Preview

The Role Of Medication In Children

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
824 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Role Of Medication In Children
Medicine Is Not Always The Answer For as far back as one could remember, using medicine to ‘fix’ an ailment has always been the right thing to do. Runny nose? Take something for it. Scratchy throat? Take something for it. If what’s being taken doesn’t help, take something stronger! It is never implied to let a cold run its course. The exact same thing happens when a child is diagnosed with ADHD. Medication is one of the first things that is suggested to control the symptoms of ADHD. Children who have been labeled as having ADHD are almost uncontrollable and it causes a strain on the parents, teachers and doctors who are already overworked and exhausted. However, medication brings on a plethora of other issues. When attempting to …show more content…
Stimulants are designed to increase the attention span of a person while decreasing their impulsiveness. With all of this, stimulants potentially affect the heart. These medications cause sudden death in children and adults that mostly have existing heart issues. One side effect of stimulants relative to heart issues is racing heartbeat. Stimulants cause the heart to race and will eventually cause death if it isn’t controlled in a timely manner. In addition, stimulants also cause the blood pressure to become elevated. Elevated blood pressure weakens the heart. Using stimulants in a child that may have ADHD has been proven to not be as safe as it was initially …show more content…
“After generations of research, there is still no test for ADHD, nor is there a standard diagnostic measure within the profession’ (Christian Science Monitor, 2013). When the parents and the doctors of a child who has symptoms of ADHD have tried stimulant medicines and nothing has works, what can be done? Having a medicine regime that is unsuccessful is definitely a very strong possibility. What happens when the medication route becomes unsuccessful? All medicines don’t work for everybody. What does a parent do when they’ve taken the doctor’s advice to medicate their child and end up doing more harm than good? Medicating a child is not necessarily a guaranteed solution. This is one of the main reasons that medicine should not be the first choice when attempting to treat the symptoms of ADHD. Medicating a child is not a guaranteed fix for dealing with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Wright pulls from a study of 168,113 children/adolescents that exhibited signs of ADHD in 39 states. This study concluded that the number of children on medication could be reduced through the use of the institution of a compassionate male role model in the child’s life and counseling (Halgin, 2009). These results would seem to purport that environmental factors play a larger part in ADHD symptoms than genetic/biological factors. However, Wright is quick to differentiate between emotionally caused ADHD and neurologically caused ADHD. Moreover, Wright intones that, historically speaking, symptoms of hyperactivity and attention deficits have been treated as secondary symptoms of a larger psychoneurological problem, rather than a cause in and of itself. He explains that in the past medication for ADHD symptoms was only a temporary fix until a solution to the underlying problem could be found.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The issue is that people with no experience discard the idea of ADHD being a disorder. It is hard for a parent to have their son/daughter, seen as a “druggie” for taking medications to treat the disorder or the chemically unbalanced part of the frontal lobe in the…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Safer, D.J. (March 2000). Are stimulants overprescribed for youths with ADHD?. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 12, Retrieved October 6, 2008, from www.proquest.com…

    • 1740 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    ADHD Commentary

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages

    According to studies there are more than an estimated 6 million kids aging in the range of 4 to 17 that’s been diagnosed with ADHD which is an increase of 15 or more percent since studies done in 2007 regarding ADHD and it is over a 40 percent increase from in the past ten years. Most of the children diagnosed with ADHD have received prescriptions to use stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse, which are known to tremendously improve individuals’ lives that suffer with ADHD however these drugs can result to an individual to have anxiety, psychosis, and can lead to addiction. Many of people are floored at the astronomical numbers such as a professor of Yale that studies medicine where he states “Mild symptoms are being diagnosed so readily, which goes well beyond the disorder and the zone of ambiguity to pure enhancement of children who are otherwise healthy” (Dr. W. Graf, 2013). To make matters worse there will be a larger number of teenagers that are going to be prescribed Adderall, Vyvanse, or Ritalin in the foreseeable future because the APA (American Psychiatric Association) is considering changing the meaning and definitions of ADHD to allow room for more individuals to be diagnosed with the disorder which means more will be treated with stimulants. ADHD is normally described by many doctors as a result of chemical levels abnormity that is associated in the brain that impair an individual’s attention skills and impulses control (NIMH, 2013).…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders among children. ADHD can cause them to be hyper, have problems controlling impulse behaviors and trouble paying attention. The common treatment for ADHD is both medication and behavioral therapies starting as early as age four going up into adulthood. This paper will cover the research studies of four different treatments for AHDH to include stimulant medication, non-stimulant medications, behavior therapy, and the natural approach. With the increase in both children diagnosed with ADHD and the amount of children who are being medicated for ADHD, are stimulant medications the best option when other treatments are available when following the research studies?…

    • 2318 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Medication may be used to help ADHD when the biological illness is truly present, but…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As science and medicine become more advanced, more and more human behaviors are becoming medically defined. Humans are becoming dependent on drugs in order to live a normal life. Possibly the most severe occurrence of this idea is in the diagnosis of ADHD in American children. ADHD did not exist in the 1950’s, but by 2006, about eight to ten million children in America were diagnosed (Stolzer 109). This dramatic increase has caused many to question the ethics behind the diagnosis, and treatment, of ADHD in our children. Why is this issue so prevalent in 21st century America, and are these stimulants used to treat ADHD even safe? There is no question that symptoms matching those of ADHD are becoming more common in America’s children, however, the disorder is still being over-diagnosed.…

    • 2665 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    All of these reasons are great reasons to believe kids are being overdiagnosed with prescription drugs for ADHD. This disorder takes a lot more than just a pill so if you think the prescription drugs will help with no other treatment you're wrong. That is why i think kids with ADHD are being…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Adhd Medication Impact

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page

    Attention deficit disorder is one of the most popular childhood disorders whose symptoms include hyperactivity, impetuousness, and inattention. Professionals concur that it is a hard-to-diagnose, complex disorder, which implies that no single test can reveal ADHD’s presence. The most popular treatment approach involves using medication, behavioral, and psychological therapies (Ardoin & Martens, 2012). Regardless, parents who are considering ADHD medication for the child are advised to understand how the medications work and accompanying risks. Some medications are effective in treating ADHD, but some children exhibit harmful and uncomfortable side effects. Accordingly, the current research is a…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Adhd Research Paper

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages

    For the past 100 years how to treat children with ADHD has been among controversy. I am sure you are wondering what is ADHD? Several families have found themselves asking the same questions. ADHD is a common developmental and behavioral disorder. It is characterized by poor concentration, distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulses that are inappropriate for the child's age. Children with ADHD are easily distracted by sights and sounds in their environment, cannot concentrate for long periods of time, are restless and impulsive, or have a tendency to daydream and be slow to complete tasks. (webcenter.health.webmd.netscape.com/content/article/45/1663-51211, 2006). In my research…

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Adhd My Perspective

    • 3177 Words
    • 13 Pages

    I have seen a lot of children receiving medication as a treatment and I have a feeling that there are some instances of over diagnosis and over treatment. There are three questions of important to the study and it concerns the treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). First should educators and health care professionals determine a students learning style before labeling a child as being ADHD? Secondly are the diagnostic tools enough to diagnose and manage children who have been determined as having ADHD? Finally, why isn’t behavioral therapy considered as the first line of treatment? There are some children that benefit from counseling or from structured therapy. Even though this may not work for all students I wonder if they how many take the time to try before they medicate.…

    • 3177 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the tremendous increase in ADHD diagnosis, altercations have been emerging about whether or not ADHD medications are being overprescribed. Many people feel as though ADHD medications are needed for the condition, but are doctors just "handing" them out? Medications may be necessary depending on how severe the case is, but some people take advantage of it. As a community, we need to limit the amount of ADHD medications being prescribed by doctors.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within the past few years, more children are being prescribed atypical anti-psychotic medication. Anti-psychotic medications are harmful to children. Parents have a choice rather or not to put their children on this type of medication, but they usually let the doctors make that choice for them. However, doctors need to stop prescribing anti-psychotic drugs to children due to there being a lack of research on the long-term effects, also there are major health issues and side effects associated with these medications, and doctors need to educate parents and help them to find a healthier alternative.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ADHD

    • 1070 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Children are being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) too easily and without being properly tested for ADHD. Many children are being misdiagnosed because parents, teachers, and doctors are not taking into consideration that many other factors can lead to behavioral problems. If used properly ADHD medications such as Ritalin can be very helpful to children who have this disorder, but far too many parents and doctors are too quick to prescribe medications to control behavior. We owe it to children to try to find another way first before a prescription is written up.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although many believe that medication should not be indispensable part of managing ADHD in children, some believe that medicating children is necessary. In most cases, the public would think only about medication when asked about the treatment of children with ADHD because it is the most common method of management. Dr. Mina Tadrous, a research associate at the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at St. Michael’s Hospital, believes that it may be a good thing that more children are receiving treatments and may also provide evidence to the fact that doctors are catching mental health faster (Kirkey, 2016). This shows that doctors who have seen positive results from the use of medication alone see that they have been able to put down symptoms of this disorder by the most efficient…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays