While some see the numbers as a good sign that the disorder is being more widely recognized, many are truly concerned that over-diagnosis is at work.
A report just published in the New York Times indicates that the rate of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnosis for school-age children, and especially high-school age boys is climbing. The new data, which was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows not only a rise in the overall rates of diagnosis, but a huge gap between the diagnosis between boys and girls in the same age-group, a gap that only appears to be widening. According to the report in the Times,
The figures showed that an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 had received an ADHD diagnosis at some point in their lives, a 16 percent increase since 2007 and a 53 percent rise in the past decade. About two-thirds of those with a current diagnosis receive prescriptions for stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall, which can drastically improve the lives of those with ADHD but can also lead to addiction, anxiety and occasionally psychosis.
Nearly one in five high school age boys in the United States and 11 percent of school-age children over all have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts cited several factors in the rising rates. Some doctors are hastily viewing any complaints of inattention as full-blown ADHD, they said, while pharmaceutical advertising emphasizes how medication can substantially improve a child’s life. Moreover, they said, some parents are pressuring doctors to help with their children’s troublesome behavior and slipping grades.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeFifteen percent of school-age boys have received an ADHD diagnosis, the data showed; the rate for girls was 7 percent. Diagnoses among those of high-school age — 14 to 17 — were particularly high, 10 percent for girls and 19 percent for boys. About one in 10 high-school boys currently takes ADHD medication, the data showed.
James Swanson, one of the leading ADHD researchers for the last 20 years and a professor of psychiatry at Florida International University said, “There’s no way that one in five high-school boys has ADHD.” He also pointed out that there are “problems that are predictable” when treating children with stimulants when they don’t actually need them, or don’t actually have ADHD, including long-term abuse and dependence. But as Dr. Jerome Groopman, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School points out, “There’s a tremendous push where if the kid’s behavior is thought to be quote-unquote abnormal — if they’re not sitting quietly at their desk — that’s pathological, instead of just childhood.”
With the rising awareness of the “boy crisis,” and the growing gender gap in academic success, coupled with the recent announcement by the American Psychiatric Association that they plan to “change the definition of ADHD to allow more people to receive the diagnosis and treatment,” it appears the number of boys being placed on behavior altering drugs is only going to increase in the near future. One of the questions that we are asking is — if these behaviors are causing boys to fall behind in schools, should we be changing the behaviors or changing the schools?
Photo: sumeet basak/Flickr
I think there are some people in Newtown that might argue that the problem is NOT overdiagnosis. Perhaps there is SOME overdiagnosis, but it seems that modern society is just not willing to accept that there is a problem that needs addressing. I am all in favor of saying that medication is not the ONLY solution or even a magic solution, We could even bring back spanking, and the problem would still be with us. I will grant there may be social changes that have changed our expectations and perceptions of what school should be like and what children should… Read more »
What? Someone has noticed the pathological attitudes towards boys – and even children in general?
It’s the most shocking thing I’ve seen in ages. Millions of children being drugged with mind altering substances and everyone wants to join in. last time that happened was the 1950/60s and valium – and just look what mommies little helpers did for addiction and damaged brain chemistry! Some never learn!
Overdiagnosis may be true, erroneous diagnosis may be true, and certainly what’s expected of boys in our school system is just plain ridiculous. My son’s 3rd grade teacher actually wrote in his progress report that on a day while a substitute was covering, my son made a paper beard & chased the girls while wearing it. “This is inappropriate,” she wrote. Really?? Did he do it all day long?? No. He’s ridiculously bright and outgoing. He loves teasing girls. He’s a BOY. LOL That said, ADHD runs in my family, and it’s a real thing, just like some people have… Read more »
Boys are falling behind yet again….. young boys act differently, it’s that simple but rather then accommodate boys and their behaviors, it’s easier to simply drug them.
Every parent should read the excellent book THE ATTENTION DEFICIT HOAX for a truthful analysis of the drugging of children.
Wait- are you saying boys aren’t maladjusted children with a 21st digit and bad parenting?
Every parent should also consider how old they are- in my case too old…
I was unable to find the book Tom mentioned using Google. Please provide a link showing where the book can be found.
Arium, I think you should be looking at : “The ADD Hoax: Protect Your Child from the False Diagnosis That Is Threatening a Generation” Craig Hovey 2001 (yes It has been about for a decade and raising 20+ years of concern) 256 pages ISBN-10: 0761535896 ISBN-13: 978-0761535898 The Quiet Screaming against abuse that so many just ignore because they would rather have a drugged child and quite time for that second Martini after a hard day at the office. People used to care for children and look after them – now they just use drugs and claim it’s better for… Read more »
So in the U.S they overdiagnose? Would you support legitimate cases being drugged and undergoing C.B.T etc that helps me daily for instance with my ADHD?
Archy, of course I would support treatment for those who are legitimately diagnosed.
Archy in 2001 in ADHD had resulted in 5 million children being drugged, just in the USA. Odd how a disease gets fashionable and more contagious than Mumps. The Mass drugging of Kids in the UK has been resisted and is being resisted, but you still have some who insists that Kids who don’t conform to their views and patterns must be drugged and controlled. It’s funny how it always comes down to Male child behaviour bad and Female child behaviour is to be embraced as a model for all the universe and drugged into existence. My view is gag… Read more »
For me I am glad I am medicated, I chose to be as an adult. But mine was real adult ADD, it was negatively affecting my life and not a case of just being a lil shit. Daydreaming all day, never finishing projects was getting tiring. Since I’ve been on the medication my learning has skyrocketed and my productivity is much better, the day I actually finished a project was an awesome day.
Thanks for the information, MediaHound. Unfortunately I cannot find enough information on this book to judge whether it has any merits.
Based on the title of this book, and the description of another book on the subject that an author with the same name contributed to, I will assume that Hovey is convinced that ADD / ADHD do not exist, which makes him IMHO not a credible source.
Since it’s boys, and since schools prefer girls’ behavior, we aren’t going to be changing schools anytime soon. It’s going to be pathologizing boys. The idea you can put a six year boy old behind a desk and expect him to stay there for the next twelve years without trouble is absurd. Those who believe in evpsych ought to contemplate how youngsters have been raised for a million years. See any desks in various Paleolithic sites? Best you can do is let him run the piss and vinegar off at recess, except that’s both pathological and scares the district shylocks… Read more »
One cause of overdiagnosis of ADHD is that ADHD and Dyslexia share a lot of common symptoms. If parents don’t get their children to a specialist that knows how to tell the difference between ADHD and Dyslexia, they can easily have their child misdiagnosed. My middle child is highly intelligent, yet has struggled with reading. His first grade teacher told us that she thought he might have ADHD and might need to be medicated. We didn’t think it was ADHD and found a specialist who wrote a bunch of research about children with dyslexia being misdiagnosed with ADHD. Our son… Read more »
Part of the problem is that the drugs are driving the diagnosis instead of the other way around. Too many parents and doctors believe in the Holy Grail of the “wonder drug,” or they tend to see problems as thinks to be fixed with a daily pill. Parents know there are anti-ADHD drugs out there, and there’s an incredible temptation when a child is misbehaving to reach for the mother’s little help. For some parents, getting such a diagnosis might even come with a sense of relief – “thank God that’s what it is, I have a medical name for… Read more »
Sorry, should say “Ritalin”
I am on dexamphetamine (Adderal I think in the U.S), for me it has been nothing short of a miracle drug. I wish I was on it in highschool as my learning ability increases significantly. My shrink also said dexamphetamine is not addictive, he had never heard of someone being addicted to it. Also people with ADHD are probably not going to get addicted to it because of the dosage being so small and it simply raises dopamine up to normal levels. I’d be surprised if standard dosage of dex would get someone addicted, if anything they might be dependant… Read more »
My experience is similar to yours, Archy. I’ve taken Ritalin, and now Adderall, as an adult. The meds have really helped me to function over the years. I was in school before the diagnosis ADD was invented. I really could have used the help then, too. At least with the adult diagnosis I was able to finally convince myself that my problems aren’t due to a moral defect. (All those years of being told how lazy I was by my Mother took their toll.) I can believe that these meds may be overprescribed, but I also know that many people… Read more »
There is certainly a problem with misdiagnosis, but I think the root cause is often a parenting problem. My daughter was in this situation, she acted out a lot and fought with her mother, but the root cause is that she learned this type of behavior from her mother. Imagine that, an adult woman was portrayed as the innocent victim of an 8 year old girl. The social workers were pushing to get her put on drugs because they get more funding for children who are on drugs. I was able to stop this nonsense by informing her pediatrician of… Read more »
BadMan, you’re right. The root cause of behavior-related issues is usually born from our environment, not a chemical imbalance. Although, teachers, doctors, social workers and even parents look to treat the symptoms, not the cause. The scary part of the author’s statement is ….”the recent announcement by the American Psychiatric Association that they plan to “change the definition of ADHD to allow MORE people to receive the diagnosis and treatment…” The APA wants to broaden the definition of ADHD to include more behaviors? Really?? Currently the medical community is inconsistent in their diagnoses and expanding the definition will only put… Read more »