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Subscribe to RSSIn just 10 years the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, rose dramatically, a large new study suggests.
Overall, about 5 percent of nearly 843,000 kids ages 5 to 11 were diagnosed between 2001 and 2010 with the condition that can cause impulsive behavior and trouble concentrating. But during that time, rates of new ADHD diagnoses skyrocketed 24 percent – jumping from 2.5 percent in 2001 to 3.1 percent in 2010.
That’s according to a comprehensive review of medical records for children who were covered by the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health plan. Rates rose most among minority kids during the study period, climbing nearly 70 percent overall in black children, and 60 percent among Hispanic youngsters, according the study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Among black girls, ADHD rates jumped 90 percent.
Rates remained highest in white children, climbing from 4.7 percent to 5.6 percent during the study period.
The biggest factor driving this increase may be the heightened awareness of ADHD among parents, teachers, and pediatricians, says the study’s lead author Dr. Darios Getahun, a scientist with Kaiser Permanente. For kids who need help, that’s a good thing, Getahun says.
“The earlier a diagnosis is made, the earlier we can initiate treatment which leads to a better outcome for the child,” he says.
Unlike previous studies in which researchers relied on reports from parents and teachers to say whether a child had ADHD, the new study tracked kids who were diagnosed according to ADHD medical codes entered by child and adolescent psychiatrists, developmental and behavioral pediatricians, child psychologists and neurologists.
ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorders. Experts estimate that anywhere from 4 percent to 12 percent of school-age children are affected, many of whom continue to suffer from the disorder into adulthood.
Rates of diagnosis in the new study were greater in families with higher incomes, with nearly three-quarters of kids with ADHD coming from families that earned more than $50,000 a year.
“Higher rates of ADHD observed in affluent, white families likely represent an effort by these highly educated parents to seek help for their children who may not be fulfilling their expectations for schoolwork,” Getahun and his co-workers write.
Boys still outnumber girls 3 to 1 in ADHD diagnoses, but the gap appears to be closing among black girls.
“The increasing rate of ADHD among girls is an interesting finding and could represent an effort by parents to get more help for their daughters,” the authors say.
There was no change in the rate among Asian kids, but Getahun suspects this may have something to do with culture. Asians, as a rule, have been less likely to use mental health services and are more likely to discontinue therapy despite having equal access to care, Getahun says.
A child development specialist unaffiliated with the new study says he suspects that increased awareness of ADHD may have contributed to the increasing rate of diagnosis.
“Heightened professional awareness in general and improved efforts to detect ADHD exert an influence, but we cannot tell the magnitude of that,” says Alan Kazdin, the John M. Musser Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry at Yale University.
With all the coverage of the condition in the media, parents and teachers now have a better sense of what signs to look for, Kazdin says.
“Heightened awareness in the media, by parents and by teachers, too, may play a role. A child who in previous years just was said not to be able to control himself might now be more finely described.”
Related stories:
- Childhood ADHD may limit adult achievements
- ADHD overdiagnosed in youngest kids in class
- Number of women on ADHD meds soars
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I just think our children are lucky that Genetically Modified Organisms have been decided by big science and big pharma and our ever over-protective big government to be safe. I'll admit, I was concerned about adding poisons to our foods at a genetic level. But it really makes me feel better to know that these stats, and the increasingly high rate of infertility, has nothing to do with GMO's. whew...do I feel safer.
The whole GMO scare is another hoax. And Gluten is not the enemy, either. Its amazing what people are able to believe. Man has been eating wheat for centuries, and now all of a sudden, it is the worst thing for you?
Getting the shots that are suppose to be harmless.
keep letting those kids play vidio games as a babysitter.....it does make a difference ! god don't let them have a firearm ................
Parents should be involved in their lives. Kids now a days have cell phones, TVs in their room, computers and video games. The kids are too isolated and not given the attention they need. Parents flock to the Dr immediately and the Dr is too quick to diagnose ADD/ADHD and put them on a prescription. If the parents would do their part and raise their kids instead of assuming they have a mental disorder and let teachers teach instead of all the political B.S. kids might be normal. Also if the 16-22 year old's weren't having kids and waited until they grow up themselves maybe they would be able to raise a normal child instead of trying to raise themselves and a child.
there isnt an increase in ADHD, there has been a decrease in a$$ whooping. instead of disciplining children, parents rely on pharmaceuticals. Lazy liberals, always trying to get someone or something to take care of their problems for them
24% because doctors use it for parents who are lazy and it's easier to give a pill than tell them to suck it up and discipline the kids.
Why tough it out as a parent when there are actual pills that make it easier? Throw them in front of a TV, or an XBox, let them communicate only by texting, and you will hardly have to react with them at all.
ADHD is another medical scam, much like repressed memories. The reason black kids are much more likely to be diagnosed is because the single black moms on ssi GET MORE MOENY when their kids are diagnosed with adhd. They just doctor shop till they get what they want. They call it the CRAZY CHECK. Any teacher that works in a low income area can vouch for this.
While I also know all about this crazy check I have to disagree with 1 part.. its not just black women its hoodrats of all colors doing this scam lol.
I grew up in the hood in chicago, almost everybody I knew had at least 1 brother or sister getting this check! My husband got this check till he was 18 and his mom fought him for getting a job cuz his bens (her check) got cut- She was taking his check months after he moved out & getting foodstamps to! It took years of therapy for my husband to realize he didnt have a problem! It was hard for him to learn how to take responsability for his own actions cuz his whole life he was told its not his fault.. here have a pill.. oh no biggy not ur fault her have some electro shock.. oh hers a vitamin.. its bs. these kids are being abused! Kids who are mentally stable wont be after childhood with these low life mothers who scam for money!
My own parents got a check on my brother then turned around an called him crazy every chance they got- he moved in with us at 15-an my parents still got the check! Hes now 24 and is a general manager for a chain restaurant, married and has 1 child and is on 0 medications but as a child they had him on heavy narcotics so bad he was like a zombie or would have mental lapses- since being away from our parents and off the medication for years, He hasnt had any type of mental melt down!
The article forgot to mention that being diagnosed adhd qualifies you for social security as a kid so parents are getting paid for getting their kids diagnosed
Where are you getting this information? Our insurance company paid for a portion of days of private psychological testing. After that, same as anyone else.
I never got $$ from the government or SS. My son has been diagnosed for over 10 years!
Where do I sign up?
NOT.
Hmm, I never got any money from the government or SS for my son either.
I think it has more to do with our diet as a society in whole. All of the preservatives and additives and prepackaged process crap we have available. My son was "diagnosed" (add) and when we tried the meds he acted depressed and I didn't like it. I did not even try a second med. My kid is not a pharmacological guinea pig. I did some online research and we changed his diet, no longer allowed him to buy school lunches (heavily laden with preservatives, additives and chemicals) and limited the amount of computer time. His grades are much better now. Do the schools get federal aid based on the number of ADHD students they have?
Or maybe he just matured a little?
lol honestly... its because you took notice! You shorted his game time. Parenting is the best diet for our kids!
I was diagnosed about 5 years ago with Genetic Celiac Disease and was diagnosed about 20 years ago with ADHD. I now realize it has been the Gluten I was eating all those years that was making me sick and not only my body to absorb nutrients needed for my brain. I think alot has to do with diet and many doctors don't test you unless you have stomach pain. If you have a loved one with ADHD ask your doctor to do the Genetic Celiac blood test.
A lot of ADHD is easily cured if you start treatment at about two years of age. If you wait until 6 or 7 years it it more difficult but just takes stronger and bigeer doses. I remember my kid brother coming home from school with a note from the teacher saying not to send him back he was retarded. Dad sent him back to school with a note saying, He wont be retarded today and if he has a relapse sent another note and I promise he will get cured. PROBLEM NEVER RESURFACED!
I don't really think that it is on the rise I think that it is an easy diagnosis for Dr's to make. Parents are willing to accept it because it is a way to explain their lack of parenting. More kids are trying to get the diagnosis so they can get the drugs and get classified as learning disabled and just about can't fail out of classes then.
I agree that ADHD is over-diagnosed when it is simply a case of bad parenting or a child who does not get the appropriate behavioral feedback.
However, I have ADHD. I was diagnosed recently, as an adult. I am a female as well. Most of my initial schooling was in Italy. I was the teacher's pet, always eager to help the teacher. Always eager to put on a play for my classmates or to make a speech. I was unable to take afternoon naps like all other kids. I had to be on the go at all times.
I did incredibly well in school, but I managed it differently than others. I have a weird kind of memory that allows me to remember even the smallest details or dates or other information. I hardly did homework because it was boring. I was mostly well behaved but my brain was working so fast that I had to be 'on the go' at all times - intellectually as well. Italian schools reward this type of behavior, so it wasn't that weird that I'd be studying all sorts of things at all times.
When I came to the U.S., the school system here made it difficult for me to integrate well. I was thought of as a weird girl who knew a lot of stuff. I had to take a Stanford-Binet IQ test for placement and let's just say I was treated very differently based on that score.
As a young adult, I was very unsettled in college. I changed my majors regularly, not because I was failing, but because I was interested in so many things. I regularly managed a heavy load of classes. I tried to do all sorts of things to keep my crazy brain at the speed it went, etc. etc.
To make a long story short, a few months ago I decided to speak to a therapist about some issues related to a hysterectomy I had. After several interviews, rounds of tests, yet another IQ test (confirming the same score I had gotten previously), etc., I was diagnosed as ADHD.
I was as surprised as anyone with the diagnosis. I couldn't believe it because I too, like many of you, didn't think of ADHD as a 'real' issue. I was put on medication - Ritalin - and it has changed my life around. My brain actually can focus on one thing at a time, instead of going a mile a minute. I can actually get tasks done. I can actually concentrate.
I have always loved to read, but prior to medication I would read so fast and basically 'scan' a text. Though I'd get the gist, I'd miss the nuances. It's not that I wanted to skip each word, but it felt as if my brain couldn't concentrate.
Now, though I'm not perfect, I can slow down and read every word.
Medication is not a cure-all for ADHD. At least, it isn't for me. Medication can help with certain aspects, but I still have to work hard at improving and making things better. I am also a lot less awkward in social situations and I'm slowly learning how to enjoy my off time - something I couldn't do before.
Like many other ADHD sufferers, I am an avid videogamer. Interestingly enough, the psychiatrist believes that the various stimuli provided by the kind of games I play (multiplayer first person shooters) 'feed' my brain because they change all the time.
Also, ADHD and low IQ have little to do with one another. In fact, it is often quite the opposite. Moreover, adults with ADHD tend to be attracted to jobs where adrenaline and urgency are required. Plenty of ADHD adults work as entrepreneurs, laywers, military high-risk fields, etc.
They have the ability to do brain scans to diagnose ADD/ADHD based on how specific regions of specific lobes "light up". (Google "Dr. Amen Clinics" to see an example of how). But many doctors don't have access to this extremely expensive equipment to confirm their hypothesis. Instead, they make an unconfirmed hypothesis and hand the kid a prescription without knowing if that is what the kid actually needs. I'm sure many of the kids are wrongly diagnosed the kind of condition (maybe it's really a form of Autism) or they are diagnosed as having a problem—when really, perhaps that kid's brain is overstimulated from electronic media (thus reducing exposure considerably might unwind the kid and able to finally focus on one thing at a time).
Let's see..."there's obviously something wrong with your child...he/she doesn't LISTEN....I'm going to label him/her ADHD and prescribe drugs"
Maybe the people who diagnose ADHD for a living are really the"impulsive behavior and trouble concentrating" ones.
Just be happy your alive because our medical system is as broken as much as our federal state and local government operations, effectiveness or readiness.
actually I am quite happy with my medical plan, thank you though!
So, what ever became of the kids who were diagnosed with ADHD, received special services in school costing me thousands of dollars in proeperty taxes, then graduated from high school and got jobs and raised families?
ADHD will go down in history as one of the biggest scams perpetrated on society, along with the myths of the heterosexual AIDS epidemic (1990's) and the millions of starving, homeless children living in America, 2005.
What about finding out what's the food that we eat today?
Almost ALL meats, including diary products like milk & eggs we consumed today are all been enhanced with steroid & animal antibiotics. How reliable are they actually safe for human consumption? Please bear in mind that not all human bodies are the same...
We heard children started allergic to peanuts & babies are prone to milk or egg proteins that create scleroderma, such as aczema & rashes in their skin but why wasn't like this 30-year ago?
The only thing we believe is most sickness created from entering through our mouth. We just don't understand why hasn't this been put into research?
Diagnosis has jumped, not ADHD. Then there are kids who have it and those that are diagnosed and don't, kids on meds that shouldn't be and kids that have to take meds....I know a child who has to be on meds, he doesn't like it, his mother doesn't like it, but he went from failing in elementary school to A's and B's after starting medication. Sadly, this little boy suffers because of the ADHD and everything that comes with it...in his case, OCD, which is a terrible thing for a child that is 9 years old to suffer from.
Before you are going to bash every child out there and call them spoiled brats, spend some time with a child with TRUE ADHD....you'll wish you hadn't bashed these "spoiled" kids!
I saw it develop first hand
a good friend of mine did not discipline his child (but boy he got some wicked "time outs") (sarc)
I knew the child would have to be on medication when he started school.
he's been on medication for several years now.
I will agree that some children would be tramatized by physical discipline but anyone with half a brain would know that if you raise your voice and the child cowers; you don't have to swat their butt.
but herein lies the problem; that would require their parents to have half a brain.
The child I speak of, has always been very well behaved. He doesn't have behavioral problems. What he has, is the inability to concentrate and unable to sit down. A child who can't focus, can't learn. Imagine yourself sitting down to do a math problem, and in the 5 minutes it takes you've gotten up and sat down 10 times, you've looked out the window 20 times. This is part of ADHD. I agree there are children who don't behave because they are spoiled, I know some of those too.
did anyone notice that ADHD showed up shortly after "time out" replaced a swat on the butt?
which by the way; a swat on the butt is not a whipping.
There are plenty of other disciplines that are effective. For me, spankings simply traumatized me. Seriously. I think it had a huge part in contributing to my eating disorder, because I simply couldn't trust my parents. I'm 22, and even after years of work on my part, I find it hard to talk about tough stuff with my dad. And he's honestly a pretty great guy.
I was a very, very sensitive type of personality, and also a VERY tiny child, and the ONLY message I got from spankings was absolute fear, which turned into depression and self-harming at age seven. There was NO explanation as to what to do better. Parents need to guide children. Say a child draws on the walls. A spanking isn't going to cure that, but having them SCRUB the walls until they're clean, and taking away the crayons for a period of time will get the message across. When they ask for them, remind them of why they can't have them right then. Let the punishment fit the crime.
And every child is exactly the same as you, everyone of them. (sarc)
I take it you didn't read the previous comment - #46.1
Actually, I did. Read the whole conversation, but did not read the names of who posted (I usually don't, for some reason-probably because the names are less important to the conversation). So, I did not associate the two comments with the same poster and therefore could not draw the connection.
My point is this-it is impossible to tell whether spanking will hurt or harm that one particular child at the time, and if a parent is angry, it can easily escalate into further abuse that will REALLY hurt both of them. Parent out of love, not anger...always. Discipline when calm, but firmly. CONNECT. Hitting someone (and yes, spanking is a form of hitting) is wrong, period. It teaches children that you can hurt someone if you are more powerful than the victim, and sends a very confusing message. Would I put it in the same category as belts or other things? No, of course not, but it is still a form of abuse, and ineffective in true communication at best. Many cultures around the world do not use physical punishment and have children that are very well behaved and well adjusted and successful.
I am a huge advocate of discipline, but discipline does NOT mean spanking. There are PLENTY of other options, and the main key is consistency. That, and actually having rules from the toddler years that are always enforced. I think that that is really the main problem in terms of discipline is the lack of enforcement, and psychology backs this up. We truly are creatures of habit.
You would find the ADHD rates fall if children in school had a robust recess every 2 hours. I mean running, playing ball, or anything to use energy. Children can not just sit in a chair and do that hour after hour. They need to spend energy and to get their mind off studies. This is what creative people do. They walk and talk to get their mind off the present and allow their minds to function.
Good point Tea Pott....Even lunch at my sons school is 20 mins, 10 to eat and if lucky and get done you can go out. The child I posted about above is a friends child. His teacher brings them outside for a walk when they get unruly, it settles them down. Thankfully this child has this teacher, we don't know what next year will bring. She knows how to deal with him, in a way he can learn.
ADHD is yet another imaginary "illness" that benefits only the doctors that prescribe the drugs that are gladly (and profitably) supplied by the pharmaceutical companies who are in bed with the doctors. It's all about money, folks. Kids are kids, but society has removed the parents' right to teach them by discipline (not abuse); hence, the "increase" in ADHD. Pretty obvious, actually.
Bad food, bad water, vaccines and a myriad of other problems are eviscerating our children. We are living in an unnatural world.