not adult but very topical... | ADHD Information
its another long article... davie and countrygirl, turn the page!!!as i stated in the title, its not an adult issue per se, however it is very topical and raises the issue of economic disparity...
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/JennniferRobackMorse /2005/10/10/170687.html ADHD and me
By Jennifer Roback Morse
Oct 10, 2005
Columnist, Townhall.com
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control reveals some interesting patterns about the prevalence of hyperactivity. Kids from lower income families are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Almost 15% of boys from families below the poverty line have a history of the diagnosis, while only 10% of boys in families at twice the poverty line do. I have some theories about this, both as a policy wonk and as a mom.
What are my credentials to speak on this topic? I don’t have a medical degree, or a degree in psychology. My Ph.D. is in economics. So I do know something about how to interpret data. But my real expertise on this particular topic is my M.O.M. degree.
I’ve been working on my M.O.M. degree since 1991,when I had two children in
six months, (a record of sorts, even for a Catholic.) We adopted a little
2 year old boy from Romania, and gave birth to a little girl, six months later.
Because our son had some special developmental issues, we accumulated a lot
of information about a whole variety of disabilities, most of which he turned
out not to have.
We decided all that knowledge about childhood trauma and unusual disorders was too valuable to waste on only one child: (economies of scale and all that.) So in 2003, we became foster parents for San Diego county. We’ve had 7 foster kids in our home, and seen lots of others come and go, if you count all their siblings in different foster homes, and then all the foster siblings of our foster kids’ siblings. (Did you follow that? There is nothing simple about the simple demographics for foster families. Even the simple question, “how many children do you have?” takes more than a sound-bite to answer.)
Anyhow, the point is: I have seen more than the usual number of kids that moms see. And most of “my” kids have no genetic relationship to one another. So although I have only seen a small sample of children “up close and personal,” it is probably a larger sample, and more statistically meaningful sample than most families get to see. I have some definite opinions about “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
I have to tell you: I am not an Anti- Medication Absolutist. I have seen kids who do really well with medication with almost miraculous improvement. On the other hand, I am not a Pro-Medication True Believer. I have seen kids who were positively harmed by medication. And by harmed, I mean a child who became more irritable, more unmanageable and even violent.
How could that be? The ADHD diagnosis is sometimes assigned too
casually. People think it is a simple explanation for what they see. But the
treatment for ADHD can actually aggravate other problems, such as bipolar
disorder.
According to Dr. Demitri Papolos and Janice Papolos,
children with bipolar disorder can sometimes react very badly to stimulants or
anti-depressants. In their book, The Bipolar Child: the definitive and reassuring guide to
childhood’s most misunderstood disorder, they report instances of
bipolar children, who were wrongly diagnosed, or wrongly medicated.
“Antidepressants and in many cases stimulants given without the benefit of a mood stabilizer (possibly even with the protection of a mood stabilizer) can cause havoc in a child suffering from a bipolar condition, increasing anxiety states, potentially inducing mania, more frequent (mood) cycling, and increases in aggressive outbursts and temper tantrums.”
Parents may believe that ADHD is a relatively benign diagnosis, with a potentially manageable outcome. But if you overlook something more serious, and medicate the wrong disorder, you can make your child much worse. If your child is not responding to the medicine prescribed for ADHD, or if his behavior is becoming worse in some areas, consider getting a more thorough diagnostic work-up.
These brings me to my theory about why the children of the poor are more likely to be medicated for ADHD. Better off parents may be more persistent about getting an accurate diagnosis. Children of the poor may simply accept the opinion of the first authority figure who tells them their child needs medication.
It is also possible that there truly is more attention deficit disorder among the poor. Some researchers believe there is a genetic component to the disorder. If that is the case, then untreated and undiagnosed ADHD could account for some of the problems in living that plague the parents, problems that lead to them having lower incomes, or to their kids landing in foster care. I am at least willing to consider this as a hypothesis.
One other possible explanation: better off parents may be able to come up with non-medication strategies for managing their kids’ behavior. We have found it helpful to simplify the child’s life as much as possible. We have often stripped an easily distracted child’s room of all toys and unnecessary decor.
We keep the toys anywhere but in his room. He can dress himself in the morning, without being drawn off-task by all the stuff in his room. We also limit the use of anything with a screen. We don’t even own a TV; we seriously limit video games. Often, the birth parents think we’re being mean. They have a tough time understanding why we’re doing these things. But eventually they get the point that it can be in their child’s interest to have fewer things and less screen time.
These strategies are not panaceas. They won’t cure every hyperactive kid. But these strategies will improve the quality of life for almost any kid. The fact that the children of the poor are more likely to have an ADHD diagnosis may just mean that their parents need more and better information.
Chicken Little rot...
I think the number is 920 or 920E.
This is a guide I've looked at a few times to find out what we are eating.
http://www.mbm.net.au/health/guide.htm
Tis very interesting reading. Some of this maybe different for people in other countries I'm not sure how it works from country to country.
GymRose38639.8084259259[QUOTE=Davidornado]Chicken Little rot... [/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Brookelea]pres 282 in breads?? yucky!!!! 
what is it anyhow??
bread buying will never be the same again!!
[/QUOTE]
282 is the preservitive used to up the use by date, it keeps the bread from going stale. Since you are an Aussie girl Brookelea I can tell you that Helgas, Nobel Rise and some other more expensive breads don't have 282. Although I did find at Easter that Nobel Rise had started putting 282 in their buns.
I'd rather use the freezer so bread doesn't go stale than 282............. Better yet just eat the stuff.
Here is THE one that is really going to turn your stomach though Darl 
. There is a preservative they use in the no name breads that is a filler and is actually..................... Chicken feathers. I kid you not.
So either make your own bread and make sure there is no preservitive in the brand of pre mix you buy or you need to pay a lil extra for bread that doesn't have these nasties.
Gymrose, What is the name of the preservative that is actually chicken feathers? THAts disgusting!
what is it anyhow??
bread buying will never be the same again!!
Another thing that wasn't brought up in this article though is food.
I was on a restrictive diet once my parents realised that some foods were major triggers for mood swings and hyperactivity. Our boys are the same and I have restricted certain foods since they showed any signs of the same traits I have. It doesn't get rid of the ADHD but it helps for them not to have the foods that send them so far over the top that they are a danger to themselves and others.
Our oldest and second youngest, you can actually see when they have eaten something that effects them because their eyes glaze over like someone whose just taken drugs.
Looking at the school yard though it is easy to see where kids can be diagnosed ADHD when in actual fact it is the food that is sending them hyper and it is the cheaper foods that the lower paid families can afford that are heavily laiden with preservitives.
You give most any child without ADHD preservitive 282 and they exibhit what would appear to be signs of ADHD. 282 is in all the cheap brands of breads here. Just one example of a food that can make the most placid and easy going child go over the edge and if it is always given to the child it is easy to see how a miss diagnoises could be given.
How do you turn the page? I couldn't...Dr. Amen's study in brain imaging looks interesting but is still open to interpertation, it seems most dx are easier to do through behavior than than what may actually be causing it, is it another version of 'treating the sympton vs cause'.
Other studies have shown adopted kids seem to have a higher rate of ADhD then the general population, again this doesn/t mean just because someone is adopted they will have ADhD, just that their background/genetics play a big part in bringing it out.
Lower income families may also have a higher rate of drug/alchohol abuse, again self medicating because of un-dx problems and stress because of possible ADhD, if this is their situation.