What Does Santa Think About ADHD Drugs?
NEWS FLASH (North Pole, Somewherereallycold)-- According to sources at the North Pole, Santa is not happy about the growing use of ADHD drugs. As you know, long ago, he had made his list and checked it twice. But with more than 4.5 million kids in the USA alone doing ADHD drugs every day, he has had to redo his list infinitum.
Tailoring Teaching for Temperament Improves Engagement
"A classroom program that helps teachers adapt their interactions with students based on individuals' temperaments may lead to more student engagement in kindergarten, more...
Study Explores Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence in College Women with Disabilities
A new study explores sexual violence and intimate partner violence in college women with mental health related disabilities.
African American and Hispanic Youth Discontinue ADHD Treatment at Higher Rates than White Youth
Study examines racial and ethnic disparities in the quality of care for Medicaid-enrolled children starting ADHD medication.
Overprescribing for Medicaid Kids Due to Shortage of Alternatives
From Modern Healthcare: Physicians may be overprescribing psychotropic medications to children on Medicaid or CHIP, which may be partly due to inadequate access to alternatives...
“Cortisol Levels in Children’s Hair May Reveal Future Mental Health Risk”
The Guardian covers research out of Australia that found that levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol in the hair of 70 nine-year-old children corresponded to the number of traumatic events experienced by the child. “Childhood is an imperative and sensitive period of development, and when things go wrong it can have lifelong consequences, not just on mental health, but also on general health.”
“I Overmedicated My Kid: Big Pharma’s Attention Obsession Puts Children at Risk”
Daniela Drake, MD, writes on Salon about her son's misdiagnosis of ADHD - later found to be an auditory processing disorder and an allergy...
Lancet Psychiatry’s Controversial ADHD Study: Errors, Criticism, and Responses
Amid calls for a retraction, Lancet Psychiatry publishes articles criticizing the original finding and a response from the authors.
ADHD Stimulant Use Again Strongly Linked to School Accountability
Wealthier children are more likely to take stimulants only during the school year and not during the summer, according to a study in American...
“A Generation of Stimulation Junkies: Television, ADD and ADHD”
Mod Vive reports that "The rampant self-diagnosing of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is out of control. There is also an increasing amount of people...
Researchers Question the Utility of an ADHD Diagnosis
A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives
More Children Receiving ‘Off-Label’ Antipsychotics for ‘ADHD’
Over the past twenty years, the number of prescriptions for atypical antipsychotics written to children and young adults between four and eighteen has increased...
Researchers Can’t Predict Whether Childhood ADHD Will Impact Adult Functioning
New research has found that a childhood ADHD diagnosis is not predictive of adult functioning in boys.
Global Rise in ADHD Diagnoses: Medicine or Marketing?
The dramatic rise in ADHD spreading from the United States to the rest of the world is more an "economic and cultural plague" than...
Experts Question the Benefits of Brain Imaging Research for OCD
Two experts—a leading neuroscientist studying OCD, and a psychiatrist specializing in OCD treatment—question whether expensive brain imaging research has added anything to the treatment of OCD.
Countervailing Forces Against Ritalin Use in France
A new study in the journal Social Science and Medicine explores why French children take stimulants far less than children in the United States. The study looks at how particular forces in society, in concert with government agencies, became an effective check on stimulant marketing for kids in France.
The Legal and Moral Issues of Drugging Children
Jim Gottstein’s presentation March 29, 2012 at the APA’s Humanistic Division. Mr. Gottstein talks about the the legal and moral issues of the massive number...
Experts Decry Dangerous Use of Antipsychotics in Children
In a featured article for Psychiatric Services, psychiatrists from Dartmouth raise the alarm on the increasing numbers of children prescribed dangerous antipsychotic drugs. Despite the fact that data on the safety of long-term use of these drugs in this vulnerable population “do not exist,” the rate of children and adolescents being prescribed antipsychotic drugs have continued to increase over the past fifteen years.
The Logic of the ADHD Diagnosis
When constructing the ADHD diagnosis, progenitors essentially say, "Let's study a group of people who do particular hyperactive, impulsive, and distracted behaviors that are associated with chronic and pervasive problems in school, social life, and work. If the person is an adult, the problems must be present in childhood and show consistency throughout development. We will call this group "ADHD" and study correlated biological characteristics and other associated difficulties. We will continue to tweak the criteria so that the diagnostic net falls on the people with the correlated dysfunctions and patterns of biology that we find in our research.
Pfizer Gets FDA Approval For Chewable Ritalin
Yesterday, the FDA approved Pfizer's “QuilliChew ER” chewable methylphenidate for ADHD in children as young as six. “CNS stimulants, including Quillivant XR, QuilliChew ER, other methylphenidate-containing products, and amphetamines, have a high potential for abuse and dependence.”
One-third of Preschoolers with ADHD Taking Stimulants
One-third of US children aged 4-5 who've been diagnosed with ADHD are being prescribed stimulant drugs.
One in Five Children Treated with ADHD Stimulants Also Getting Antipsychotics
About one in five children on Medicaid who are being given long-acting stimulants for ADHD are also being given antipsychotics, often for unapproved conditions.
Canadian Newspaper Investigates Health Problems of ADHD Meds
The Toronto Star's investigation of ADHD meds has revealed 600 cases so far of Canadian children "suffering serious, sometimes fatal side effects suspected to...
Baseball’s ADHD “Epidemic”
8% of major league baseball players have been diagnosed with ADHD (double the rate in the general population) and prescribed stimulants; medications which are...
“The Hefty Price of ‘Study Drugs’ Misuse on College Campuses”
For the Conversation, Binghamton University researcher Lina Begdache tackles the issue of the growing use of 'Study Drugs' in the student population. “Animal studies show...