Mutterings Of A Mindless Mommy

As I mentioned previously there seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding ADHD these days; from the levels at which it is being diagnosed to the amount of children being medicated for it. I have heard all of the controversy and I do agree with a lot of it.

Let’s start off with a little bit about ADHD. It was once referred to as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) but since then the DSM has been revised and it is known officially known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); it now has three subtypes - inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combination type. Inattentive is what ADD would be classified as, the dreamy kid who’s mind wanders and can’t seem to focus on schoolwork, tasks, etc. Hyperactive-impulsive is the child who seems like they are bouncing off the walls, they can’t sit still, they blurt out answers, talk incessantly, etc. This is my son, a very severe case of hyperactive-impulsive per his diagnostician. The final type is the combination type which is pretty self-explanatory, the child exhibits symptoms of both inattentiveness as well as hyperactive/impulsive behaviors.

So where does the controversy lie. Let’s look at the first bit I mentioned, the diagnosis rate. While I can’t find exact statistics right now (lost my bookmarks in a computer move) the diagnosis rate for ADHD has gone up over the past two decades. Children who were once considered spirited or high-needs are now being labelled and sometimes incorrectly. You may ask why I say incorrectly when I don’t have a medical degree; the reason I say incorrectly is that later in their childhood years many children are often rediagnosed with a different disorder. This new diagnosis can range from something like Central Auditory Processing Disorder to Childhood Bipolar Disorder and the list goes on. In addition there is also a theory that schools and teachers are forcing a diagnosis on their harder to handle kids. I have first-hand experience with that; of course in this case the diagnose appears to be rather accurate.

The other controversy surrounding ADHD is with the increased rate of diagnosis we now have an increased rate of children being medicated for ADHD. It is not unusual to see a three year-old on a stimulant to control their symptoms. Even though we have chosen to add medicine to our list of things we do to combat my son’s symptoms I don’t think medicine should be a first option. Dietary change and behavior modification are two things that I think every parent of a child with ADHD should consider prior to starting medicine. Medication may end up being the ultimate choice but with the new “black box warning” being placed on the medicine it is wise to exhaust your other choices prior to introducing medicine.

Now while I do agree with some of the controversy surrounding ADHD these days I am also the mother of a child who takes a stimulant for his ADHD symptoms. I have had parents confront me who believe ADHD is a myth and I’m doing my child harm by choosing a pharmacological route to managing his symptoms. To those parents I merely say that until you have walked a day in my shoes your opinion, and your judgment, mean nothing to me. It is not easy and the more support you have, the better.