Why have children now got so many conditions ?

DexyDrain

I dunno, people talk about excusing laziness yet they don't bother to do minimal research before making pronouncements on what conditions they feel are valid or not.

To clear one thing up, Aspergers does not have a standard drug treatment, usually nothing at all is prescribed unless it can effectively target one particular area of the disorder that is having a significant impact on their progress or functioning. So no drug companies are pushing this diagnosis, standard treatments are behavioural and educational which are very time intensive and 'profit draining' so that knocks the conspiracy on the head.

Research in the last two decades has turned up lots of interesting biological aspects to autism spectrum disorders, how the brain is organised and what area performs what function. I really hope no one here really believes that parenting, good or bad, can reorganise the brain regions used for social reasoning, face recognition, visual processing, sensory processing etc?

As for ADHD, this is one of the most studied disorders of the brain and the scientific evidence for it's biological basis is not seriously in dispute among scientifically literate people. Poor parenting is most definitely not causing it, likewise for diet. Quite the opposite, the demands it makes on parents and the frustrations it produces are interpreted by those ignorant of the facts as the cause rather than the effect that it actually is. How cruel for these parents to be subject to such ignorant judgement on top of having to invest even harder than most parents out of no fault of their own or their child's.

We have a very good idea what is causing the difficulties in ADHD, in large part due to poor regulation of neurotransmitters in the brain. The effect of this is kind of like having the person at the end of the phone hang up mid sentence, part of the message gets through but the line drops so you have to figure out the rest of the message by other means. That slows the whole frontal cortex down, making concentration extremely hard work.

Stimulant medications prevent the neurotransmitters from being withdrawn too quickly, which is why they are so enormously successful in treating the disorder. Behavioural and educational treatments, and alternative medicines do not target this functioning specifically, so are less successful.

Please do a little research folks.

ScumLord

At the very least it can help kids that have problems socialising to be told we know why your not fitting in it's this condition and we can fix it. Maybe it's a placebo effect in some.

Over all people in the past didn't care, you just got on with it. None of us would like to live in the past though it was a horrible and cruel place what people don't realise about rose tinted glasses is the perfume on them stings your eyes eventually.

Wibbs

DexyDrain wrote: »

Stimulant medications prevent the neurotransmitters from being withdrawn too quickly, which is why they are so enormously successful in treating the disorder.

Apparently nicotine does this very well too. One theory I read was that we may see more adults present with ADHD today, not because there are more of them, but because in the past many more took up smoking which relieved their symptoms. EDIT one could argue too that we saw less ADHD in the past, because more people's work was not reliant on much concentration in the first place. Harder to spot ADHD in a labourer kinda thing.

Naikon

DexyDrain wrote: »

As for ADHD, this is one of the most studied disorders of the brain and the scientific evidence for it's biological basis is not seriously in dispute among scientifically literate people.

Bullsh4t. Point to some credible research. Pharma published studies do not count.

Lady Chatterton

Wibbs wrote: »

Autism is being mentioned, but unless I've read him wrong the OP didn't mention autism? A very serious condition indeed. Although on the same spectrum as autism, asbergers, particularly mild asbergers is likely to be a whole lot less crippling for the sufferer. Plus with asbergers it might be environmental, whereas autism seems to be an organic problem in the brain or manifesting there anyway.

I know parents who have children with autism and also children with aspergers, they would say that in some ways that children with aspergers find life more difficult as they are more aware of their differences than a child with autism.

As for what causes autism, no one knows for sure, it is thought that some of it is genetic as it can run in families, while some believe that it could in some cases be environmental.

Wibbs

Naikon wrote: »

Bullsh4t. Point to some credible research. Pharma published studies do not count.

Maybe N, but I can say from my own personal experience - not exactly scientific I grant you - that my concentration levels have definitely reduced since I gave up smoking. It has had an effect on me in my daily life. Healthier lungs and all the other health benefits, but mentally defo more fuzzy. Thank god for smart phones diaries and alarms. If I have mild ADHD and took to smoking to relieve it(subconsciously) I could see how stimulants like nicotine would help with others. /conjecture.

GEasy

NIMAN wrote: »

Is there a direct correlation between the rise of these disorders and the end of kids being slapped by parents/teachers?

I'm sure there is ! Probably a direct correlation between the average amount of tvs per home in a country and the amount of children in a country that go to third level education . Correlation does not imply ..

Eric Cartman

because bad parents need excuses these days

1990 : your kids bullying somebody and doing bad in school - their a nuisance and have bad parents

2011 : your kids bullying somebody and doing bad in school - They must have ADHD , its not the parents fault

basically its school councillors trying to justify their job.

while ADHD and aspergers may be real , I have never knowingly met anyone who was actually diagnosed with them by anyone other than some woman counting down the days till retirement in a school.

In all reality kids are too soft these days anyway : cyber bullying - wtf is that , since when do words on a computer screen make you feel bad , god help those kids if they ever see 4chan.

Turtwig

It's odd isn't it that there were seemingly less people who were gay in the past than they are now? Of course that might have nothing to do with the fact that we now have increased societal awareness and understanding of gays,the human population as whole is now larger and has a much greater life expectancy?

The reason why children have got these conditions is because we are actually aware of them now. Before if you got sick after taking Holy Communion it was seen as you being odd or God sending you a message about something you did wrong. (At least it was for my Aunt.) Nowadays, you just might think about checking to see if you have a gluten intolerance. Of course there will be cases where people are falsely diagnosed but on the whole increased awareness on any issue is always a good thing. Shur, cancer wasn't common back in the past at all.

Lady Chatterton

It is when I read threads like this that I wish there was a "thumbs down" button.

DexyDrain

Naikon wrote: »

Bullsh4t. Point to some credible research. Pharma published studies do not count.

Oh I just knew some wise folks would ask that without checking

To publish stories that ADHD is a fictitious disorder or merely a conflict between today's Huckleberry Finns and their caregivers is tantamount to declaring the earth flat, the laws of gravity debatable, and the periodic table in chemistry a fraud. ADHD should be depicted in the media as realistically and accurately as it is depicted in science -- as a valid disorder having varied and substantial adverse impact on those who may suffer from it through no fault of their own or their parents and teachers

http://www.russellbarkley.org/images/Consensus 2002.pdf

Or http://www.naceonline.com/article-consensus-statement-on-adhd.php

The actual consensus statement is only a few pages long, easy to read, no big words. Please read carefully, or just read the last paragraph if you are stuck for time. The reason the PDF is so large is because it has 6 pages of signatories from phd's and md's across the globe and 16, yes 16 pages of scientific studies, articles and publications, most peer reviewed, that you can browse.

Have fun with that.

Sheesh.

Android 666

Mmm, that's an error 404

DexyDrain

Sorry, fixed the link and provided and alternative.

DexyDrain

Double post, dang iPad.

Android 666

I feel a lot of the arguments in the thread below are going to be recycled:

Psychiatry is bogus

Which really is all about drugs are bad and diagnoses are stupid and unfounded, m'kay except now in this thread there will be a side order of 'Back in my day kids were just evil, none of this conditions nonsense…'

Android 666

DexyDrain wrote: »

Sorry, fixed the link and provided and alternative.

Good schtuff although you do realise because your username is a play on dexadrine you'll be accused of being a tool of 'Big Pharma'…

fearcruach

Naikon wrote: »

Bullsh4t. Point to some credible research. Pharma published studies do not count.

These quote were gleaned from the following article:

Goldman, LS, 1998. Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 279 (14), 1100-1107.

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neuropsychiatric syndrome with onset in childhood, most commonly becoming apparent (and thus coming to medical attention) during the first few years of grade school.

In addition, some critics have complained that overemphasis on psychopharmacological treatment has led to neglect of other treatment modalities or served as a distraction from family problems or school shortcomings. It should be stressed that these issues have been raised polemically or theoretically, rather than on the basis of particular scientific findings.

Show's that there is no scientific evidence that it is a environmental problem.

To make this diagnosis appropriately, the clinician must be familiar with normal development and behavior, gather information from several sources to evaluate the child's symptoms in different settings, and construct an appropriate differential diagnosis for the presenting complaints. This helps, for example, to distinguish children with ADHD from unaffected children whose parents or teachers are mislabeling normal behavior as pathological.

There have been more than 170 studies involving more than 6000 school-aged children using stimulant medication for ADHD. The response rate for any single stimulant drug in ADHD is approximately 70%, and up to 90% of children will respond to at least 1 stimulant without major adverse events if drug titration is done carefully. A "response" in this context means a statistically or clinically significant reduction in hyperactivity or increase in attention as rated by parents, teachers, and/or research raters. There have been only about a half-dozen studies in adolescents.49-50​

By contrast, some 20 studies have refuted the efficacy of dietary manipulations (eg, the Feingold diet) in ADHD.62​

So it's not to do with drinking coke/sugar etc

There is evidence to suggest that stimulants in ADHD populations are simply being used more broadly, for longer periods, and without interruptions in recent years than was done previously. Overall, there has been a 2.5-fold increase in the prevalence of child and adolescent methylphenidate treatment from 1990 to 1995, so that some 2.8% of US youth between the ages of 5 and 18 years were taking this medication in mid 1995. A recent national study found no evidence of overdiagnosis of ADHD or overprescription of methylphenidate.​

Another concern has been raised by the dramatic increase in methylphenidate (Ritalin) hydrochloride production and use in the United States in the past decade. This has raised questions about whether there has been a true increase in the prevalence of ADHD in this time period; a change in diagnostic criteria affecting practice; improved physician recognition of the disorder; a broadened spectrum of indications for use of stimulants; and an increase in stimulant abuse, diversion, and prescription for profit.

See below.

There are several important clinical reasons for the increased diagnosis and stimulant treatment of ADHD. These include increased public and physician awareness and acceptance of the condition; acceptance of a broader case definition as appropriate; greater knowledge of the illness course, justifying lengthier treatment (eg, of adolescents); fewer interruptions in treatment because of diminished concerns about growth retardation; and increased treatment of adults.

And to show that it isn't a "Pharma sponsored paper";

Author Affiliations
From the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, Chicago, Ill.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Members of the Council on Scientific Affairs at the time this report was written include the following: Mitchell S. Karlan, MD, Los Angeles, Calif (chair); Ronald M. Davis, MD, Detroit, Mich (chair-elect); Roy D. Altman, MD, Miami, Fla; Rebecca J. Bezman, MD, Chicago, Ill; Scott D. Deitchman, MD, MPH, Decatur, Ga; Myron Genel, MD, New Haven, Conn; John P. Howe III, MD, San Antonio, Tex; Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, Buffalo, NY; Joseph A. Riggs, MD, Haddon Field, NJ; Priscilla J. Slanetz, MD, MPH, Boston, Mass; Michael A. Williams, MD, Baltimore, Md; Donald C. Young, MD, Iowa City; Larry S. Goldman, MD (staff); Robert C. Rinaldi, PhD (secretary); Linda Bresolin, PhD (assistant secretary).

This report was presented at the 1997 House of Delegates Annual Meeting as Report 5 of the Council on Scientific Affairs. The recommendations were adopted, and the remainder of the report was filed.

This report is not intended to be construed or to serve as a standard of medical care. Standards of medical care are determined on the basis of all the facts and circumstances involved in an individual case and are subject to change as scientific knowledge and technology advance and patterns of practice evolve. This report reflects the scientific literature as of March 1997.

Naikon

DexyDrain wrote: »

Oh I just knew some wise folks would ask that without checking

To publish stories that ADHD is a fictitious disorder or merely a conflict between today's Huckleberry Finns and their caregivers is tantamount to declaring the earth flat, the laws of gravity debatable, and the periodic table in chemistry a fraud. ADHD should be depicted in the media as realistically and accurately as it is depicted in science -- as a valid disorder having varied and substantial adverse impact on those who may suffer from it through no fault of their own or their parents and teachers

http://www.russellbarkley.org/images/Consensus 2002.pdf

Or http://www.naceonline.com/article-consensus-statement-on-adhd.php

The actual consensus statement is only a few pages long, easy to read, no big words. Please read carefully, or just read the last paragraph if you are stuck for time. The reason the PDF is so large is because it has 6 pages of signatories from phd's and md's across the globe and 16, yes 16 pages of scientific studies, articles and publications, most peer reviewed, that you can browse.

Have fun with that.

Sheesh.

This is rubbish. It does not address the apparent etiology of ADHD in any shape or form. No number of interest signatures negates the basic fact that there is no real credible research backing up the ADHD label.

http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/Acritiqueofconsensus.htm

http://speedupsitstill.com/pseudoscience

DexyDrain

Naikon wrote: »

This is rubbish. It does not address the apparent etiology of ADHD in any shape or form. No number of interest signatures negates the basic fact that there is no real credible research backing up the ADHD label.

http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/Acritiqueofconsensus.htm

That is why they have 16 pages of references. That response was from 2002, the research has moved along at an even faster pace since. I will get you a sampler if you like.

NTMK

The conditions are real however they're are over diagnosed and over medicated. One lad i know could be described as having ADD he was loud,disruptive in class, crap at school. then in the LC he gets an A1 in higher Agri. science and metalwork and woodwork. Its just the traditional subjects were not suited to him

Maybe pychs should be spending more time helping people with genuine conditions (not to say these are not genuine just not as common as pychs say they are) like BP-Schizophrenia than lining their own pockets by diagnosing every kid with add and drugging him/her out of it

Naikon

DexyDrain wrote: »

That is why they have 16 pages of references. That response was from 2002, the research has moved along at an even faster pace since. I will get you a sampler if you like.

The majority of those links are Psychiatry/Psychology endorsed. That fact alone raises some questions.

fearcruach

Naikon wrote: »

This is rubbish. It does not address the apparent etiology of ADHD in any shape or form. No number of interest signatures negates the basic fact that there is no real credible research backing up the ADHD label..

The article linked above was written by MD's and show's that there is over a hundred years of solid evidence to back it up. Check out the references for the information.

Naikon wrote: »

The majority of those links are Psychiatry/Psychology endorsed. That fact alone raises some questions.

This has been done to death over in CI (where I can see this heading soon), but might as well go again;

To become a psychiatrist, you must become a doctor first. No way around it.

Android 666

Naikon wrote: »

The majority of those links are Psychiatry/Psychology endorsed. That fact alone raises some questions.

As is this article that you linked to:

http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/Acritiqueofconsensus.htm

Published by Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2004

Written by Sami Timimi, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and with 33 Coendorsers.


Is it only good research if it supports your argument?

Irish Guitarist

Do people actually believe that when a child is diagnosed with one of these conditions that the parents say "great, now we have an excuse when she/he misbehaves"? Although my brother and his wife wouldn't change their son and daughter for anything now they certainly weren't celebrating when they were diagnosed with autism and Aspergers.

pickarooney

jive wrote: »

My opinion is set in stone on this so I'm not going to bother discussing it further. It's not necessary to have more terms just to classify delinquents.

I think you may have Compulsive Obstinance Disorder.

sinjin_smythe

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

Do people actually believe that when a child is diagnosed with one of these conditions that the parents say "great, now we have an excuse when she/he misbehaves"? Although my brother and his wife wouldn't change their son and daughter for anything now they certainly weren't celebrating when they were diagnosed with autism and Aspergers.

Seems alot more acceptable as opposed to people blaming their crappy parenting.

Logical Fallacy

Naikon wrote: »

The majority of those links are Psychiatry/Psychology endorsed. That fact alone raises some questions.

Yeah, i want my studies linked to mechanics and IT consultants.

Android 666

weedhead wrote: »

Seems alot more acceptable as opposed to people blaming their crappy parenting.

Wow, arrogant and ill informed in equal measure. Well done sir, it's a hard balance to get right. Do you read the Daily Mail perchance?

conorhal

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

Do people actually believe that when a child is diagnosed with one of these conditions that the parents say "great, now we have an excuse when she/he misbehaves"? Although my brother and his wife wouldn't change their son and daughter for anything now they certainly weren't celebrating when they were diagnosed with autism and Aspergers.

Autism and Aspergers are not ADHD though, a clinical diagnosis of those conditions is often quite clear cut (perhaps less so with Aspergers).
There was a shocking report on the BBC or C4 recently that cited a 500% increase in ADHD prescriptions since 1991 in the UK and it exposed the regular prescription of ADHD medication to children far below the recommended age at which such drugs should be prescribed and at far higher doses, in some cases 5 timed the recommended dosage for a child.
Perhaps it's down to overstretched child welfare services that are unable to devote the time to diagnosing the underlying causes for behavioral problems in favor of a 'quick fix' medication solution, or perhaps they just hand out these rather powerful mind altering medications like candy, either way, those statistics suggest quite clearly that we are either in the grip of a burgeoning epidemic, or that something is quite rotten in the psychiatric profession at the moment.

DexyDrain

conorhal wrote: »

Autism and Aspergers are not ADHD though, a clinical diagnosis of those conditions is often quite clear cut (perhaps less so with Aspergers).
There was a shocking report on the BBC or C4 recently that cited a 500% increase in ADHD prescriptions since 1991 in the UK and it exposed the regular prescription of ADHD medication to children far below the recommended age at which such drugs should be prescribed and at far higher doses, in some cases 5 timed the recommended dosage for a child.
Perhaps it's down to overstretched child welfare services that are unable to devote the time to diagnosing the underlying causes for behavioral problems in favor of a 'quick fix' medication solution, or perhaps they just hand out these rather powerful mind altering medications like candy, either way, those statistics suggest quite clearly that we are either in the grip of a burgeoning epidemic, or that something is quite rotten in the psychiatric profession at the moment.

It suggests nothing of the sort. You have to know what the baseline rate was before the rise and after compared to international norms. Increased awareness leads to more assessments, the rise does not in itself indicate the disorder rates were actually lower previously as opposed to undiagnosed.

Coffee is a stimulant not unrelated to stimulants used to treat ADD, many were self medicating via caffeine without knowing why.