Friday, February 10, 2006

Unbelievable

Attention Deficit Drugs get Black Box Label

The article above says that 9.3% of 12 year old boys are on ADHD drugs. This country needs to take a serious look at whether we are drugging them because they have a medical problem, or because they are BOYS. I find it impossible to believe that God created 9.3% of our 12 year old boys with a serious medical problem requiring intensive medication.

4 comments:

David Michael said...

That is unbelievably high! "Boys need to be boys," as has been said many times. Yes, there are boys who need medication, however, ADHD is often diagnosed when there are other problems going on. Sometime it is easier to prescribe something than to get to the real issue.

No Longer In Crisis said...

Speechless. I am...without speech.

Panthergirl said...

"Boys will be boys" is bullshit. Sorry.

I'm sure that some children (boys AND girls) are medicated unnecessarily. But until you have lived with a child who actually *does* have ADHD, you have no idea what you're talking about.

This is a chemical imbalance, just the way depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and several other disorders are. They didn't just "appear". In years past, women were put in sanitariums, children went to "reform school", or the classic "boys will be boys" crap was used to excuse out of control behavior that would never be tolerated from a girl.

No child should have to go through life unable to focus, unable to dress him or herself, unable to make and keep friends.

This is not a "boy" issue. It's a children's issue and should be treated as such.

Sunshine said...

I'm sorry that you were offended by my post. I didn't say that ADHD didn't exist. What I did say is that I don't believe that 9.3% of the 12 year old boys have it. I do believe that ADHD medication is overprescribed. I also believe that antibiotics are overprescribed. That doesn't mean that I don't believe bacterial infections exist.

Again, I'm sorry that you were offended by my post, and I'm glad that you were able to get the help you needed for your child.