We live in a world where
pharmaceuticals are the remedy for all that ails us. More often than not we take whatever the
doctor prescribes. If harmful
side-affects arise, we notify the doctor and appropriate modifications are
made. However, a child taking
psycho-pharmaceuticals like Adderall or Ritilan for
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may not be so in-tune with
their bodily functions and emotions to make such observations, let alone
articulate them.
Pharmaceutical companies continue to
develop drugs for mental disorders even though the human brain is considered
the last frontier of modern medicine.
"Although the field has made enormous progress over the past several
decades, understanding of the basic principles of thought and brain function
are still far more unknown than known," says Michael Tarr, co-director of
the Carnegie Mellon's Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition in the Center’s
article, “The Last Frontier.”
Like many afflictions of the mind,
there is no single diagnostic test for ADHD and even a series of tests is not
one-hundred percent conclusive.
Moreover, there are some medical professionals who question whether ADHD
is even a legitimate disorder.
Children, as well as their parents and
schools, often embrace a diagnosis of ADHD as a convenient explanation and
solution. Consequently, parents are not
burdened with modifying their children’s behavior and children have no
motivation for self-improvement.
A psychiatrist, Peter Breggin, speaking
on PBS's Frontline, offered his impressions on what parenthood and teaching has
become: “We now think it's about having good quiet children...We're in a
situation in America in which the personal growth and development and happiness
of our children is not the priority; it's rather the smooth functioning of
over-stressed families and schools.”
Before exploring and accepting a
diagnosis of ADHD parents and guardians owe it to their children to explore
other equally likely causes for their child’s behavioral issues, as well as
child-rearing methods to modify that behavior.
There is considerable evidence
suggesting that many children diagnosed with ADHD may in fact have sleep
disorders that mirror the symptoms of ADHD.
The American
Psychological Association states that 69 percent of children experience some
sort of sleep problem a few nights or more a week. The effect can be profound
often resulting in concentration deficiencies and mood disturbances.
A 2012 study
published Pediatrics analyzed more than 11,000
children over a period of six years, beginning at six months of age, and
revealed “that children suffering from sleep-disordered breathing—including
snoring, breathing through the mouth, and apnea, where the child seems to stop
breathing for several seconds at a time—had a higher incidence of behavioral
and emotional issues such as hyperactivity, aggressiveness, depression, and
anxiety. “In fact, they were 50 to 90 percent more likely to develop ADHD-like
symptoms than were normal breathers.”
Another study
in Pediatrics published in 2006 found
that 28 percent of 78 children about to have their tonsils and adenoids removed
to alleviate Obstructive Sleep Apnea had been diagnosed with ADHD. A year after surgery, half of them were no
longer considered to have ADHD.
It behooves
any parent to explore testing for sleep disorders before ADHD is considered
when a child exhibits problems with attention or hyperactivity. At the very least, sleep apnea could be
exacerbating the symptoms of ADHD.
Medical
officials also caution that a missed diagnosis of ADHD for a child who has a
sleep disorder can be problematic since many medications prescribed for ADHD
like Vyvanse and Ritalin are stimulants and consequently can cause insomnia.
The
bottom-line is that the child’s long-term well-being should be paramount, not
the parent’s peace-of-mind nor meeting the behavioral expectations of the local
school. We know little about the human
mind or the long-term affects of most psycho-pharmaceuticals prescribed to
children so it would be irresponsible to accept a diagnosis of ADHD without
considering all other options and getting multiple medical opinions. Behavioral modifications and correcting
sleep disorders, even altering a child’s diet, are just some of the
alternatives that should be explored before medicating a child.
