And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year.

More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics.

Marvelous.

So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own.

Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit.

this is how guns will be confiscated in the future.

person deemed mentally unstable gets guns taken away due to the fact they were once on ritalin, wellbutbrin, etc...

My cousin was on Ritalin for years - it didn't affect his behaviour in the slightest.

The "experts" get paid big bucks for perscribing certian medications, I imagine thats alot of what this is.  Someone trying to get rich at the childrens expense. Very sad and very scary.

Quoted: And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year. More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. Marvelous. So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own. Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit.

you realize that the ADHD medications are actually stimulants, right?

Quoted: My cousin was on Ritalin for years - it didn't affect his behaviour in the slightest.

lucky kid!

my friends son detroyed his playstation with hammer and ate handful of pennies while on ritalin.

Quoted: My cousin was on Ritalin for years - it didn't affect his behaviour in the slightest.

They are talking about antipsychotics, not stimulants.  There are even more kids on stimulants and antidepressants.

The 4% surprises me though. I'd say close to half of the kids I saw were on stimluants and/or antidepressants but I didn't see many on antipsychotics.

The way we raise and care for our children in this country is disgraceful and 50% of the people in this country are trash. That's about the number who don't give shit about their kids or are just plain shitty parents. That number is increasing in case no one realizes it.

Hmm, my son worked to become a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, plays lacrosse, walked many, many miles backpacking and is a life guard to boot.  Guess he never had time for meds or was too tired to become hyper active.  

I'm willing to bet about 40 out of 1,000 parents don't have any structure or activity in their kids lives.  It's easier to give your kid a pill to pop than to pry them away from the video games.  

Then again, I could be wrong.

you said it all right there

Yet it is grossly underprescribed in the female population.

Quoted: Quoted: And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year. More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. Marvelous. So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own. Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit. you realize that the ADHD medications are actually stimulants, right?

You do realize that they often do not have that effect, right?  I've seen kids turn into zombies while on Ritalin.  

I was on probably 10 different drugs in my childhood, I was sort of a test subject for my doctor.  He gave me tons of stuff, Ritalin, Dexadrine, Imipramine, Adderall (briefly, it made me tweak), and more.  Many of them had adverse effects on my health.  

I was put on anti-depressants, even though I was not depressed.  I was NEVER diagnosed as depressed.  He even tried to put me on Prozac in 9th grade, because it might improve my organization.

The doctor would actually say "we haven't tried this particular...but some tests have shown promising results" or something like that.  

I was on these pills from about age 5 to 12-13.  Nothing would work, so they would up the dosage or change the medication.  From age 5 to age 12, I was a skinny tweaker.  

The reason for me taking them?  I was unorganized.  I would lose school assignments, and my desk was always messy.

Later on, it was because I often got in fights with my evil little brother  

That's a treatable condition I guess....

I was diagnosed at age 5 with ADD/ADHD and ODD.  The doctor also claimed that I had "mild motor tics" but I didn't find that out until a few years ago.  I don't know where he got that, I have never had any sort of tic.  Look up ODD if you want a good laugh, you can get diagnosed with that if you ARGUE WITH YOUR PARENTS!

When I refused to keep taking the pills, it became clear that I was not hyper. Sure, I'm still unorganized, but that's not a medical condition.

Something has to be done about bullshit diagnoses.  I don't doubt that ADD or ADHD exists, because I have seen them with my own eyes.  However, doctors AND parents are quick to call ADD or ADHD when their kid doesn't sit like a zombie in class and at home.  

My mother feels really bad about all this, and my dad tells me that I should never have been given these.  My mom claims that she didn't know what to do.  Parents, please make sure you get a good doctor if you can't control your kid (for yourself and the kid).  Get opinions from multiple doctors.  Don't go with medication unless your kid REALLY has something wrong.  

Quoted: Quoted: And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year. More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. Marvelous. So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own. Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit. you realize that the ADHD medications are actually stimulants, right?

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

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?

I would have thought the % would have been higher...

A good friend and his wife adopted several children that were 10+ years old.  They were
all on somekind of "medication".  He got them all off of the meds and instead plied them with love, discipline and structure.  They responded very well and they have a big, happy family.

LB

Only 4%?  That's 4 out of 100 kids.  I guess that seems about right.  Seeing how many kids behave these days in society, that number doesn't seem too high.

People want a quick fix for everything so that's what they get.  Drug companies are getting rich from treating the symptoms and not the problem.  Doctors (certain doctors) are getting rich by prescribing them.  Behavior can change through parenting and/or therapy but people just don't want to commit the time and would rather just pop a pill that changes their brain.  More to the point, there are a lot of bad parents out there.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year. More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. Marvelous. So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own. Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit. you realize that the ADHD medications are actually stimulants, right? You do realize that they often do not have that effect, right?  I've seen kids turn into zombies while on Ritalin.   I was on probably 10 different drugs in my childhood, I was sort of a test subject for my doctor.  He gave me tons of stuff, Ritalin, Dexadrine, Imipramine, Adderall (briefly, it made me tweak), and more.  Many of them had adverse effects on my health.   The doctor would actually say "we haven't tried this particular...but some tests have shown promising results" or something like that.   I was on these pills from about age 5 to 12-13.  Nothing would work, so they would up the dosage or change the medication.  From age 5 to age 12, I was a skinny tweaker.   The reason for me taking them?  I was unorganized.  I would lose school assignments, and my desk was always messy. When I refused to keep taking the pills, it became clear that I was not hyper. Something has to be done about bullshit diagnoses.  I don't doubt that ADD or ADHD exists, because I have seen them with my own eyes.  However, doctors AND parents are quick to call ADD or ADHD when their kid doesn't sit like a zombie in class and at home.

You are absolutely correct. And this shit is way more common than it used to be. Fact is most kids, and I hate to say this, would be better off kept away from many physicians. Of course that would require decent parenting which is the problem in the first place.
Not to mention the Oprah coniditioning that if you have any fucking problem at all you should see a doctor. Or bring your kids to one. Just bullshit, pure and simple. I know it works also. Once there, everyone expects a quick fix. Can't you just give them a pill, doctor?

This polypharmaceutical attempt at synergy in psych meds is unbelievable anymore though. That's what we are talking about here guys, not stimulants, but polypharmacy with added antipsychotics to achieve a synergistic effect.  Started seeing this a while ago in women with depression and anxiety. I guess they have moved on.

Yeah, it is all really fucked up and why I got out of primary care. The only kids I was seeing as an FP were for ADD, depression, etc. What a bunch of fucking crap. I hated it and came to utterly despise the mothers of these kids. Why did they have them if this was how they were going to fuck up their lives? And all because they were too fucking lazy to parent.

I got news for you guys, this country is fucking itself unbelievably.  I doubt that in 40 years you will even recognize this as America.

My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down.

Quoted: My mother feels really bad about all this, and my dad tells me that I should never have been given these.  My mom claims that she didn't know what to do.  Parents, please make sure you get a good doctor if you can't control your kid (for yourself and the kid).  Get opinions from multiple doctors.  Don't go with medication unless your kid REALLY has something wrong.

I'm not trying to start something personal here but since you edited it in I will say your mother was an idiot and a shitty parent.  This is bullshit, period. I spent half my days with these kind of mothers and I am totally serious when I say I came to utterly despise them for what they were doing to their children.

Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down.

We had the same experience.
Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class"
My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid"

Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after.

Quoted: You are absolutely correct. And this shit is way more common than it used to be. Fact is most kids, and I hate to say this, would be better off kept away from many physicians. Of course that would require decent parenting which is the problem in the first place. Not to mention the Oprah coniditioning that if you have any fucking problem at all you should see a doctor. Or bring your kids to one. Just bullshit, pure and simple. I know it works also. Once there, everyone expects a quick fix. Can't you just give them a pill, doctor?

Of course, this isn't just about anti-psychotic drugs, this could be extended to drugs period. It is insane how often antibiotics get prescribed for viral infections, because the doctors want the fucking parents to STFU and quit wasting their time; of course, this results in an increased occurance of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections later down the road, but hell, Timmy needs those antibiotics for his sniffling nose.

Yeah, it is all really fucked up and why I got out of primary care. The only kids I was seeing as an FP were for ADD, depression, etc. What a bunch of fucking crap. I hated it and came to utterly despise the mothers of these kids. Why did they have them if this was how they were going to fuck up their lives? And all because they were too fucking lazy to parent.

This is the reason I am hoping to get into some surgical field; the minute you are in a field of medicine that specializes in potentially recreational medications, you deal with a shitload of stupid people who think they need morphine for their backpain, or complain that their oxycodone ran out because they kept popping pills because "it doesn't work", or don't understand that mixing prescribed drugs with your illegal drug habit is a bad thing to do.

I got news for you guys, this country is fucking itself unbelievably.  I doubt that in 40 years you will even recognize this as America.

In the medical field, it seems it is already that way; gone are the days when doctors were some of the most respected members of society. To most people now, doctors are "thieving bastards", stealing poor folks' money, or are just there to give them whatever drugs they want.

Quoted: Quoted: My mother feels really bad about all this, and my dad tells me that I should never have been given these.  My mom claims that she didn't know what to do.  Parents, please make sure you get a good doctor if you can't control your kid (for yourself and the kid).  Get opinions from multiple doctors.  Don't go with medication unless your kid REALLY has something wrong.   I'm not trying to start something personal here but since you edited it in I will say your mother was an idiot and a shitty parent.  This is bullshit, period. I spent half my days with these kind of mothers and I am totally serious when I say I came to utterly despise them for what they were doing to their children.

Don't worry, I agree.

My mother worked/works during the day (as a pharmacy technician at a major hospital), and she relied on what teachers said about my behavior.  When we would go to the doctor, he would talk to her for most of the time, then talk to me for a few minutes.  

The problem was mostly with her.  She was not able to find a way to "deal with me", so she went with the pills.   She had a stressful job, and just could not deal with me.   The doctor smooth talked her into trying the pills out.  She was skeptical at first, but went with them.  Eventually she couldn't do it anymore (when I refused at about 12-13 she went along with it).  I forgive her now, I just hope all that medication doesn't have any long term effects (I hope my tadpoles got their head on straight).

Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after.

I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level.

ETA: edit, by "can't cut it", I mean that girls tend not to be aggressive enough to state their own opinions, stick by them, accept criticism, and learn from their mistakes as well as males used to be able to.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level.

That was what happened to me in school.  One year, I got picked on by older kids, and it was somehow turned around to being MY FAULT.  

The few times I actaully fought back, I got in trouble and it was "because of my ADHD".  I did earn the respect of the people messing with me, and they quiet entirely.  They even became friendly.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level.

You're probably right.
I got in trouble in class a lot....wait for it....wait for it.
For reading books that were "too advanced for my age"
Seems it made the other children feel bad.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level. ETA: edit, by "can't cut it", I mean that girls tend not to be aggressive enough to state their own opinions, stick by them, accept criticism, and learn from their mistakes as well as males us ed to be able to.

And don't forget about what they're doing to your essence with the flouride.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level. You're probably right. I got in trouble in class a lot....wait for it....wait for it. For reading books that were "too advanced for my age" Seems it made the other children feel bad.

Holy shit man, the exact same thing happened to me!  

In first grade I was at the book faire and I wanted a third grade level book, and this stupid bitch (third grade teacher) said "that's to advanced for you, go get one from your own grade".  

I really hate our public school system, it really fucked me up.  I'm still recovering from it now.  I left high school a year early by taking an equivalancy test, and I'm not trying to sort shit out and do well in community college.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year. More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. Marvelous. So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own. Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit. you realize that the ADHD medications are actually stimulants, right? 1) You do realize that this article is about ANTI-PSYCHOTIC medications - NOT stimulants? 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?

I guess the fact that anti-psychotics are being prescribed for ADD/ADHD is what confused me here.

But something like ritalin does not depress and slow the thought process....a better way to describe it would be "ordering" the thought process. If there are "glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones" then the dose is too high.

Quoted: Quoted: You are absolutely correct. And this shit is way more common than it used to be. Fact is most kids, and I hate to say this, would be better off kept away from many physicians. Of course that would require decent parenting which is the problem in the first place. Not to mention the Oprah coniditioning that if you have any fucking problem at all you should see a doctor. Or bring your kids to one. Just bullshit, pure and simple. I know it works also. Once there, everyone expects a quick fix. Can't you just give them a pill, doctor? Of course, this isn't just about anti-psychotic drugs, this could be extended to drugs period. It is insane how often antibiotics get prescribed for viral infections, because the doctors want the fucking parents to STFU and quit wasting their time; of course, this results in an increased occurance of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections later down the road, but hell, Timmy needs those antibiotics for his sniffling nose.

I agree. If you don't give them what they want they go elsewhere though. Not justifying it but in the era of corporate medicine there is untold pressure to tend docs into servers at Burger King. Come on in and place your order.

Beyond that though the overuse of antibiotics is in a whole different from psych meds.
Here's one to make them do this.
Here's another to make them stop doing that.
And here's 2 more to make the first 2 work better and another for the side effects.

Yeah, it is all really fucked up and why I got out of primary care. The only kids I was seeing as an FP were for ADD, depression, etc. What a bunch of fucking crap. I hated it and came to utterly despise the mothers of these kids. Why did they have them if this was how they were going to fuck up their lives? And all because they were too fucking lazy to parent. This is the reason I am hoping to get into some surgical field; the minute you are in a field of medicine that specializes in medications, you deal with a shitload of stupid people who think they need morphine for their backpain, or complain that their oxycodone ran out because they kept popping pills because "it doesn't work", or don't understand that mixing prescribed drugs with your illegal drug habit is a bad thing to do.

I would never, never, ever, ever do primary care again. I am good at it, always had a generalists mentality, but people are totally FUBAR'd and what passes for primary care medicine anymore is unbelieveable.  The worst though, by far, are peds and psych. Hands down.

I got news for you guys, this country is fucking itself unbelievably.  I doubt that in 40 years you will even recognize this as America. In the medical field, it seems it is already that way; gone are the days when doctors were some of the most respected members of society. To most people now, doctors are "thieving bastards", stealing poor folks' money, or are just there to give them whatever drugs they want.

Pretty true.
I had enough of it all by last year and put an end to all the bullshit. Everyday, I hated going in more and more. They're all nuts.
I am looking at a couple of things now but I will never again do get stuck in anything like what I had been doing.

MO anymore of my own profession is pretty poor though I will say docs are very bright and try hard to take good care of pts, There are just so mnay obstacles to that process anymore.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level. You're probably right. I got in trouble in class a lot....wait for it....wait for it. For reading books that were "too advanced for my age" Seems it made the other children feel bad.

Let's just say I am glad I was homeschooled. I was reading Dune and other large tomes of sci-fi and history when I was 9; I was the type of person that would sit down and read history/science/etc. textbooks not because I was required to, but because I enjoyed reading about the way the world worked, the history of human civilizations, and the social science explanations of society and people.

The thing is, I am a real "self-learner", and the current education system views people like me as a threat to their curriculum's propaganda.

Quoted: I guess the fact that anti-psychotics are being prescribed for ADD/ADHD is what confused me here. But something like ritalin does not depress and slow the thought process....a better way to describe it would be "ordering" the thought process. If there are "glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones" then the dose is too high.

Yes, the problem IS the extra high doses.  They give way too much of this shit to kids, and the parents love an unresponsive kid that stares at the wall with their mouth hanging open drooling.  "Oh look honey, he's so well behaved!"

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My mother feels really bad about all this, and my dad tells me that I should never have been given these.  My mom claims that she didn't know what to do.  Parents, please make sure you get a good doctor if you can't control your kid (for yourself and the kid).  Get opinions from multiple doctors.  Don't go with medication unless your kid REALLY has something wrong.   I'm not trying to start something personal here but since you edited it in I will say your mother was an idiot and a shitty parent.  This is bullshit, period. I spent half my days with these kind of mothers and I am totally serious when I say I came to utterly despise them for what they were doing to their children. Don't worry, I agree. My mother worked/works during the day (as a pharmacy technician at a major hospital), and she relied on what teachers said about my behavior.  When we would go to the doctor, he would talk to her for most of the time, then talk to me for a few minutes.   The problem was mostly with her.  She was not able to find a way to "deal with me", so she went with the pills.   She had a stressful job, and just could not deal with me.   The doctor smooth talked her into trying the pills out.  She was skeptical at first, but went with them.  Eventually she couldn't do it anymore (when I refused at about 12-13 she went along with it).  I forgive her now, I just hope all that medication doesn't have any long term effects (I hope my tadpoles got their head on straight).

I would submit that she went to the doc she did for a reason.

I will further say that having a mother in the healthfield is, IMO, a risk factor for being diagnosed with ADD/ODD/LMNOP....
Seriously. Especially nurses.

I am glad things worked out for you.
You will be fine.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level. You're probably right. I got in trouble in class a lot....wait for it....wait for it. For reading books that were "too advanced for my age" Seems it made the other children feel bad. Let's just say I am glad I was homeschooled. I was reading Dune and other large tomes of sci-fi and history when I was 9; I was the type of person that would sit down and read history/science/etc. textbooks not because I was required to, but because I enjoyed reading about the way the world worked, the history of human civilizations, and the social science explanations of society and people. The thing is, I am a real "self-learner", and the current education system views people like me as a threat to their curriculum's propaganda.

My problem was that I would try and read these things in class.  I still do.  

Just a few days ago, in college psychology (101) I was reading ahead in my psychology book because it was getting boring and the instructor came up and CLOSED MY BOOK and asked me to put it away and look up towards her.  Imagine how bad it was in elementary school  

I learn from reading, not from listening.  

Quoted: And this shit is way more common than it used to be. Fact is most kids, and I hate to say this, would be better off kept away from many physicians. Of course that would require decent parenting which is the problem in the first place.

I was thinking that, how much of this is due to inadequate parenting? i.e; the parents not wanting to bother trying to get to the real root of the problem and work at it as a family, when it's easier to give the kid a pill and shut them up.

I know that it's not the case with all parents, some kids really do have problems, but it seems like more and more now people are trying to find an easy, quick fix and it's not fair on the kids.

Even though I know there are a lot of great physicians out there, as a parent I wouldn't take the doctor's word as gospel without getting a second - or even third opinion.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: And the percentage of heavily-medicated children is rapidly increasing every year. More kids given anti-psychotic drugs, study says Associated Press Mar. 17, 2006 12:00 AM CHICAGO - Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proved to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold from 1995 to 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children to nearly 40 out of 1,000. But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. The findings are worrisome "because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work," said the lead author, Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics. Marvelous. So kids are not just being mindfucked in schools with the dumbed-down ultra-PC curriculum, they're being DRUGGED by the millions into glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones who can NEVER learn to control their own emotions or impulses on their own. Guard your children. The "experts" are working hard to devour them... body, mind and spirit. you realize that the ADHD medications are actually stimulants, right? 1) You do realize that this article is about ANTI-PSYCHOTIC medications - NOT stimulants? 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? I guess the fact that anti-psychotics are being prescribed for ADD/ADHD is what confused me here. But something like ritalin does not depress and slow the thought process....a better way to describe it would be "ordering" the thought process. If there are "glassy-eyed, unthinking, head-nodding drones" then the dose is too high.

Kids with ADHD actually have a brain that is operating slower than normal and so their body is trying to 'wake them up' in a sort and bring them up to normal functioning activity.  This results in the hyper behavior.  Ritalin stimulates the activity in the brain up to normal levels so their body will quit trying to do it by itself and thus the behavior (sometimes) subsides.

Quoted: The "experts" get paid big bucks for perscribing certian medications, I imagine thats alot of what this is.  Someone trying to get rich at the childrens expense. Very sad and very scary.

Can you explain how that works?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My dad wearing my ass out with a belt usually calmed me right down. We had the same experience. Teachers told my parents that I might have ADD because I didn't like school, and was figidty in class" My parents said "we thought that was called being a kid" Needless to say, I got pulled out of public school not long after. I am really convinced that ADD medications and the like are being prescribed to lower the masculinity and aggressiveness of boys. Quite succinctly, girls can't cut it in school and sports, so they have to drag boys down to the girls' level. ETA: edit, by "can't cut it", I mean that girls tend not to be aggressive enough to state their own opinions, stick by them, accept criticism, and learn from their mistakes as well as males us ed to be able to. And don't forget about what they're doing to your essence with the flouride.

It is generally an accepted trend that males compared to females, while both groups have around the same average intelligence, tend to have more "strays", people at both extremes of the bell curve(think of it, how many people with mental retardation and autism are female.... almost none), than females do. It is my opinion that our education system caters to the lower part of the "average", and those individuals who excel and are honestly bored with the material are doped down to the average level.

Basically, people are pissed off that women are not equally represented among the intellectual elite of the this country and other countries, and thus are willing to cut men off at the knees until women catch up.

Quoted: I will further say that having a mother in the healthfield is, IMO, a risk factor for being diagnosed with ADD/ODD/LMNOP.... Seriously. Especially nurses.

ah yes, nurses, the people that think that four years or less of college makes them an expert in medicine.

Quoted: It is generally an accepted trend that males compared to females, while both groups have around the same average intelligence, tend to have more "strays", people at both extremes of the bell curve(think of it, how many people with mental retardation and autism are female.... almost none), than females do. It is my opinion that our education system caters to the lower part of the "average", and those individuals who excel and are honestly bored with the material are doped down to the average level. Basically, people are pissed off that women are not equally represented among the intellectual elite of the this country and other countries, and thus are willing to cut men off at the knees until women catch up.

I certainly agree that schools tend to cater to the lowest common denominator but I don't think ADD prescriptions have anything to do with that.  That is just the modern American mentality to get an easy solution and avoid the underlying problem.

Quoted: Quoted: It is generally an accepted trend that males compared to females, while both groups have around the same average intelligence, tend to have more "strays", people at both extremes of the bell curve(think of it, how many people with mental retardation and autism are female.... almost none), than females do. It is my opinion that our education system caters to the lower part of the "average", and those individuals who excel and are honestly bored with the material are doped down to the average level. Basically, people are pissed off that women are not equally represented among the intellectual elite of the this country and other countries, and thus are willing to cut men off at the knees until women catch up. I certainly agree that schools tend to cater to the lowest common denominator but I don't think ADD prescriptions have anything to do with that.  That is just the modern American mentality to get an easy solution and avoid the underlying problem.

I think the underlying problem is that most kids that "have" ADD/ADHD, don't actually have them, they are just incredibly gifted in knowledge/intellect and act up because they have nothing to do.

Look at this, an article by my old doctor:

Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It is generally an accepted trend that males compared to females, while both groups have around the same average intelligence, tend to have more "strays", people at both extremes of the bell curve(think of it, how many people with mental retardation and autism are female.... almost none), than females do. It is my opinion that our education system caters to the lower part of the "average", and those individuals who excel and are honestly bored with the material are doped down to the average level. Basically, people are pissed off that women are not equally represented among the intellectual elite of the this country and other countries, and thus are willing to cut men off at the knees until women catch up. I certainly agree that schools tend to cater to the lowest common denominator but I don't think ADD prescriptions have anything to do with that.  That is just the modern American mentality to get an easy solution and avoid the underlying problem. I think the underlying problem is that most kids that "have" ADD/ADHD, don't actually have them, they are just incredibly gifted in knowledge/intellect and act up because they have nothing to do.

I'd tend to agree with both of you.
Dope everybody up, rather than have to deal with them.
The kids who get doped up most often are the smart ones who are...not good in the classroom, so to speak.
Dope everyone up to the lowest common denominator - it's like Medical Communism.

Anyone ever notice if that rash of school shooters were on any sort of behavoral modification drugs?

Quoted: Quoted: And this shit is way more common than it used to be. Fact is most kids, and I hate to say this, would be better off kept away from many physicians. Of course that would require decent parenting which is the problem in the first place. I was thinking that, how much of this is due to inadequate parenting? i.e; the parents not wanting to bother trying to get to the real root of the problem and work at it as a family, when it's easier to give the kid a pill and shut them up.

Almost all of it. 90%, easy.
Many are behavior probelms that teachers don't want to deal with.
There are some pretty damn shitty teachers out there also who are quick to place blame on a perceived medical problem.

There is plenty of blame to go around:

Parents
Teachers
MDs

It all starts in the home though and parenting is something that should start day 1.

I know that it's not the case with all parents, some kids really do have problems, but it seems like more and more now people are trying to find an easy, quick fix and it's not fair on the kids.

It's a disgrace.

Even though I know there are a lot of great physicians out there, as a parent I wouldn't take the doctor's word as gospel without getting a second - or even third opinion.

You have it backwards.
First, most people consider a good doc to be someone who kisses their ass and gives them whatever they want.  Most people will tell you they want a doc to do a thorough history, exam and make an educated diagnosis, but that is not what they are really after.  Very few, IMO.
Second, the docs who dole out all of this shit are not good docs IMO. They are not looking out for the good of their patients but need to ensure that they get return business. The only way to do that in todays corporate medical world and Oprah mentality is to just give people what they want. Even if that includes giving little kids a bunch of crap they don't need. It is abysmal.

Familiar to anyone?  This is some of my diagnosis (at age 6).  I was never told about this, I found it in a box in the garage a few years back.  

To be fair, the doctor did reccomend parenting classes, and he had many reccomendations for alternative education and activities for me (a few of which my mother tried).  He did physical exams every month, and even did an EKG (I think) at least twice (for what?  I don't know).  

This doctor was better than almost all others that I have heard of, at least he didn't BLINDLY give out new medication.  I still can't excuse this doctor's constant new prescriptions, especially for the anti-depressants.  

I mainly blame my parents, they did try and take the easy way out.  Once they even sent me to some program with a bunch of retard kids (behavior modification therapy or something).  In this program, any time I wanted to do something I would have to ask the teacher, and she would say "that's a good idea, do it now".  I don't know how I made it through my childhood, lol.  

Quoted: i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/ebolamonkey/d2.gif i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/ebolamonkey/d1.gif Familiar to anyone?  This is some of my diagnosis (at age 6).  I was never told about this, I found it in a box in the garage a few years back.   To be fair, the doctor did reccomend parenting classes, and he had many reccomendations for alternative education and activities for me (a few of which my mother tried). I still can't excuse this doctor's constant new prescriptions, especially for the anti-depressants.

I don't blame you. I would be very bitter.

Quoted: Almost all of it. 90%, easy. Many are behavior probelms that teachers don't want to deal with. There are some pretty damn shitty teachers out there also who are quick to place blame on a perceived medical problem. There is plenty of blame to go around: Parents Teachers MDs It all starts in the home though and parenting is something that should start day 1.

I agree. I think that as a parent it's your responsibility to do what's best for your child. But I think that there are a lot of people who are reluctant to question the opinion/diagnosis of those who they consider to be in or an 'authority'. And a lot of people looking for a miracle 'cure' or quick fix, because they don't want to face any challenges.

You have it backwards. First, most people consider a good doc to be someone who kisses their ass and gives them whatever they want.  Most people will tell you they want a doc to do a thorough history, exam and make an educated diagnosis, but that is not what they are really after.  Very few, IMO. Second, the docs who dole out all of this shit are not good docs IMO. They are not looking out for the good of their patients but need to ensure that they get return business. The only way to do that in todays corporate medical world and Oprah mentality is to just give people what they want. Even if that includes giving little kids a bunch of crap they don't need. It is abysmal.

The patient as the consumer.

I know of a cancer patient who shopped around trying to find an Oncologist who would give her a better prognosis. She saw at least four different doctors before she realised that the first one was right. I remember somebody saying to her 'beware of the doctor who is overly positive and optimistic, they're probably not being honest'. It's human nature to want to only be told what you want to hear. It's too hard to process the difficult things, the things that are going to challenge us.

I personally think knowledge is power. If you trust your doctor, then good, but if instinct is telling you to, then get a second opinion (and parenting is instinctive a lot of the time).

BTW, the doctor who's treating me is great. His bedside manner sucks, but he's honest with me and I trust him to do what needs to be done to keep me ticking over.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It is generally an accepted trend that males compared to females, while both groups have around the same average intelligence, tend to have more "strays", people at both extremes of the bell curve(think of it, how many people with mental retardation and autism are female.... almost none), than females do. It is my opinion that our education system caters to the lower part of the "average", and those individuals who excel and are honestly bored with the material are doped down to the average level. Basically, people are pissed off that women are not equally represented among the intellectual elite of the this country and other countries, and thus are willing to cut men off at the knees until women catch up. I certainly agree that schools tend to cater to the lowest common denominator but I don't think ADD prescriptions have anything to do with that.  That is just the modern American mentality to get an easy solution and avoid the underlying problem. I think the underlying problem is that most kids that "have" ADD/ADHD, don't actually have them, they are just incredibly gifted in knowledge/intellect and act up because they have nothing to do.

Alternatively, they are just BADLY BEHAVED children, who were not properly raised by indifferent parents.

I'm not sure I agree that people who get diagnosed with ADHD because they can't stay focused, won't do their homework, don't shut the fuck up in class, etc, etc. are necessarily really bright kids who are just bored with material that is too easy for them.

Some of them might be, but to assume that most kids who get diagnosed with ADD/ADHD are increidbly gifted in knowledge and intellect seems like a huge stretch (and unliekly to be correct).

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It is generally an accepted trend that males compared to females, while both groups have around the same average intelligence, tend to have more "strays", people at both extremes of the bell curve(think of it, how many people with mental retardation and autism are female.... almost none), than females do. It is my opinion that our education system caters to the lower part of the "average", and those individuals who excel and are honestly bored with the material are doped down to the average level. Basically, people are pissed off that women are not equally represented among the intellectual elite of the this country and other countries, and thus are willing to cut men off at the knees until women catch up. I certainly agree that schools tend to cater to the lowest common denominator but I don't think ADD prescriptions have anything to do with that.  That is just the modern American mentality to get an easy solution and avoid the underlying problem. I think the underlying problem is that most kids that "have" ADD/ADHD, don't actually have them, they are just incredibly gifted in knowledge/intellect and act up because they have nothing to do. Alternatively, they are just BADLY BEHAVED children, who were not properly raised by indifferent parents. I'm not sure I agree that people who get diagnosed with ADHD because they can't stay focused, won't do their homework, don't shut the fuck up in class, etc, etc. are necessarily really bright kids who are just bored with material that is too easy for them. Some of them might be, but to assume that most kids who get diagnosed with ADD/ADHD are increidbly gifted in knowledge and intellect seems like a huge stretch (and unliekly to be correct).

I agree.
Wether they be smart kids or badly behaved kids, the solution is not one of medication.

Quoted: Quoted: I think the underlying problem is that most kids that "have" ADD/ADHD, don't actually have them, they are just incredibly gifted in knowledge/intellect and act up because they have nothing to do. Alternatively, they are just BADLY BEHAVED children, who were not properly raised by indifferent parents. I'm not sure I agree that people who get diagnosed with ADHD because they can't stay focused, won't do their homework, don't shut the fuck up in class, etc, etc. are necessarily really bright kids who are just bored with material that is too easy for them. Some of them might be, but to assume that most kids who get diagnosed with ADD/ADHD are increidbly gifted in knowledge and intellect seems like a huge stretch (and unliekly to be correct).

You would be correct. Mostly these kids are messed up in general are not on the high end of the bell curve intellectually.

Analogous to how child abuse, domestic violence occur in all socioeconomic groups though I would say in the case of so-called ADD/ODD, etc that there are more on the low end. Same with their parents.  A lot of welfare kids that are pretty screwed up. Who knows? Maybe we will find some day that some recreational drug or combination during pregnancy is partly to blame also.

Most of these FWIW, if you are going to attach a diagnosis ae really more ODD than ADD which is more or less abberant behavior.  I just call 'em brats but I guess that isn't a reall scientific sounding diagnosis that lets fucked up parents off the hook.  I'll tell you, I have seen enough of these parents to last me a lifetime.  The kids I can handle, I can get them under control and most I could straighten out in a week at the drjarhead forest and lake bootcamp.  Some of the parents, esp their mothers, I would like to fucking throttle.

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.

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.

+1