DocM Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Link.... New ADHD Guidelines: Kids as Young as 4 Can Be DiagnosedBOSTON ? Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can now be diagnosed in children as young as four and as old as 18, according to the nation's largest organization of pediatricians. The new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) expand the age range over which doctors can diagnose and manage ADHD in children, and are based on recent research; previous guidelines released in 2000 and 2001 covered children ages 6 to 12. "Treating children at a young age is important, because when we can identify them earlier and provide appropriate treatment, we can increase their chances of succeeding in school," said Dr. Mark Wolraich, a pediatrician at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and lead author of the report. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokkolm Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Let's feed our kids Methamphetamine's at an even younger age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slammers Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Let's feed our kids Methamphetamine's at an even younger age! i lurv drugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoredBozirini Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Let's feed our kids Methamphetamine's at an even younger age! If they have ADHD, better inject them with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakem1 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 ADHD? That's so 2005. All the cool kids are autistic these days ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted October 17, 2011 Veteran Share Posted October 17, 2011 The only thing that matters is the DSM5 which won't be finalized until May 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 DSM5 for psychiatrists & psychologists perhaps, but pediatricians and other specialists often act independent as all Hell and you know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OuchOfDeath Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Let's feed our kids Methamphetamine's at an even younger age! It's a real disorder, and the issue is not when it is diagnosed but how much. There is a real issue of overdiagnosing Attention Defecit in the US, and this is what needs to be addressed. The matter of when it is diagnosed is not problematic at all. Great care has to be taken into not falsely diagnosing a child, since children will obviously often be hyperactive and become bored easily at these ages. Medication should not be used at the age of 4 since it'll not net any benefits, and use of medication in early ages such as 6 should only be done under severe cases where it is entirely clear it is Attention Defecit. This is entirely a case of pharmaceutical companies having too much influence on society. Many people lose sight of what a disorder is and start to think it applies simply because their children are very loud and disruptive in class. The sad fact is non-hyperactive Attention Defecit is just as prevalent, and people don't seem to panic about that one as much. Society needs to become far more diligent as to when a diagnosis and medication is applied, and this applies both to GP's (who are very often terribly informed about psychological disorders, and in particular psychoactive drugs) and the general parent population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted October 17, 2011 Veteran Share Posted October 17, 2011 DSM5 for psychiatrists & psychologists perhaps, but pediatricians and other specialists often act independent as all Hell and you know it. Well, pediatricians are only the first line of service. They are General Practitioners who have specialized in treating children. You are going to get good Pediatricians/Family Doctors/GPs are you'll get some bad ones. Some may not have read a medical journal since they graduated. If you really are concerned about ADHD or an ASD then I'd ask to see a specialist even if you have to pay out of pocket in the United States. Even though such specialists are covered here, many parents don't bother and accept the pills from the pediatrician. Their loss as far as I am concerned. The DSM4 (soon to be DSM5) is the bible when it comes to this sort of thing. It's a real disorder, and the issue is not when it is diagnosed but how much. There is a real issue of overdiagnosing Attention Defecit in the US, and this is what needs to be addressed. The matter of when it is diagnosed is not problematic at all. Great care has to be taken into not falsely diagnosing a child, since children will obviously often be hyperactive and become bored easily at these ages. Medication should not be used at the age of 4 since it'll not net any benefits, and use of medication in early ages such as 6 should only be done under severe cases where it is entirely clear it is Attention Defecit. This is entirely a case of pharmaceutical companies having too much influence on society. Many people lose sight of what a disorder is and start to think it applies simply because their children are very loud and disruptive in class. The sad fact is non-hyperactive Attention Defecit is just as prevalent, and people don't seem to panic about that one as much. Society needs to become far more diligent as to when a diagnosis and medication is applied, and this applies both to GP's (who are very often terribly informed about psychological disorders, and in particular psychoactive drugs) and the general parent population. Yes, I'm a bit leery of diagnosing it any earlier than 6 (and for that matter, 8 is probably safer). Hyperactivity is rather normal at those ages (visit any Kindergarten class and you'll see what I mean). It is difficult to identify who is more hyper than someone else and the forms they give to teachers can lead to wrong conclusions. (i.e. Little Johnny, like most boys, does run around and have difficulty sitting still so he gets a check on the form but meanwhile, there are at least three other kids that are worse than him but their parents haven't provided any forms). Things are always relative. Little Johnny may be "hyper" but he's nowhere near as bad as those kids yet Little Johnny may end up with the diagnosis. Something is wrong there. Some parents get their kids diagnosed because they are pro-active about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Boy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Parents should be able to spank(discipline) their children, this cured my ADHD when I was 10, that was 19 years ago... Original Poster 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Lyons10 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I dunno. As a kid that was diagnosed with ADHD (And is FAR from a hyper person), I am very critical of things like this. Far too often, I think this is an excuse to drug kids up because teachers don't want to do their jobs. As a kid I often asked a lot of questions and as a result the teacher immediately wanted me drugged. Because it's easier to read a book in front of a bunch of kids that are zoned out on drugs... It's really appalling. Not to say that ADHD isn't a real thing, but I feel it's being overdiagnosed at an alarming level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OuchOfDeath Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Parents should be able to spank(discipline) their children, this cured my ADHD when I was 10, that was 19 years ago... Wow you really contributed to this discussion. Thanks for your godly insight. Not to say that ADHD isn't a real thing, but I feel it's being overdiagnosed at an alarming level. There's definitely a considerable issue of overdiagnosing of several disorders, ADD probably being the most common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejohnnyq Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 The real issue with ADHD is how many treat it like it is a handicap, which it is not. If you want extra time to do homework, or don't want to read, the schools will give it to you, all you have to do is provide a doctors note that you are ADHD. Properly used, ADHD can be the advantage that many need to get ahead. Proper training and understanding of ADHD can allow people to excel pass the people that don't have real ADHD. ADHD is a gift, and when properly used it can be the advantage and not the problem that most make it out to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Boy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Wow you really contributed to this discussion. Thanks for your godly insight. My point was this, I was a crazy stupid hyper kid. My dad didn't discipline us when we were super young. Then when I was 10 he started spanking when i wouldn't listen or would become too hyper I would get punished, thus teaching this behavior was inappropriate. I my head I link the current fad of parents being afraid of legal action for disciplining their kids to severly and kids acting out. With no discipline there will be kids acting crazy and doing whatever they can to get attention. In some cases I'm sure there is a chemical imbalancment, in all cases I have seen its been lack of discipline or proper attention from parents that causes them to act out. -End of Godly Insight (Sent without spellcheck) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakem1 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I dunno. As a kid that was diagnosed with ADHD (And is FAR from a hyper person), I am very critical of things like this. Far too often, I think this is an excuse to drug kids up because teachers don't want to do their jobs. As a kid I often asked a lot of questions and as a result the teacher immediately wanted me drugged. Because it's easier to read a book in front of a bunch of kids that are zoned out on drugs... It's really appalling. Not to say that ADHD isn't a real thing, but I feel it's being overdiagnosed at an alarming level. Maybe you had some bad experiences with your teachers but in my experience ADD/ADHD is used as an excuse by parents (with the support of lazy psychiatrists) to justify their child's bad behaviour and teachers are left to pick up the pieces. It's not easy to deal with a disruptive child who's been told that he's not responsible for his bad behaviour, especially when his parents try to control him with drugs rather than proper parenting. Teachers don't get the support they need and the rest of the class suffers as a result. The same thing's happening now with autism. Every naughty child is suddenly somewhere on the spectrum and teachers are told that they just have to accept it while parents shrug their shoulders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted October 17, 2011 Veteran Share Posted October 17, 2011 My point was this, I was a crazy stupid hyper kid. My dad didn't discipline us when we were super young. Then when I was 10 he started spanking when i wouldn't listen or would become too hyper I would get punished, thus teaching this behavior was inappropriate. I my head I link the current fad of parents being afraid of legal action for disciplining their kids to severly and kids acting out. With no discipline there will be kids acting crazy and doing whatever they can to get attention. In some cases I'm sure there is a chemical imbalancment, in all cases I have seen its been lack of discipline or proper attention from parents that causes them to act out. -End of Godly Insight (Sent without spellcheck) Then you clearly never had ADHD. Hyperactivity is only one characteristic and alone is not enough to justify a ADHD diagnosis. Many kids, if not the majority of boys, are hyper at some point in their childhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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