For a teacher to suggest that a child has ADHD is "inappropriate and dangerous," says Dr. Elizabeth Roberts, child psychiatrist in Murrieta, California. Depression, anxiety and abuse are all possibilities in a child's life that could lead to attention problems, Roberts said. That means that many children are receiving medication for the wrong problem.
ADHD: Who Makes the Diagnosis?
(CNN) -- As a toddler, Ian Barrier got expelled from day care.
"They just said that he was all over the place, he couldn't handle the structure, they didn't have the staff or the skills to deal with it," said his mother, Amy Barr. "They said, 'We think he has ADD or ADHD' and I'm like, 'What is that?"
Ian, now 11, and his 9-year-old brother Aidan are just two examples of some 5 million children in the United States who have received the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition marked by impulsive behavior and a lack of focus.
But although this is a medical condition with medical treatments available, often doctors aren't the ones suggesting a diagnosis. Roberts wants to say to all educators: "There are many, many diagnoses that cause these problems, including abuse and depression and anxiety. So please, withhold your judgment."
In Barr's case, having gotten her kids tested for ADHD even before school, the educational system has been supportive. But the question of medication has plagued her, with years of trying different combinations of drugs -- sometimes four or five at a time.
Despite medication, Ian pulled the fire alarm at his fourth day care center, dispatching the same fire department that would get him out of a tree at age 9, Barr said. And both brothers have spent time in a psychiatric ward at a children's hospital; for the younger one, it may have been because of overmedication, Barr said.
All too often, parents come to pediatrician Dr. Claudia Gold's office asking for a prescription for ADHD, based on a recommendation from school. "Medication is quick and easy but it's not the answer alone for working with kids who have ADHD."
Experts agree that ADHD does exist as a real disorder, and that some children really do benefit from medication.But it's not the teacher's place to make diagnoses, or to recommend medication, Gold said.
When she consults with parents alone, however, she's likely to hear stories of trauma: a death in the family, an abusive relationship, and other life experiences that the teacher knew nothing about...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/11/adhd....
"They just said that he was all over the place, he couldn't handle the structure, they didn't have the staff or the skills to deal with it," said his mother, Amy Barr. "They said, 'We think he has ADD or ADHD' and I'm like, 'What is that?"
Ian, now 11, and his 9-year-old brother Aidan are just two examples of some 5 million children in the United States who have received the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition marked by impulsive behavior and a lack of focus.
But although this is a medical condition with medical treatments available, often doctors aren't the ones suggesting a diagnosis. Roberts wants to say to all educators: "There are many, many diagnoses that cause these problems, including abuse and depression and anxiety. So please, withhold your judgment."
In Barr's case, having gotten her kids tested for ADHD even before school, the educational system has been supportive. But the question of medication has plagued her, with years of trying different combinations of drugs -- sometimes four or five at a time.
Despite medication, Ian pulled the fire alarm at his fourth day care center, dispatching the same fire department that would get him out of a tree at age 9, Barr said. And both brothers have spent time in a psychiatric ward at a children's hospital; for the younger one, it may have been because of overmedication, Barr said.
All too often, parents come to pediatrician Dr. Claudia Gold's office asking for a prescription for ADHD, based on a recommendation from school. "Medication is quick and easy but it's not the answer alone for working with kids who have ADHD."
Experts agree that ADHD does exist as a real disorder, and that some children really do benefit from medication.But it's not the teacher's place to make diagnoses, or to recommend medication, Gold said.
When she consults with parents alone, however, she's likely to hear stories of trauma: a death in the family, an abusive relationship, and other life experiences that the teacher knew nothing about...
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/11/adhd....
Sista Lee... good parenting.....
My oldest is an adult... when he was young one of his teachers asked me if he was always so hyper and if he was like this at home.... I took him to his pediatrician and asked was there something I could do to calm him down....
His prescription was.... let him tire himself out... He's a child.... children have energy.. once you start medicating him... the suppression could trigger something else off....
I talk to parents about this all the time... I ask them if they really know what there child was taking.... and that alot of these perscription medications for hyper active symptoms are on the trial/testing stages... they have not been FDA approved and if it has... it has not been actively proven effective for children...
I hope parents really check out concerns and ask questions.... Good for you!!