ATLANTA — Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. children has ADHD, a sizable increase from a few years earlier that government scientists think might be explained by growing awareness and better screening.
ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, makes it hard for kids to pay attention and control impulsive behavior. It's often treated with drugs, behavioral therapy, or both.
In the new government study, about two-thirds of the children who have ADHD are on medication.
The new estimate comes from a survey released Wednesday that found an increase in ADHD of about 22 percent from 2003 to the most recent survey in 2007-08. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed parents of children ages 4 through 17 in both studies.
In the latest survey, 9.5 percent said a doctor or health care provider had told them their child had ADHD. The earlier study found that fewer than 8 percent of kids had been diagnosed with it.
Researchers calculate about 5.4 million kids have been diagnosed with ADHD, which suggests that about 1 million more children have the disorder than a few years earlier.
Scientists don't have clear answers about why there was such a significant increase. Study lead author Susanna Visser of the CDC suggests greater awareness and stepped-up screening efforts as part of the explanation.
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11 comments:
of course they say that. more money for the drug companies.
WAKE UP AMERICA!!
this is them buying off research. dude, really, 'restless leg syndrome'? a kid hyper? autism? 70 years ago, it was because your legs hurt from working too much, too much sugar, and drinking while you were pregnant.
they make up stuff and tell you youve got something dreaful, but ive got a miracle drug for you that will make you all better!
bags under your eyes? weve got a drug for that. youll go blind, have stinky feet, lose your hearing in one or more ears, hair will fall out, lose use of your 'lower extremities', and possibly death.....but we have drugs for those too!
Nothing a good butt whoopin won't fix
Get your kids off of Red #40 and you'll be AMAZED at the difference in your kid!
Try THAT along with no caffeine, chocolate and sodas and you'll see even a bigger change!
My son was diagnosed with ADD (not the hyperactivity component) when he was in 2nd grade. We learned to watch every label of everything we bought and cooked.
The Red #40 was definitely a culprit. Give him that and in 19 minutes (yes, you could time it) he would be climbing the walls and couldn't pay attention to any tasks at hand.
We learned to control ours strictly through diet and once we did so, he qualified for the Magnet student program.
People need to just stop feeding their kids all the junk and get back to cooking REAL food. Your entire family will be better off, not to mention you'll all weigh less too!
When I was a child we had alot of kids that were hyper they made out just fine.Its something you grow out of seems to me they have a pill to fix everything thats bull.It is all so the drug companies can make the big bucks.
I've lived with ADHD all of my life and thankfully those who wrote in above never had to deal with it. It's easy to make fun of to say it's a simple problem unless you have it. It's not as easy as simply using violence as one person mentioned above. So I guess we should simply whip children with autism, mentaly slow until they are fixed?
How about good ole chores to do, physical exercise, throwing out the ipods, ipads, gameboys, xboxes and spending time with your children, playing ball, tag, whatever. I see all of these 10 year olds with their cell phones and just wonder where are their parent's brains. No wonder we have an obesity problem in this sit and do nothing society. Get up and Move !!!!
@126pm
ever heard of pavlov...it works.
11:22 is right-- diet has a lot to do with it, but there is also a genetic component.
A lot of families with ADHD children have discovered that the supplement Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) is VERY helpful in settling the kids down (or adults with ADHD). Getting the MSG (both the labeled kind and the hidden kinds) out of the diet make a big difference.
Google Phosphatidyl Serine and see what you find.
Correction: Google "Phosphatidyl Serine ADHD" (without the quotes), instead of just Phosphatidyl Serine-- it will get you where you need to go.
Also Google "hidden MSG"
These two things can REALLY make a difference.
4:54
Get your child diagnosed with this and it's good for $600-$800 a month from the Government.
(Wife used to be a traveling Health Department representive for a MD County just outside Baltimore City)
I don't mean to diminish the health issue but it's only fair to point out that this is one of many assistance programs being abused thru lack of oversight that can't be fixed simply by hiring more Government employees or creating more Agencies.
6:43 is right on,and I am suprised no one else came to the same conclusion and that is that alot of families with kids diagnosed with ADHD have discovered it's not only a "get out of jail" free card for any misbehavior in school it is also good for up to $600-$1000 a month tax free income via SSI checks.Get 2 or 3 of your kids diagnosed and you have just eliminated the need for Mom or Dad to work.
I know ADHD is real but I also think it is overdiagnosed and unscrupulous people take advantage of that.Why cure a kid when you can make paydirt?The kids ultimately suffer.You can't tell me that all those people cashing multiple SSI checks for their kids have an "epidemic" in their household.I think instead of encouraging this farce, the government needs to do more to investigate it.People are getting rich off of these poor kids,especially drug companies.Check and see how much money the kids parents and the doctors are making off of it too.
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