kt.2006

Some children seem to be able to eat or drink anything and suffer no bad effects but for others it is like an instant trigger. My friend used to moan about her son's hyperactive behaviour (which seemed fine to me) and was very informed on all food/drinks that affected him (calpol, skips, coke, etc). He came to my son's party and by accident was offered an orange ice lolly. Within a minute he was running circuits round the table and wiping the sticky lolly on all the party guests . We were amazed as we had never seen him act like that before.

The son of a work colleague with ADHD is so bad that he is no longer in a school and goes to a special unit. This is probably not caused by food triggers but I was surprised at the fast food she fed him and that she gives him coke by the bucketful!

It must be very difficult if your child suffers from hyperactivity or ADHD and I really sympathise. I can only recommend researching as much as possible and finding out what sets off that chemical in their brain, as every child is different.

MrsDagboy

There is definitely some overdiagnosis as well as MIS-diagnosis ( see NickyP's post above) (often in the public health system where doctors often are rushed & sometimes complacent), I do agree with you there, however I do think you misheard the quote by the doctor (see my 1st post in this thread) & I think what was said (or at least meant to be said, because lets face it, it is possible that he stumbled over his words &/or said the wrong thing) & that the true figures for ADHD are 3 to 7 percent of children.

Which would be consistant with your (& my & most people's) recollections of problem kids 20 years ago ie 1-2 kids in a class of 30.

Remember too, that the diagnosis of ADHD does not only cover the hyperactive "bad boy" child, but also the dreamer ie the eccentric "professor" child who can work out maths algorithms at age 6 but cant remember where he put something down 20 seconds before hand .

ADHD was first described in 1845 by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman & in 1902 Sir George F. Still wrote the first research papers & gave a series of lectures at about it to the Royal College of Physicians in England. So the idea that it only developed 20 years ago is incorrect.

Unfortunately there is a huge amount of scare mongering & mis-information about ADHD & alot of other psychiatric & psychological conditions (you only have to read this thread to encounter some of it!).

I can't believe that some people see it as something that is only to do with kids wanting xboxes or just wanting things or being naughty etc Perhaps some people should use the technology they have in front of them to become less ignorant about what the condition actually entails.

As for the diet thing, there are certainly some children that react badly to additives (& it's not just the colour!!! Try doing a google search on the preservative 282 which is used to great extent in bread), but there are also other children to whom a change in diet makes no or little difference.

(Sorry Jad, not all this post is directed at you, only the first couple of paragraphs is in response to your post, the rest are general comments in response to some of the comments in this thread).

NickyC

I've been searching google for a reference to 37% and found nothing. The general consensus appears to be a rate of 3-5%, 3-6% and 3-7%. Did find one reference that said 'up to 10%'.

There was one reference to 37% - apparantly 37% of children who are dyslexic also have ADHD.

I'd say someone, somewhere has got their numbers mixed up.

spalen

http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/s...0-3102,00.html

its at the likn above

MrsDagboy

I agree, someone somewhere has got the figures wrong & now the Courier Mail is using it!

If you do any searches & read any credible information about it, the average is 3-7%.

Someone has stuffed up bigtime!

spalen

bloody journo's


never let the truth get in the way of a good story I say.

moneypenny20

Friend of my daughter back in the UK has ADHD and is on ritalin and I would say he has definitely been correctly diagnosed by what I know of the illness and the child. There are others who quite honestly just get away with being a shit at home so obviously continue at School.

The lad who has ADHD has been found to be allergic to apples. If he has anything that has them in or drinks sweetened with them, even the ritalin doesn't help much. Weird.

It is obviously a real illness, but I think some doctors just don't explore the lifestyle and eating habits enough. Lots do but let's face it, how many adults have been put on Prozac for depression when all they needed was someone to talk to?

I have the same issues with Asthma, but perhaps we better not go there

jad n rich

The 37% quote we heard was from a doctor being interviewed on morning TV. I usually flick on the 7.30 news but whatever channel comes up is fine so cant say which one it was, possibly channel 9.

Mummy

First of all, I think that to say that the increase in ADHD sufferers is because of over diagnosis without any proof is silly, and to say that it wasn't around 20 years ago, therefore it must over over diagnosis is also silly. Just because things have been brought into the spotlight and that some medical problems have finally found a cause doesn't mean that the problem is being invented. There have been lots of changes in lifestyle over the past 20 years, including shocking changes to our diets and lack of physical exercise thanks to the lovely computers we all now rely on (like the one I'm sat at now ). Therefore it would hardly be surprising if some changes to children both physically (obesity) and mentally (ADHD).

Of course a lot of bad behaviour in schools is preventable if the schools and the teachers were actually allowed to place some discipline on the children together with forms of punishment for bad behaviour that actually work.

However, I am very concerned about my own son's lack of attention span. He is 2.5 years old, but will not sit still for long enough to read through a short story (read by me, hubby or anyone else). He cannot sit still for more that a minute or two without fidgeting or getting up and moving around. He cannot play with anything for any length of time at all, and he was a late talker, only now able to say about 100 words. Yes I know he is only 2.5 years old, but compared to his peers, he has an attention problem. I sincerely hope that he does not have ADHD, and that it is something we can manage to overcome as he grows older (hopefully it's just because he is a boy ). BTW his diet is very good - hardly ever has sweets, never has fizzy drinks, and eats a lot of home cooked food.

moneypenny20

Easier said than done but certainly wouldn't worry at 2 and a half. It is completely irrelevant where his peers are compared to him. He is his own person and will develop as such. I have an 11 year old daughter who certainly doesn't suffer to ADHD but doesn't like to sit still. She won't walk if she can jump or dance, she also doesn't concentrate for long periods of time, she is just how she is.

There is no blue print for how a child should develop - talking, walking, eating by himself, sitting still etc. We are all individuals

Mummy

With respect, it is not completely irrelevant to compare him to his peers because if we did not do this then problems would never be diagnosed. I agree that just because his peers started talking around 10-12 months, and he did not until 18 months is not of concern. However, it is not just that he has a delayed start to talking, but the way that he talks - he often puts the first letter of words at the end of the word, so it is not just mispronouncation. For example "swim" has become "wims" and "spoon" has become "poons".

What is of main concern to me is that if he continues to have an attention problem, it will affect in later on when he starts school. When my early childhood nurse tells me that we would be keeping a close eye on his attention problem, and particularly his adversion to stories and books, I start to worry.

moneypenny20

You are going to worry, you are his mother, all I am saying is don't get stressed by it all.

As for the books, since having my children, I have only found one boy who reads books and enjoys them.

TheCrone

[QUOTE=MrsDagboy]
Remember too, that the diagnosis of ADHD does not only cover the hyperactive "bad boy" child, but also the dreamer ie the eccentric "professor" child who can work out maths algorithms at age 6 but cant remember where he put something down 20 seconds before hand .

ADHD was first described in 1845 by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman & in 1902 Sir George F. Still wrote the first research papers & gave a series of lectures at about it to the Royal College of Physicians in England. So the idea that it only developed 20 years ago is incorrect.


Mrs. D., you are quite correct.
Waaaaaaaaaay back ( 1939, to be precise) our family doctor told my parents that my "un-natural" interest in learning, together with very poor sleep patterns, demonstrated that I had "an over-active brain which, if not made to slow down, would result in brain fever" (whatever that is!)
His remedy was that I should be removed from school for 6 months, taken to either the sea-side or the country, have all books banned and be made to be outside and as physically active as possible from dawn to dusk. Doubtless, in today's world, I would be diagnosed with ADD - not, I stress, ADHD. This solution had no effect at all; it wasn't until I was sufficiently adult to realise that self-discipline was the only effective answer that there was any improvement - and I still have problems!
Two of my three daughters also have the condition, but remembering what worked for me has enabled me to help them. And in retrospect, I can see that my father also was a "sufferer". So I'm convinced that there is a genetic link, but in many cases the condition can be helped without drugs.

Vash the Stampede

Nobody is saying anything of the sort, mate.

Vash the Stampede

I'm not blaming it all on X-Boxes, so that's not a fair comment. It's actually a gross misrepresentation of my view.

Kids' attention spans have dropped to record lows. That's a fact, and it's not going away.

If you don't agree with my reasons for the problem, how do you account for it?

I'm not saying that no parent gives it serious thought - and in any case, I hardly think that ADHS counts as being "sick" in the conventional way.

Some poor parents have to struggle with cystic fybrosis in the family. Others have kids who suffer from depression.

I reckon these are far more serious problems than some kid who can't sit still, can't keep his gob shut, and refuses to show any respect for his mum and dad.