Thousands of Toddlers Are Medicated for A.D.H.D.

[Alan C.]

Thousands of Toddlers Are Medicated for A.D.H.D., Report Finds, Raising Worries

 

More than 10,000 American toddlers 2 or 3 years old are being medicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder outside established pediatric guidelines, according to data presented on Friday by an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The report, which found that toddlers covered by Medicaid are particularly prone to be put on medication such as Ritalin and Adderall, is among the first efforts to gauge the diagnosis of A.D.H.D. in children below age 4. Doctors at the Georgia Mental Health Forum at the Carter Center in Atlanta, where the data was presented, as well as several outside experts strongly criticized the use of medication in so many children that young.. . .Last year, a nationwide C.D.C. survey found that 11 percent of children ages 4 to 17 have received a diagnosis of the disorder, and that about one in five boys will get one during childhood.A vast majority are put on medications such as methylphenidate (commonly known as Ritalin) or amphetamines like Adderall, which often calm a child’s hyperactivity and impulsivity but also carry risks for growth suppression, insomnia and hallucinations.. . .Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a child psychiatrist and director of school-based programs at Cambridge Health Alliance outside Boston who specializes in underprivileged youth, said that some home environments can lead to behavior often mistaken for A.D.H.D., particularly in the youngest children.“In acting out and being hard to control, they’re signaling the chaos in their environment,” Dr. Rappaport said. “Of course only some homes are like this — but if you have a family with domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or a parent neglecting a 2-year-old, the kid might look impulsive or aggressive. And the parent might just want a quick fix, and the easiest thing to do is medicate. It’s a travesty.”

 

[Devon Gibbons]

Short and Long Term Effects on Infants and Toddlers in Full Time Daycare Centers

 

Daycare stress is activating each child's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis on a daily basis causing a persistent overproduction of corticotropin-release factor (CRF) and an ongoing release of abnormally high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and the catecholamines, hormones that may disrupt the neurobiological maturation of the developing brain and destroy brain cells. These stress-induced impairments are implicated in an enduring vulnerability to various later-forming psychiatric disorders such as depression, chronic anxiety, attachment disorders, dissociative disorders, learning disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity (ADHD).

 

[Artist707]

This is very sad

[DFPercush]

marginalist, that profile pic on this topic is just too much. Guilty laughter here. But yeah I can't imagine what kind of drastic effects this will have on those poor souls. Even more than the utilitarian aspect though, I find it sad that adults deem these children as needing to be "fixed."

[Snafui]

Were the medications necessary in response to an actual epidemic shouldn't those involved in "science" be looking for causation rather than applying a pseudo-bandage? (My question on the article from facebook.)

 

Thank you for answering, marginalist. At least someone is looking.