Came across two similar idea articles today and wanted to pass them along.
One is a NYTImes article, ‘Drugs to Treat A.D.H.D. Reach the Preschool Set’ …
Although methylphenidate, a stimulant used to treat A.D.H.D. and sold under brand names like Concerta and Ritalin, is not approved for use in children under age 6, physicians may prescribe it to them. And they may be doing so more often. Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics revised its A.D.H.D. treatment guidelines, giving doctors a green light to prescribe drugs even to preschoolers with A.D.H.D. if behavioral efforts fail.
But the new guidelines raise tough questions for parents. While some children may well benefit from drug therapy, many critics say Americans generally are too quick to embrace medication instead of discipline or lifestyle changes for treatment of A.D.H.D.
According to a recent study by the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the number of children ages 6 to 12 taking stimulants for A.D.H.D. has increased steadily in recent years, to 5.1 percent of all children in 2008, up from 4.2 percent in 1996.
The other is an ABC online article, ‘Should Preschoolers Take Ritalin and Other Stimulants?’…
Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been steadily on the rise in the past few decades, and so has the use of drugs to treat it. But now even younger children might be considered prime targets for prescriptions of the drugs, an idea that is sparking persistent concerns about the long-term effects of giving stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall to children.
“We don’t have enough information to know the long-term effects of these medications on young developing brains,” said Rahil Briggs, director of Healthy Steps program at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. “Young brains are like a sponge, they’ll soak up anything. Serious medication of this sort might affect them disproportionately as well.”
A September survey published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that use of stimulant medications to treat ADHD had risen in the past 15 years, and the number of children between 13 and 18 taking the drugs had risen 6.5 percent each year since 1996.
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