ill cure the ailment. Well, ADHD is different and is surprisingly unclear. There is no clear consensus on what the cause or causes of this disease are. There have been countless theories however, and all have been disproved through studies. There is no urine test, blood test, PET scan, or physical test or examination that can tell if someone does or doesnt have ADHD. This translates into mass confusion when parents, teachers, and even doctors are called upon to diagnose a child with this disorder or not. Psychiatrists around the world say that, about half the children who show up in their offices as ADHD referrals are actually suffering from a variety of other ailments, including learning disabilities, depression or anxiety-disorders that look like ADHD, but do not need Ritalin. Some seem to be just regular kids. (Newsweek, pg.52)It is estimated that ADHD effects two million children in the United States, this translates into three to five percent of all school-age children. Even more frightening, is that in some areas up to twenty percent of children have ADHD. However, these diagnoses are inconsistent. One reason for this enormous number of cases is due to the fact that there is not proper testing for ADHD before the diagnosis is completed. One familys situation was published in an October 1998 issue of Time. The parents took their daughter, Erin to a psychiatrist just before her fifth birthday. The doctor saw the concerned parents for 45 minutes. During this time the doctor read the teachers report on Erin. Then he saw Erin for 14 minutes. After that short time span, he came to his conclusion, and said, Your daughter has ADHD, and heres a prescription of Ritalin.(pg. 6) The parents were astounded to here those words come out of his mouth, to prescribe a powerful drug like Ritalin after only a 15 minute meeting with their child to evaluate her condition. In a recent report in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent ...
