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This gives a whole new meaning to family planning
A massive study in BC found that girls born in December were 70% more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) than girls born the previous January, while December boys were 30% more likely. As this article in the Vancouver Sun points out, there are some very adverse effects of a mistaken diagnosis: “Children who receive a misdiagnosis may be prescribed unnecessary medication causing ‘adverse effects on sleep, appetite and growth and increased risk of cardiovascular events,’ the report concludes. Additionally, kids may be stigmatized by receiving the label at a young age.”
The drug of choice, Methylphenidate, is a powerful drug in the cocaine family, and should be used with extreme caution. Its use is not approved for children younger than six.
Clearly, being born in December can be bad for your health if you live in a jurisdiction with a December 31 cutoff date (and if your parents send you to school).
Yeah, it is tough to be a kid in grade school, if one’s birthday falls in the last six months of the year.
“There is a relatively obvious explanation and that is that one of the ways in which we diagnose ADHD - is with a teacher rating scale, which is comparing the child’s level of attention and behaviour against the rest of the class,” said Weiss.
“In other words, against children who may be older and may have developed other skills with time.”
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/making+grade+treating+ADHD/6256304/story.html#ixzz1oLlJYe4d
Not recommended by the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS.
“RECOMMENDATION 4B: Use of teacher global questionnaires and rating scales is not recommended in the diagnosing of children for ADHD, although they may be useful for other purposes (strength of evidence: strong; strength of recommendation: strong).”
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;105/5/1158
It would be interesting if there is a relationship between income and the identification of ADHD by the school. Wondering what the numbers are, and if the old stories of higher income students, their behaviour is simply seen as being normal, as opposed to the lower income groups and their behaviour as ADHD and the other learning disabilities and labels.