Has American society gone too far when it comes to medicating our youth? In recent years millions of people in the US, mostly young children, have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Yet what exactly is being prescribed? What are the short and long term effects of these prescriptions? Are these so-called miracle drugs being over- prescribed? Or is it all a big conspiracy brought forward by the American Psychiatric Association (APA),the big time pharmaceutical companies, and others to make money? Regardless, of why medication for attention disorders has become such a phenomenon, it has become a problem, and the following will hopefully shed some light on the topic.
First we must ask what qualifies as an attention disorder? This is not a question easily answered, however the APA has complied a diagnostic reference book call the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Their "what to look for list" reads as follows:
Easily distracted by sights or sounds
Failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes
Rarely following instructions carefully or completely
Losing or forgetting things like toys, pencils, tools, and books needed for a task
Feeling restless often figiting with hands and feet, or squirming
Climbing or leaving a seat in stiuations where sitting or quite behavior is expected
Blurting out anwsers before hearing the whole question
Having difficultly waiting in line or for a turn
After reviewing this list we must ask ourselves since when is it considered a mental disorder to be energetic, to fidget, to run around, talk a lot , or daydream? Often it seems many children diagnosed with attention disorders do not have one. It seems that this might just be another example of our society suffering from a colossal lack of personal responsibility. Do parents even know what they are giving their children? ...