Good news - I think | ADHD Information
Im 13 and I still have symptoms. [QUOTE=newmom] Did anyone see the news last night about the recent research on ADHD?The study claims that most ADHD children (with attention/focus issues) simply outgrow the condition. It shows the children with ADHD are about 3 years behind normal children but they will eventually catch up when the part of the brain that has to do with attention and focusing finally finishes developing. In kids without ADHD that happens around 7 but for our kids it doesn't happen until 10 or so. They do eventually catch up to the other kids their age. There is another aspect of the brain that also develops quicker that is why some ADHD kids are more fidgety (i.e. hyper).
The debate whether to medicate is still up in the air but the researchers did say that most kids should out grow the symptoms!!!!!!!
Question (OPEN DISCUSSION) - if we decide to medicate - what about the chances then of them outgrowing ADHD? Would we be delaying what will eventually come naturally? Also - only 3%-5% of the population really has ADHD - don't you think too many children are mis-dx with this and put on drugs to fix a problem that isn't the real problem? Do they then become reliant on medication. I personally feel that we should encourage our children to learn coping techniques instead of medicating but that is just my opinion and what I am leaning towards with my child.
NOW I DO NOT MEAN TO INSULT OR OFFEND ANYONE WHO HAS MEDICATED THEIR CHILD(ren) - THIS IS JUST TO INFORM - ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE WAVERING - LIKE ME about medicating to help with focus, attention issues.
Well I will tell you I have delt with my daughter's problems to conrol anger, impulsiveness, and agressiveness since she was 5. I have always been against med's for her, I have always looked for diet change to help her, or natural techniques to ge her thru her chemical issues. However this month we started her on a med, and it is working. I am also doing certain techniques that will help along the way. my daughter's father was ADHD (severly). ms.mom39400.8283564815
rswf wrote:
'I also heard about a study that said women with wider hips are smarter than their thinner counterparts - I'm going out for a dougnut."
Does this mean that we were smarter when pregnant and then lost it?
Back on topic: It will take more studies to confirm (or not) this study, as well as to fit it into place with other knowlege for proper interpretation. The study is describe with other studies at NIH:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/index-adhd-news.shtml
The study did not address the clearing of symptoms or other issues related to ADHD, only brain structure. So trying to extrapolate the data to treatment vs non-treatment is way beyond the scope of the study.
Other studes at this site include evidence of a gene variation related to better outcome of ADHD and brain normilization in the teen years; relationships between the size of certain brain areas and impairment; etc. These will need to be confirmed, and incorporated into meaningful places in the knowlege base for ADHD, its diagnosis, treatment and outcome. I am sure that there is much more to be discovered and an glad that there is much research in the area.
It is important to teach kids all the skills they need to be successful in life, regardless of whether they have ADHD or not. There is some evedence that once medicated, people with ADHD may more easily be trained in these skills. This is of course very individual.
The multimodal study indicates that meds increase the chance for long term benefit:
"Our results suggest that medication can make a long-term difference for some children if it's continued with optimal intensity, and not started or added too late in a child's clinical course," added Jensen." http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2007/improvement-follow ing-adhd-treatment-sustained-in-most-children.shtml
vickie39400.7109375HMMM - I heard that too. I just don't know. I would like to see more than one study. I also heard about a study that said women with wider hips are smarter than their thinner counterparts - I'm going out for a dougnut.
Seriously - what about adults with Attention deficit problems?
If kids grow out of these symptoms that is great but if medication helps them while they are catching up, I think that's good too.
I'd love to read other's opinions.
Medication is, or should be, reserved for people who cannot function optimally due their symptoms. I'ts not all about wanting or not wanting to medicate. Who really WANTS to medicate. Not me! Not with how much grief the meds have caused us. Some children, my daughter included, cannot get through her day to day without the help of medication. I thinks it too bad there has been so much overprescribing and/or overdiagnosing. I know children who literally cannot do anything if they do not take their meds.I read that article too. I was surprised by the idea that many kids with ADHD will outgrow it, since that is contrary to most of what I've read/heard.Since the study wasn't about medication or its effects, I wouldn't think that this article should influence anyone's decision on whether or not to medicate. Nothing in the article indicated, to me, that medication would have any impact on whether or not a child would outgrow ADHD.
Didn't the article also say that some kids do not outgrow ADHD, and that there needs to be further research to determine the differences between those who do and those who don't? (I think I remember reading that.)
Anyway, I thought the article was interesting. Maybe this study is one more piece of the puzzle, and eventually the puzzle will be solved and there will be definite answers about what ADHD is and how to best treat it. The sooner the better!
I guess it's possible that kids will out grow it. But maybe society needs to learn coping techniques and quit trying to fit all kids into the same nice neat little box?
If they do outgrow it what about all the adults on these message boards? Hey maybe we're still just kids?
I have 2 adult sons diagnosed with ADD or ADHD as children. They were medicated from 6 til about age 12 when "they" chose to discontinue meds. Without the treatment they would not have been able to function in school during those early years. When they discontinued the meds they barely kept up enough to graduate. Currently they are successful, functioning members of society but I believe that is because they had the years while on medication as a strong base on which to build their character. They know their responsibilities as members of our family, society and they learned to respect authority. I believe that without the use of medication, the battle to maintain their focus long enough to teach them these core values would not have yielded the successes they did.
This is not to say that I believe that they have "out-grown" the condition. I believe that they have learned some coping mechanisms. I still believe that they could benefit from some intervention but they are adults and if they are satisfied with the quality of their lives it is not for me to interfere.
I myself am 49, I was never diagnosed with this condition as a child. I recoginized the characteristics while dealing with my first Pre-pubescent son with ADD. I also realized that I still suffered from the same problems, but had learned coping skills for some of them on my own. I later was tested to be ADD w/ anxiety and depression. Whose to say if I had been diagnosed and treated as a child if I might not suffer from anxiety and depression now.
As a mother with ADD, having had children with ADD and ADHD I thank God every day that meds were available because I'm not sure if we would have all survived those early years.
Did anyone see the news last night about the recent research on ADHD?The study claims that most ADHD children (with attention/focus issues) simply outgrow the condition. It shows the children with ADHD are about 3 years behind normal children but they will eventually catch up when the part of the brain that has to do with attention and focusing finally finishes developing. In kids without ADHD that happens around 7 but for our kids it doesn't happen until 10 or so. They do eventually catch up to the other kids their age. There is another aspect of the brain that also develops quicker that is why some ADHD kids are more fidgety (i.e. hyper).
The debate whether to medicate is still up in the air but the researchers did say that most kids should out grow the symptoms!!!!!!!
Question (OPEN DISCUSSION) - if we decide to medicate - what about the chances then of them outgrowing ADHD? Would we be delaying what will eventually come naturally? Also - only 3%-5% of the population really has ADHD - don't you think too many children are mis-dx with this and put on drugs to fix a problem that isn't the real problem? Do they then become reliant on medication. I personally feel that we should encourage our children to learn coping techniques instead of medicating but that is just my opinion and what I am leaning towards with my child.
NOW I DO NOT MEAN TO INSULT OR OFFEND ANYONE WHO HAS MEDICATED THEIR CHILD(ren) - THIS IS JUST TO INFORM - ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE WAVERING - LIKE ME about medicating to help with focus, attention issues.
ms.mom39400.8251157407
Some outgrow it entirely, some outgrow some of the symptoms but not all, some don't outgrow it at all. Many don't feel the impact as adults because they choose condusive careers--like a paramedic. And they are not sitting at a desk for hours each day being told to focus based on the clock, and being given assessment tests. This just happens to be a very troublesome condition in the education environment. It may or may not be troublesome as an adult, especially the mild cases, depending on how they go about their lives.
I don't see the connection with medication. Meds are not going to stop or delay further brain development--at least I have never run across any information like that. I also think the "10 years old" thing is bogus. Don't hold your breath. I have heard of the 30% rule -- unmedicated ADHD children are 30% behind peers developmentally. I assume this applies to children of all ages, not just those under the age of 10.
NoTellin39400.6823842593No one ever outgrows it, they just grow up and probably better control it, with or with out meds.
Some do a better job than others, depending on the severity of it, AND whether they really have it or not
Just my opinion
I thought this was a very fascinating read from Russell Barkley:
http://www.schwablearning.org/pdfs/2200_7-barktran.pdf
It is LOOOONNNNG and not exactly new, but an otherwise very easy read. The really interesting stuff starts about halfway through starting with "The Developmental Course of ADHD". He talks about the 30% lag behind "normal" kids but also discusses why most kids do NOT outgrow it and how ADHD affects executive functioning.
Anyway, some of you guys may have read this already, but I found it really, really interesting. I HIGHLY recommend reading it.
I also like to read Barkley. He is considered one of the top in the field and he can explain difficult concepts in an easy to understand manner. [QUOTE=newmom]Metis - I am confused. Who said they would automatically "catch up"?I posted an article from the Toronto Star and the neuro said that is how people "outgrow" ADHD.
What I read was that the brain development of ADHD children in the certain part of the brain just developed slower that causes the attention/focus problems. The study claims that most of 223 children with ADHD studied eventually caught up with in a 3 year time frame - at least according to the medical scans. Nothing was mentioned about the lasting psychological effects of having the issue during that time frame.
I don't think the study said anything to the matter that it wasn't difficult or didn't require medication to control the symptoms of ADHD. They just found something - biological to this issue. A great big step in finding a possible cure - hopefully.
I wonder if some of us would take the "cure" if it were available? I'm not sure I want to be "cured" since I don't see it as a disability.
We all have probably gone through some negative parts in our childhood that have lasting repercussions. I, for one, had a learning disability that made school academically hard for me - over the years I learned to deal and find things that really interested me. Today I own my own business and I am doing really well.
Not to negate other people's experience but I believe that the negative aspects of our lives teach us and help us grow. Hopefully, no one's life is too hard. I look at my kids and realize I had it easy - they were taken from their bio. parents, shuffled around from foster homes over the course of 18 months - medicated and finally given to new people to be their parents - that will have more of lasting effect than I care to imagine but I will work hard to let them not be a victim and look for the positive in life.
That's a permanent situation--unless as an adoptive parent you've opted for "open" adoption. How the children manage that situation is dependent on genetic factors, environment etc. All you can do is be the best parent you can and hope for the best.
As a parent, for what I have learned over this past year, it is our job to protect, teach, shelter and inspire our children no matter what. We just have a tougher job than most but with a little luck and research we may be able to get rid of ADHD - if not today perhaps in the future.
Again, look who has ADHD. What would they be if themselves if they didn't? Would Lee Evans even be able to be such a brilliant comedian if he didn't have it? Would Da Vinci's mind have taken such wild flights of fancy leading to scientific discovery if he was "normal"? Frankly, 'normal' changes on a decade-basis. We may be the 'normal' ones in different environments.
Don't mean to sound preachy and I hope I didn't offend.
Diverse viewpoints are never offensive. How else would an ADHD'er be able to take mental excercise and have to think through new ideas?
[/QUOTE]Metis - I am confused. Who said they would automatically "catch up"?
What I read was that the brain development of ADHD children in the certain part of the brain just developed slower that causes the attention/focus problems. The study claims that most of 223 children with ADHD studied eventually caught up with in a 3 year time frame - at least according to the medical scans. Nothing was mentioned about the lasting psychological effects of having the issue during that time frame.
I don't think the study said anything to the matter that it wasn't difficult or didn't require medication to control the symptoms of ADHD. They just found something - biological to this issue. A great big step in finding a possible cure - hopefully.
We all have probably gone through some negative parts in our childhood that have lasting repercussions. I, for one, had a learning disability that made school academically hard for me - over the years I learned to deal and find things that really interested me. Today I own my own business and I am doing really well.
Not to negate other people's experience but I believe that the negative aspects of our lives teach us and help us grow. Hopefully, no one's life is too hard. I look at my kids and realize I had it easy - they were taken from their bio. parents, shuffled around from foster homes over the course of 18 months - medicated and finally given to new people to be their parents - that will have more of lasting effect than I care to imagine but I will work hard to let them not be a victim and look for the positive in life.
As a parent, for what I have learned over this past year, it is our job to protect, teach, shelter and inspire our children no matter what. We just have a tougher job than most but with a little luck and research we may be able to get rid of ADHD - if not today perhaps in the future.
Don't mean to sound preachy and I hope I didn't offend.
I guess the obvious question is:
If an ADHD child is 3 years behind--how does someone automatically "catch up"?
That's like saying if I throw someone in a hole for 3 years where s/he is yelled at for being "lazy and stupid", punished for mistakes s/he doesn't understand...
I let them out of the hole.
What would be 'normal' about that experience? And how would s/he 'grow out' of all those negative years?
The brain is an amazing organ. People with severe brain trauma can form new neural pathways and relearn tasks. Why can't my son's brain continue to develop in such a way that his ADHD is gone? It can, as far as I'm concerned. BPQW39401.318125
This thread is very interesting. I can see as people get older they are able to cope better and work within the ADD symptoms - if they received proper treatment as kids. This would give the appearance of outgrowing symptoms.
And - kids with ADD do lag behind others in maturity and even growth - my 14 still has temper tantrums and definately has maturity problems. He doesn't seem to be outgrowing them either. On the other hand - if he starts to accept treatment and learns how to cope better, the tantrums will stop and it could appear that the symptoms are gone, even though it was just better coping skills.
I need to read more studies.
I totaly agree with the fact that as these kids grow up,they just learn how to deal with the symptoms. I have 2 kids with adhd one needs meds and probably always will need help, the other can control his sx pretty well. These people can do all the studies they want, but just like kids on the spectrum, no 2 adhders are the same!!!!!!!!!
[QUOTE=Diane V]Medication is, or should be, reserved for people who cannot function optimally due their symptoms. I'ts not all about wanting or not wanting to medicate. Who really WANTS to medicate. Not me! Not with how much grief the meds have caused us. Some children, my daughter included, cannot get through her day to day without the help of medication. I thinks it too bad there has been so much overprescribing and/or overdiagnosing. I know children who literally cannot do anything if they do not take their meds.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Joy2] [QUOTE=Diane V]Medication is, or should be, reserved for people who cannot function optimally due their symptoms. I'ts not all about wanting or not wanting to medicate. Who really WANTS to medicate. Not me! Not with how much grief the meds have caused us. Some children, my daughter included, cannot get through her day to day without the help of medication. I thinks it too bad there has been so much overprescribing and/or overdiagnosing. I know children who literally cannot do anything if they do not take their meds.[/QUOTE]
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Thank you that is how our dd is she can't even sit still to try to start her homework with out her medicaiton (an we were against medicating at first) but now she will sit there are do it all with very little help. I don't know about jsut outgrowing it I think that as a person gets older they learn to control themselves better, I am very not in the same spot and mind jumping everywere when I should be consintrating on somthing but I have to make myself focus I think it is somthing you just have to learn to do
Lauren
BTW: Who is Lee Evans? Sorry but I never heard of him