          Gina Pera, excellent point. And while a tailored education program can alleviate some of the difficulties experienced by individuals with ADHD, it is still a fact that medication is the most effective intervention available for the largest number of people with ADHD - I should know, I'm an adult with ADHD and my life has been very positively impacted by my small daily dose of stimulant medication. It has given me insight on my own behavior choices that I would never have been able to access through other means, and it has made adapting to other types of coping strategies so much easier to master.
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          · 8 · March 30 at 4:08pm
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
      • Barry Friedman · · Top Commenter · University of Tulsa
        When my son--may he be at peace--was about to be put on Ritalin, I asked the doctor what signs my son exhibited that confirmed the diagnosis.

        Here was the exchange:

        "There is no diagnosis."
        "What?"
        "Well, other than what the teachers at school say, which is that he has a hard time concentrating, behaving. I have to take their word for it."
        "Why?"
        "What do you mean?"
        "Why take the word of people who want him to behave? Give him something that will make him behave, he behaves. And then everybody thinks, "Aha! Success." Where's the genius in that? You're assuming what you're trying to prove--that there's something wrong with his behavior."
        "I can only go what the teachers and counselors and parents tell me. They interact with him everyday. I don't."
        "That's ridiculous. You're the doctor; we're observers. You wouldn't treat any other disease this way. And he's not hyperactive."
        "There's such a thing as ADD without hyperactivity."
        "Yeah, it's called being nine."

        I lost the argument. My soon-to-be-ex-wife put him on Ritalin. And while my son overdosed on drugs when he was 24--and being proscribed Ritalin had nothing, NOTHING, I'm convinced to do with it--that day in the doctor's office still pisses me off.
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        · 11 · Follow Post · Edited · March 27 at 11:43am
        • Kent Anderson · Top Commenter · Wayne State University
          Barry, somehow, I knew you'd comment on this. Great story, as usual. My brother was called "hyperactive" in school and repeated Kindergarten. Was put on Ritalin, blamed our mother. He has never really recovered from that and he's 51.
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          · 3 · March 29 at 7:08am
        • Barry Friedman · · Top Commenter · University of Tulsa
          Feel for you, Kent
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          · 2 · March 29 at 7:16am
        • Kent Anderson · Top Commenter · Wayne State University
          Barry Friedman No, my friend, my brother is still around. Your son isn't. "It's called being nine." I would have walked out of that office and said to his mother, "You put him on Ritalin and you get nothing from me."

          "It's called being nine." Best line of the day.
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          · 3 · March 29 at 7:57am
         
        Posting as Jim Gottstein (Change)
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