Aug 31, 2018, Fox News: ADHD diagnoses may be rising in US http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/08/31/adhd-diagnoses-may-be-rising-in-us.html "There might be multiple reasons," Bao said in an email. "First, doctors and health professionals are better at knowing this condition than previously, so they are better at recognizing and diagnosing this condition. Second, the public is more aware of this condition, increasing the possibility of affected kids being screened and diagnosed. Third, biological factors may also play a role. For example, infants born early or small survive, but they are at higher risk of developing ADHD." … Experts suggested that some of the "diagnoses" might be incorrect. "You really have to interpret the study with caution," said Amie Bettencourt, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "The authors acknowledge that they used parents' reports of whether a doctor or health professional had told them their child had ADHD," Bettencourt said. "That opens a can of worms. There are a lot of conditions that include attention problems and hyperactivity as symptoms. It's possible it's on the rise. But it's also possible that these could be symptoms of something else." Bettencourt has seen a lot of misdiagnoses. "I specialize in young children," she said. "The increased rigor of kindergarten is leading to a lot of false identifications of ADHD. This is a time when children are still developing the capacity to sit still. Years ago there was not so much sitting still. Learning was more play and experiential based." What the surveys are telling us, Bettencourt said, "is that a lot of children are struggling with social, emotional and behavioral difficulties." Dr. Richard Gallagher, associate professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health in New York City, is also concerned about misdiagnosis. "This is not based upon a standard diagnosis," Gallagher said. "Parents are being told by someone in healthcare that the child has the condition. That doesn't necessarily mean that a careful diagnosis was done in all of the cases. There are standards for a careful diagnosis. It's not based on a quick impression. It involves gathering a lot of information, and talking to parents and teachers."
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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