Quoted: It's amazing how much doctors and teachers push this crap on parents... I see a grim future for the generation brought up loaded on this shit.

I'll let you know how grim my future is, lol.  

My brother who is 10 years younger than me was put on Ritalin when he was 16 yrs old.
It was because he was hyper and didn't listen to my parents well.
Now this was a little over 20 yrs ago, but the doctors of course didn't ask nor know that my father was an alcoholic who beat us, and my mother was never around and didn't stick up for us.

At the time, I was out of the house, and a year and a half later after being in Germany for months I came home to a brother who was addicted to the crap, he had lost a ton of weight where his eyes were sunken sockets.
I literally SCREAMED on top of my lungs for my parents to get him off of it or I was going to take action.
They did, and he was much better after that. STILL pisses me off to this day when I think about it and then of course read this stuff.

 

Quoted: It's amazing how much doctors and teachers push this crap on parents... I see a grim future for the generation brought up loaded on this shit.

\

And their kids. Each generation just keeps making more screwed up kids than the one before.

Maybe that is why the gov't wants the mexicans in here.

Kids need discipline, not drugs.  

Point in case: The Great Santini

Quoted: I was diagnosed at age 5 with ADD/ADHD and ODD...Look up ODD if you want a good laugh, you can get diagnosed with that if you ARGUE WITH YOUR PARENTS!

I went ahead and looked up ODD in the DSMIV online, what a friggin joke. This "diagnosis" pretty much describes 1/2 the healthy kids in this country who need nothing more than an occasional smack on the arse to keep them in line. It sure as hell describes me and my brother to a "T" when we were kids, and we turned out just fine.


From DSMIV online

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

Listed below are DSM-IV symptoms for ODD:

1. often loses temper;
2. often argues with adults;
3. often actively defies or refuses to comply with adult requests or rules;
4. often deliberately annoys people;
5. often blames others for mistakes or misbehavior;
6. is often touchy or easily annoyed by others;
7. is often angry and resentful;
8. is often spiteful and vindictive;

For ODD to be an appropriate diagnosis, at least 4 of the symptoms listed above must be present for at least 6 months; the behavior must occur more frequently than is typical child of comparable age...



ETA - I just showed this to my wife and she said "That is the definition of an adolescent!" I think she's on the money.

I'm not letting these charlatans anywhere near my kids.

I believe that lazy parents, wanting a quick fix for their lack of parenting skills, is undermining the validity of giving those with real problems drugs.

While it is stating the obvious...  kids who never have the opportunity to behave in public, will grow into adults who don't know how to teach their kids to behave in public.

The cycle of poor parenting will continue, and grow.

I agree 100% with the general sentiment here about the overdiagnosis of  Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, etc.  

While these diagnoses do exist, I think that <10% of children diagnosed with these various disorders actually have them.

It seems completely schizophrenic to battle Methamphetamines as a national scourge on the one hand, and then turn around and prescribe Amphetamine class drugs (Ritalin, Adderal, Cylert, etc.) on the other.

Quoted: 1) You do realize that this article is about ANTI-PSYCHOTIC medications - NOT stimulants?

Except for drjarhead, I don't think people here understand the difference.

Quoted: 2) You do realize that Ritalin etc., even though they are "stimulants", actually DEPRESS and SLOW the thought processes of ADHD kids (as do anti-psychotics), don't you?

That is a completely inaccurate description of what they do.  

This thread got completely sidetracked on the topic of ADD, etc. which is usually treated with Amphetamine class CNS stimulants.  The article is about the use of anti-psychotics (neuroleptics).  

Although I think that 4% seems a little high, anti-psychotics do have their role in the treatment of children with serious psychiatric illness.  When a child, with a strong family history of schizophrenia, starts acting on homocidal and suicidal thoughts, Seroquel can have a powerful stabilizing effect.

Spend ten minutes at a McDonald's indoor playground and you'll think it should be more like 40%.