What ADHD research has been done? Do we really know the causes of ADHD and why so many children are now allegedly suffering from this disorder? ADHD facts are hard to come by.
There is an ocean of information on the web but very few hard ADHD facts, such as the best way to treat it.
There is one startling fact that in the 1950s there were about 7,000 children in the USA who were suffering from some mental illness - now, fifty years on, there are 8 million children suffering from mental illness (mainly ADHD) and the vast majority of them are on ADHD medication.
Is there any ADHD research on the causes? What is the genetic link? Is ADHD overdiagnosed? These are questions that parents of ADHD children ask all the time and they can rarely get any satisfactory answers.
As regards the staggering increase in ADHD, it may be that society has changed radically over half a century.
Look at social and ethical values, technology advancement, expectations of parents, single parent families, both parents working, 'TV parenting' and a host of other changes which all could have a bearing on ADHD.
Here are four ADHD facts to bear in mind when trying to decide whether ADHD medication is really worth the expense and the worry about all the possible risks and side effects:- 1.
A report in the New York Times states that doctors who had received some sort of reward (cash/holidays etc) from the big pharmaceutical companies were five times more likely to recommend ADHD drugs for children than those doctors who had received no such payment or other incentives.
This may partly explain the mass medication of our children.
2.
ADHD research does show that between 18% and 20% of teenagers who are diagnosed with ADHD are likely to end up as drug users.
The main reason for this is quite simply that the most popular ADHD psychostimulant drugs (Dexadrine, Ritalin and Concerta) are addictive as the main ingredients are a cocktail of amphetamines.
Latest research shows that the effects of these substances on mice is very similar to that of cocaine addiction.
3.
In its 2005 report, the Partnership for a Drug Free America carried out a survey on 7,000 teenagers.
About a third of these said that knew about close friends who were abusing their ADHD medications.
4.
Why medicate a disorder? Especially when the medication does not actually cure the condition and can produce some alarming side effects.
Parents genuinely want to know what the long term effects on children's brains are/will be and are refusing to be fobbed off with glib answers from the medical community.
While parental and school support, diet and exercise can all help hyperactive children to cope and increase their attention span, parents want to know if there is some natural ADHD cure which will help to calm their children while not compromising their development.
The link below will explain all there is to know about ADHD alternative therapy.