We are wrapping up a week of blog posts focused on kids and school.  Today’s topic may be one of the more controversial ones of this week:  The diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, or more accurately, the over-diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. 

As many as one million students who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may simply be immature when compared to their older classmates.  Huh …. ya think???  From personal experience, I can guarantee that is can be the case.  My brother as a kid would definately carry the label today, but 35 years ago, he was just scatter-brained, goofy and immature.  He had a summer birthday, so he was younger than most of his classmates, and he was a little boy.  And as we all know, boys take longer to mature than girls – sometimes decades!!!

Todd Elder of Michigan State University was the lead author on a study that examined 12,000 school children at three different levels of schooling:  kindergarten, 5th grade and 8th grade.  According to Elder, younger kindergartners were 60% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than their older classmates.

By the same token, those fifth and eighth graders who were younger were more than twice as likely to be prescribed stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall, as were their older counterparts.
Elder and his team concluded that these misdiagnoses may occur because of a teacher’s “perception” of what may simply be the result of a child lacking maturity.  He estimates that such misdiagnoses cost $320 million to $500 million per year, $80-$90 million of which is paid by Medicaid, the public health insurance program provided to the poor.

The National ADD Association cautions teachers and parents that in order to fit the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ definition of ADHD, there are several core features that must be present over a long period of time:

*distractibility (inability to stay on task
*impulsivity (impaired impulse control and inability to delay gratification
*hyperactivity (excessive activity and restlessness)

In order to meet the criteria, these features must last longer than six months and must have a negative impact on at least two areas of a child’s life, such as school, home, or in a social setting.   The Association emphasizes that ADHD is NOT characterized by normal childhood distractibility and impulsivity, nor is it the same as those distractions caused by hectic and chaotic home environments. 

ADDA estimates that 4%-6% of the population has ADHD, 8-9 million of whom are adults.  

May I suggest that we all take a step back and recall that a child is a child, not a shorter version of an adult.  There are differing maturity levels between kids, even in the same grade.  And rather than label and medicate a kids, let’s look at diet and sleep patterns.  I’m willing to bet that a child with a healthy, nutritious diet and a structured rest and bed time performs better and with less distractions than a kid that is jumping off the walls on sugar and is over-tired.

I will also point you back to a previous blog post I wrote about the link between ADHD and pesticide contamination of fruits and veggies.  In these cases, it makes more sense to remove the chemicals and toxins, rather than pump more chemicals into the kids with prescription drugs.  An oral chelation or body detoxifcation program can pull the bad stuff out and maybe even turn your little rascal into a little angle!

Posted by Laurie Puckett at Remmel Wellness Center, a full service wellness and chiropractic facility located in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.