“Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder of childhood, yet experts are worried by statistics that show very young kids are now getting powerful medications to treat the problem.
Some 10,000 toddlers across the U.S. are being diagnosed as hyperactive and receiving drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced in a new report. The 2- and 3-year-olds — especially those whose families who are on Medicaid —are getting the drugs even though the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t even have guidelines for ADHD in children under 4.
“We’re giving Adderall to 2-year-olds? I mean, that’s nuts,” said Dr. Lawrence H. Diller, a behavioral pediatrician.”* The Young Turks hosts Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola (TYT University) and Dave Rubin (The Rubin Report) break it down.
*Read more here from A Pawlowski / Today:
http://www.today.com/health/thats-nuts-10-000-toddlers-get-drugs-adhd-2D79684452
Comments
I was very surprised when I heard about this because I find it hard to understand how a child can be diagnosed with this to begin with. Couldn’t almost any child be seen as having this at such a young age? Interestingly I have read research that says that children who were born later in the year have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed than their younger counterparts. Seems like proof that many times this is just a situation where maturity is the issue and not ADHD meaning there shouldn’t be any drugs like Adderall prescribed.