oldfart

AH, jees. I'm watching this deal on the tube about medicating children and I'm feeling a little sick about it. Now, undoubtedly there are many kids in need of some form of medication, but I also think that these days the simplest way to deal with "problem kids" is to drug them up, and a lot of parents are doing this.
It seems that the newest diagnosis that the child psychologists are coming up with is bi-polarism (or is it bi-polarity?), and the drug treatments they are coming up with are basically experimental. Some of the kids are on up to ten different medications, some of which having some pretty ghastly side effects. Then they need to take drugs to treat the side effects, and so on. In a few cases, the cocktail of drugs they're dosed up with ends up killing them.
When I was growing up, it didn't seem that we had these kinds of problems that we do nowadays with hyperactive/ ADD/ bipolar(!) kids, but we didn't have the distractions available now either. I've always thought the sending the kid out onto the mat was one of the best ways to deal with a wound up child, but maybe I'm being insensitive. At any rate, I'm just a little disturbed at the trend I'm seeing. What's going on?

RYou

Trend ? OF, this issue has been groweling for 15 years now. They have begun to hit the colleges and the the schools can't handle the volume anymore. If you have a kid near college age, when you visit check out the size of the Social / Psychological Services Office. If there are less than 5 counselors they're understaffed. 10-15% of the first year population is medicated as they walk in the door s for the first time. Northern Illinois, VTech, LouTech, Columbine; all perpetrated by kids that grew up medicated.

And when they get there, the parents are all over the schools expecting it to baby sit them.

The Boy Scout Troop is was working with, 20% of the kids were on Ridilin. When we went camping we had to schedule actvities carefully so we could get those that needed meds there dose without doing it front of the rest of them. At summer camp, the camp nurse held the doses. You would not believe the line at her tent at 7:30 AM. The was 10-13 years ago.

oldfart

The trend I'm seeing and talking about is the relatively new bi-polar diagnosis. This seems to be replacing some of the old disorders, ie hyperactivity, ADD, ADHD, etc. Bi-polarity as a whole is not a universally accepted disorder, but a growing number of child shrinks are making this diagnosis regardless.

jpv

Perhaps, like many other areas of medicine, technology and human advances, the field of child psychology is improving and those in that field are simply better at diagnosing than in the past. Couldn't it be that so many children actually have these afflictions? Or is it impossible because it wasn't the case "when we were kids".

furches

There is a dangerous new trend of diagnosing kids with mental illnesses that research just doesn’t seem to support. I have seen kids diagnosed with medication for ADHD, Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar Disorder, and Major Depression all at the same time. Dangerous in so many ways, and this kid was 12 years old.

I hate to say it, but psychiatric docs seem to be doing a lot of experimentation lately, it is a shame to see them doing so on children. I estimate that as many as 30% of kids diagnosed with ADHD or ADD simply need a better parenting system at home. To medicate these kids is a horrible and dangerous thing. To suddenly, within the last few years, see kids start being diagnosed with SPMI diagnosis is even more horrible, and likely, not realistic.

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sgallan

I estimate that as many as 30% of kids diagnosed with ADHD or ADD simply need a better parenting system at home.

From what I've seen I'd well over 50%.

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arm-spin

Agree with sgallan... from my understanding ADHD works on a spectrum anyway, just means an ADHD kid is more hyperactive than a "regular" kid. The spectrum varies from the slightly louder and more excitable child, to the ones who are totally nuts at the end of the spectrum. Often it's easier to medicate than to try and deal with behaviors, even if the behavior is pretty normal- if annoying- for a child.

furches

Scott and Arm Spin, I have to be careful but what I will say is that in one of my positions, in conjunction with several schools, this is the number we have come up with. It includes teachers with more than 10 years of experience, as well as some mental health professionals and a couple of docs. Initially we estimated the numbers would be much higher, along the lines of what you are projecting, to be honest was a little surprised that the initial research shows numbers around 33-35% but that could be a local thing as docs in various locations may have differing views.

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arm-spin

Fair enough Furches. I dunno about sgallan but my numbers were strictly a guess. Glad to see expert are doing research on this. And the number probably does depend heavily on the view of the individual doctor and what "unnecesary medication" is.

sgallan

Mine was just a guesstimate as well. I just remember hardly any kids getting medicated as a kid, and now they are all over the place. And most of those kids just seem to be boys being boys.

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