Overdiagnosis of Adhd in Children
Erin Harvell English 2000 Professor Panos 13 April 2010 Overdiagnosis of AD(H)D in Children Disruptive behavior, distractibility in the classroom, and inability to pay attention are just a few symptoms that most children diagnosed with AD(H)D have. However, are these few symptoms what doctors look at when diagnosing a child for AD(HD)? More and more research is leading doctors to believe that AD(H)D is being over diagnosed because of the lack of time doctors have to spend with their patients, doctors are not doing complete evaluations, and doctors who have the power of the prescription pad.
Talking with a local doctor here in town, Dr. Patricia Depuy said, “We just don’t have time. ” Like Dr. Depuy, many other doctors say the same thing. With a lack of time, it gives more room for error. Doctors do not have adequate enough time to do extensive evaluations on patients along with a background check of family history. As stated before and I will explain later in the paper, doctors that do not have adequate enough time also have the power of the prescription pad. Miami neurologist Sara Dorison says, “There’s no way you can screen for side effects in a 10-year-old in five minutes.
You have to chat about their summer, their friends. ” (www. time. com) Throughout all of my research I have repeatedly found doctors admitting that they simply do not have enough time to do extensive background checks and evaluations on the child and so they just diagnose them, give them a prescription and get them out of there. 8 to 10% of children in the 2nd through 5th grades were found to routinely take ADHD medication in school during the 1995-96 school year. (www. thenaturalbeat. om) With the growing numbers of children being diagnosed with AD(H)D since 1996, research shows that more and more kids are taking medications and do not go a day without them. In a group of about 15 third grade boys, 9 out of the 15 moms required their sons to take their medication at an overnight event here in town over the weekend says Jordy Barksdale of Istrouma Baptist Church-leader at Disciple Now. A study showed that the use of medication increased as children aged, and by the fifth grade, 19 to 20% of white boys received ADHD drugs.
ADHD medication was used by three times as many boys as girls and twice as many whites as blacks. (www. thenaturalbeat. com) With these growing numbers of children being diagnosed with AD(H)D, the inadequate amount of time the doctors have is making the percentages of children who have AD(H)D go up drastically according my research. (www. thenaturalbeat. com) Without enough time, not only are these doctors just diagnosing the children and getting them out of the office, they are also not able to do evaluations on the child and background checks of family history. Because ADHD shares its symptoms with many other disorders, it is crucial for doctors to rule out anything else before putting the child on a treatment plan for ADHD. ” (http://www. micronutra. com/journal/adhd/is-adhd-over-diagnosed) In Psychiatric Times, Dr. Mota-Castillo explains of a situation where a little girl was diagnosed with AD(H)D because she had symptoms of it but he later discovered after doing an evaluation and background of family history that she in fact had a long family history of psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia. (www. pyschiatricstimes. om) This doctors questions how competent and caring doctors can miss the diagnostic target when assessing patients such as this young girl, he believes it is often because they do not obtain a complete family history, cultural and linguistic barriers, and failure to communicate with clinicians who know the patient well. (www. pyschiatrictimes. com) Just as this doctors says, a failure to do certain things with the patient can lead to a more serious condition as it was in this case. Too many doctors have not enough time to do this research but yet they have the power of the prescription pad which has lead to the over diagnosis of AD(H)D.
Just like this case with this young girl, the doctor didn’t have enough time to do a complete evaluation on this young girl and since he saw a few symptoms of AD(H)D he diagnosed her has having it. From my research many doctors know that they do not have enough time but that they have the power of the prescription pad and therefore can prescribe them. “Like adults taking mind meds, children often get their drugs not from a specialist in psychiatry and psychopharmacology but from any M. D. with the power of the prescription pad.
Usually this means the pediatrician or family doctor, who isn’t likely to have the time or training necessary for extensive evaluations needed before drugs can be properly prescribed. ” (www. time. com) Later in this quote is where Dr. Dorison says you can’t screen for side effects in a 10-year-old in five minutes whom I quoted earlier. This doctor was admitting that it is often they do not have enough time to do extensive evaluations but they do have the power of the prescription pad to prescribe any drug that they feel fit. Most doctors, like Dr.
Elliot of the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute at the University of California says the problem is that our usage has outstripped our knowledge base. Lets face it; we’re experimenting on these kids without tracking the results. (www. time. com) Child psychologists point out that often non-pharmaceutical treatments can reduce or eliminate the need for drugs. Through all of my research I have found that most doctors are admitting that they don’t have enough time but they do have the power of the prescription pad. “As many as 75% of children with AD(H)D meet the criteria for another psychiatric diagnosis. (Journal of Attention Disorders) Some studies have shown that, for a significant number of children, an actual or suspected diagnosis of ADHD is disconfirmed after further assessment. For instance, Cotugno (1993) evaluated 92 children previously referred to a specialized ADHD clinic. He found that, after a comprehensive evaluation, only 22% of the children were given a primary diagnosis of ADHD and only 37% were given a secondary diagnosis of ADHD. Similarly, Desgranges, Desgranges, and Karsky (1995) found that 62% of clinic referrals for suspected ADHD were not confirmed as ADHD cases after further evaluation. Journal of Attention Disorders) With the power of the prescription pad, more and more doctors are diagnosing children without ever doing extensive evaluations and it is leading to the rising numbers of over diagnosing AD(H)Din children. Whether it is time, money, or those two letters in front of your name, more and more children are being over diagnosed because of doctors who don’t have enough time but have enough power. In the world today, power is everything. If you have money then you will likely have power and in turn you will be able to do and go as you see fit.
As we all know, doctors have a lot of money and they also have a lot of power but what they do not have is a lot of time. Research has shown that more and more children are being over diagnosed due doctors not having enough time but having enough power. Dr Depuy said, “not only do we not have enough time, but we don’t get paid for doing extensive evaluations either. ” With more time and less doctors worried about their paycheck, the statistics of over diagnosing children with AD(H)D could possibly go down. Works Cited 1. Kluger, Jeffrey; Cray, Dan; Klarreich, Kathie; Whitaker, Leslie. Medicating Young Minds” Time November 3, 2003 http://www. time. com/magazine/article/0,9171,1006034-2,00. html 2. M. D. Furhman, Joel “ADHD Over-Diagnosis and Treatment Options: Disease Proof October 25, 2006 http://www. diseaseproof. com/archives/adhd-adhd-overdiagnosis-and-treatment-options. html 3. Mota-Castillo, Manuel. “The Crisis of Over Diagnosed ADHD in Children” Psychiatric Times July 1, 2007 http://www. psychiatrictimes. com/adhd/content/article/10168/53786? verify=0 4. Klein, Rachel. “Are We Over-Diagnosing ADHD in Our Children? ” The Natural Beat May 14,2009 http://www. henaturalbeat. com/are-we/overdiagnosing-adhd-in-our-kids/ 5. http://www. micronutra. com/journal/adhd/is-adhd-over-diagnosed 6. http://web. ebscohost. com. libezp. lib. lsu. edu/ehost/detail? vid=1&hid=15&sid=4984cfdb-2cb3-48fd-bef1-cc00f2aefcd2%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=pbh&AN=12146892 7. Sciutto, Mark; Eisenburg, Miriam. “Evaluating the Evidence For and Against the Overdiagnosis of ADHD” Journal of Attention Disorders-Volume 11 Number 2 September 2007 http://jad. sagepub. com/cgi/reprint/11/2/106
