(12-05-13) Psychiatry gone wild: One in five boys now being diagnosed with ADHD in America

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Boys will be boys. But when they are, their risk of being
falsely diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) becomes
increasingly high, according to a recent report by The New York Times (NYT).
The latest figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) reveal that one in five American boys is now being diagnosed
as having the behavioral disorder ADHD -- and most of these boys are being
prescribed dangerous psychotropic medications as treatment.

It used to be that only a very small number of children, mostly boys, with
severe behavioral problems were even considered as potential ADHD candidates.
But today, even the slightest deviations from so-called normal behavior can
land a child in the crosshairs of overzealous psychiatrists eager to dispense
them the latest mind-numbing drugs. The situation has gotten so out of control,
in fact, that one prominent child psychiatrist who has long endorsed ADHD
medication as being "safer than aspirin" is reversing course.

"That we have kids out there getting these drugs to use them as mental
steroids -- that's dangerous, and I hate to think I have a hand in creating
that problem," says Dr. Ned Hallowell, as quoted by NYT. Dr. Hallowell used to
tell parents that ADHD psychostimulant drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and
Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) were "safer than aspirin." He no
longer makes this claim, and actually regrets having ever done so.

According to the latest figures, there are now about 6.4 million American
children between the ages of four and 17 that have received an ADHD diagnosis
at some point during their lives. This number is 16 percent higher than it was
just six years ago in 2007, and a whopping 41 percent higher than it was just a
decade ago. And based on the figures, the vast majority of these diagnoses are
among the young male population, 20 percent of which has now been declared to
have the condition, at least at the high school age level.

"There's no way that one in five high school boys has ADHD," says James
Swanson, a professor of psychiatry at Florida International University, as
quoted by NYT. "If we start treating children who do not have the disorder with
stimulants, a certain percentage are going to have problems that are
predictable -- some of them are going to end up with abuse and dependence. And
with all those pills around, how much of that actually goes to friends? Some
studies have said it's about 30 percent."

American Psychiatric Association to alter ADHD guidelines to further increase
diagnosis rates
As bad as all this over-diagnosis is, the situation is only going to get worse
once the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, also known as DSM-V, gets published. According to an analysis of the
latest proposed changes to the manual, many more children will be falsely
diagnosed as having ADHD due to the inclusion of excessively-liberal diagnosis
criteria.

"These wording changes newly diagnose individuals who display symptoms of ADHD
but continue to function acceptably in their daily lives," reads an analysis of
the proposed changes to DSM-V as published in the Journal of Learning
Disabilities. Such changes include things like allowing ADHD symptoms to appear
before age 12 rather than age seven in order to make a diagnosis; expanding the
list of eligible symptoms considered to be indicative of ADHD; and changing the
requirement that ADHD symptoms "impair" everyday activities to the much more
inclusive word "impact."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.nytimes.com

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/adhd/50-conditions-that-mimic-adhd

http://www.psychologytoday.com

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