More and More Teens Abusing ADD/ADHD Drugs
Most parents believe that they have a very good idea of what to look out for when it comes to substance abuse. Unexplained absences, regular visits to the ‘shady side’ of town and the development of undesirable friendships all feature high on the list of common warning signs. There is no doubt that it is important to pay attention to these obvious areas of concern. A recent study is showing, however, that parents will have to widen their gaze to include things as seemingly innocuous as the family medicine cabinet or the school gate.
The study conducted by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (and published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics) analysed calls by 13- to 19-year-olds to poison control centers between 1998 and 2005. Its findings make for sobering reading to say the least. During the period under review, calls related to teenage ADHD medication increased by 76%. This figure is roughly in line with the staggering increase in prescription rates for these kinds of drugs. This fact underlines one of the basic problems with the industrial scale medication of a significant proportion of an entire generation.
The basic laws of economics teach us that an increase in the supply of a given product almost inevitably leads to a corresponding increase in demand. This principle acquires an especially vicious edge when it comes to the abuse of illicit drugs. Drug dealers create artificial conditions of abundant supply (by supplying free samples) only to then create conditions of scarcity once the addictive properties of the drugs hooked the client. With psycho-stimulant drugs that can be legally bought (at least if you have a prescription) the dynamic is slightly different. Abundant supply is created by over-prescription which means that increasing numbers of young people who are curious about the effects of narcotics, or who perhaps had previous experience with drug use, will make use of the opportunity to get a ‘legal’ high. At least some of them will be keen to use ADD/ADHD drugs on a regular basis as their drug of choice. The fact that these drugs can be more or less legally acquired makes them all the more appealing as they are a) easier to get hold of b) cheaper and c) more socially acceptable.
Understanding the Shifts in Human Nutrition – From Difficult to Super Easy (Part 3)
Last week’s article focused on the fact that improvements in production methods and transport links mean that our food is sourced from all over the world. This might seem like a good thing, on the one hand, because economies of scale mean that we are paying much less for globally produced foods. It is perhaps not such good news when we look at the health implications of the globalisation of food. I pointed out that provenance is one of the most important concepts when we think about how healthy, or otherwise, our food is.
Simply put, provenance is about where something is from. This is important because production standards and methods differ from place to place and country to country. It is common, for example, to see chemicals that have long been banned in North America due to adverse health effects still being used in other parts of the world. This is a serious issue for people dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD. Many of the symptoms of the condition can be traced back to signals in the brain not being transmitted properly. This is often due to chemical imbalances. Anything that can contribute to such imbalances should therefore be avoided at all costs.
So how can you get serious about provenance as an ordinary consumer? I think one of the keys is to stop seeing food shopping as a health-neutral activity, but to rather view it as a valuable investment in the health and well-being of your family. Some suggestions on how you can ensure that every bite that your family put into their mouths is safe include the following:
ADD/ADHD and Videogames – Is there a link? (Part 2)
ast week we began a discussion on the topic that some people would regard as fairly controversial: a possible link between ADD/ADHD diagnoses and video games. I pointed out that I would normally be reluctant to make strong claims about the existence such a link. This is slowly changing thanks to more and more research coming out showing a positive correlation between gaming and ADD/ADHD.
Research on this topic is still in its infancy and it is clear that we might be dealing with a kind of chicken and egg situation. In other words: Are children suffering from ADD/ADHD more likely to become addicted to video games; or is it the case that videogames exacerbate the symptoms of ADD/ADHD? This very important question will only be answered by focused research. What is clear, however, is that parents of children struggling with ADD/ADHD should at the very least actively monitor their children’s involvement with videogames.
The monitoring and perhaps even control of gaming will not go down too well with most dedicated gamers, especially as many of them view their gaming identity as such an important part of who they are. I am convinced, however, that this will in some cases be unavoidable if you have your children’s best interests at heart. I suspect that the best way to deal with this issue is not to go in with all guns blazing but to rather attempt to have a rational discussion about the content and possible ‘real-life’ consequences of videogames.
I would strongly recommend that you carefully analyze your child’s video gaming before you attempt to have a discussion about it with him or her. This does not mean that you should follow them around with a clipboard for a number of days but rather that you take an active interest in what they are playing and how often they do so. Some of the things that you should pay attention to are:
The Finish It Rule
This is what I call the “Finish It Rule’’
ADD/ADHD and Videogames – Is there a Link? (Part 1)
Videogame consoles have become so ubiquitous that they are simply seen as a fact of modern life. But at what cost? Many parents are vaguely worried that their children are spending too much time playing. Some are even allowing themselves to use the word ‘addiction’ when it comes to describing playing habits.
The debate about the role of videogames is a valid and important one. Questions need to be asked about the possible long term impact of the disengagement from the real world that inevitably results from vast amounts of time spent in digital environments. For those struggling with the symptoms of ADHD the question about possible links between the condition and videogames also needs to be asked.
This subject is obviously guaranteed to generate a spirited debate with people airing very strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Some would even go as far as to argue that videogames used in moderation can actually improve the symptoms of ADHD. Personally I am a little wary of such claims, not least because the video gaming industry is pouring vast amounts of money into public relations efforts to try and dispel some of the unease about its products. A central plank of these efforts is to emphasise some of the supposed positive effects of video games.
One example of the ‘games are good’ trend is the many articles claiming that gaming can improve reaction times by a few hundreds of a second. The problem with many of these ‘benefits’ is that they lack mainstream real-world application. Being able to push a button slightly faster than someone else might be of some use if you are training to be a fighter pilot, but not for much else. (The many hours in front of the console, instead of in front of math and science handbooks, will in any way make moving into a real pilot’s seat highly unlikely!)
Understanding the Shifts in Human Nutrition – From Difficult to Super Easy (Part 2)
Last week we had a look at the way in which our understanding of food shifted from a ‘resource acquired through hard work’ to an ‘easily acquired commodity’. I noted that it is very difficult to respond to this trend as cheap and easily available food is so ubiquitous. One, rather extreme, way of responding […]
Is there a link between ADD/ADHD medication and lack of motivation?
Hardly a week goes by without the publication of new research into ADD/ADHD. The fact that the scientific community is paying such close attention to the condition is, of course, to be welcomed. I have, and will continue, to profile such research on this site as it becomes available. What worries me, however, is how many research projects are pointing to other factors as the cause of ‘ADD Like’ symptoms. We have, for example, recently looked at studies pointing to factors as diverse as sleep deprivation and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) as causing symptoms that are often mistaken for ADD/ADHD. These studies are just the tip of the iceberg, which means that thousands of ADD/ADHD misdiagnoses are made each.
The problem of misdiagnosis would not have been all that serious if the only thing that diagnosis led to was a renewed focus on the role of lifestyle factors (e.g. diet, sleep patterns, parental discipline) as a means of behaviour modification. The fact is, however, that an ADD/ADHD diagnosis almost invariably leads to a child being placed on powerful medication. It is as if we are sleepwalking into a world where we think that it might just be a good idea to medicate the next generation at levels that previous generations would have found almost impossible to believe.
The sad fact is that most prescriptions are made by professionals who are a) Not adequately trained to make a proper ADD/ADHD diagnosis and b) Under pressure (especially from teachers) to come up with the ‘right’ diagnosis.
Many doctors who immediately prescribe drugs for the treatment of ADD/ADHD justify their actions by saying that they are simply trying to see if it will work. There are two huge problems with this approach. It is firstly highly irresponsible to reach for the ‘nuclear option’ first! In most other areas of medicine physicians will start with the least invasive and dangerous treatment options first. It seems, however, that this piece of common sense good practice does not apply when it comes to children with behavioural issues (that may or may not be due to ADD/ADHD). The second problem is that ADD/ADHD drugs act like ‘steroids for the brain’. They will lift performance regardless of whether a child has ADD/ADHD or not. This is why Adderall is such a hotly traded commodity on college campuses around exam time! The fact that it ‘helps’ is therefore no proof of the existence of ADD/ADHD or an indication (due to the existence of the law of diminishing returns) of long term improvement. The big question is: What price will your child (and society) have to pay for a brief spike in performance?
Understanding the Shifts in Human Nutrition – From Difficult to Super Easy (Part 1)
Over the past few weeks we looked at some of the subtle, and not so subtle, changes that occurred in human nutrition over the past few decades. The purpose of this series is not to suggest that previous generations consisted of ‘food saints’ who always ate perfectly balanced meals. It is rather to show how […]
Understanding the Shifts in Human Nutrition – From Scarcity to Superabundance (Part 3)
In previous posts we began by discussing some of the ways in which we can respond to the superabundance of food in our society. Planning and executing a proper response is not only important for general health but also crucial for those dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD. The reason for this is the fact […]
ADD/ADHD Misdiagnosis: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder often mistaken for ADHD
I have often written about the huge problem of ADD/ADHD misdiagnosis. This problem makes me think of the old proverb that says: “If you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail!†Modern medicine have become so preoccupied with sticking the ADD label on kids that it is very often the first diagnosis that […]
