ADHD, Ritalin, Families, and Pharmaceutical Companies Essay

ADHD, Ritalin, Families, and Pharmaceutical Companies In todays fast-paced society, it seems that prescription drugs are a more reasonable and reliable solution for children and adults than diet and exercise for the disease known as ADHD. Rather than take the time to play with their children, or institute a proper diet, it seems that increasing numbers of parents would rather treat their childrens unexplained zest for life with pills and doctors. While there are some explanations and reasons for the diagnosis of this popular disease, most children are improperly diagnosed, and are therefore taking unneeded medication. This medication is costly and it can be argued those who benefit from the sale of these drugs most are the†¦show more content†¦According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2004) signs of ADHD become noticeable in children during their preschool and early years of school. It is estimated that 3 to 5 percent of children have ADHD, which is roughly about 2 million children in the United States. This means t hat 1 child out of a classroom that has 25-30 students in it will have ADHD. The NIMH (2004) has stated this in their article on ADHD that Dr. Heinrich Hoffman first described it in 1845. He was a physician who wrote books on medicine and psychiatry, he also wrote books for children. He described the disease in a book he was writing to his son, he wrote The Story of Fidgety Phillip which described a little boy with the exact symptoms of what would be known today as ADHD. It was not until 1902 that Sir George F. Still published a lecture to the Royal College of Physicians in London about impulsive children with behavioral problems that he stated were caused by a genetic dysfunction and not by poor education. Since then many studies have been done on the cause, symptoms, and treatment of ADHD. There is no real evidence of what causes ADHD. There have been many theories and hypothesis on the subject but no real concrete evidence of what causes the disease or how to prevent it. According to WebMDHealth (2004) inherited genetic factors is the most common theory on the cause of ADHD, certain brain activity lead scientist to believe that a certain abnormalShow MoreRelatedAdhd And Its Effects On Children1723 Words   |  7 Pages Though the disease of ADHD affects every child differently, doctors utilize the same guidelines for each child in determining if the symptoms results in ADHD. According to Alan Schwarz, the rising number of diagnoses makes ADHD the second most prevalent disease in children besides asthma. Over the past twenty years, the number of children diagnosed with ADHD has risen to 3.5 million compared to 600,000 in 1990 (Schwarz A1). 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