What Do You Think? - Akron,OH

I firmly believe, that ADD is a variation on normal, I have a ADD hubby and an ADD kid, and they can function in the real world, just in a different way.
50 years ago they would have been called "busy", "difficult" or awkward. Now there is a term for it, but it has always been around. We just like to give things labels these days. My husband thinks that in prehistoric times they would have been the hunter types, the runners, lol

In the past kids with ADD and ADHD were called hyperactive and daydreamers. The reason they are now considered "sick" is because someone discovered a drug that could calm and focus a child. If you find a substance that causes a reaction like that, the obvious thing to do is to label a child with a disorder and sell the pill to them.

I think kids don't play in the dirt enough. Just my opinion.

Are you talking about being sick like a cold? Or having things like ADD and ADHD?

Honestly (many may disagree with me but, whatever!), I think that our society is too quick to diagnose mental disorders. I know a dozen people, at least, that claim to have ADD or ADHD. I do think some kids are hyperactive, but why does that have to be a bad thing? When I was young, we got in trouble for not paying attention or following instruction. Now, it is because they have something wrong with them. Iit isn't their fault.

They are diagnosing 2 YEAR OLDS with depression and bipolar syndrome! These children are being put on extreme medicine for "symptoms" like being fussy, arguing, getting tired quickly, and so on.

Our society loves labeling things. Heaven forbid a child gets punished or anyone actually take responsibility for being hyper active.

I do think there are some disabilities, but we don't need half as many as we have.

Kids need to get outside more and play in the dirt. When I was younger, if I got too hyper or anything, I was told to get outside and run around until I calmed down. THAT is what children today lack- outside time.

Just being honest. NOT trying to offend anyone=)

I may get heat for some of these, but I absolutely think this is the case due in part to all of the following:

-pregnant moms taking meds

-meds/interventions during labor & delivery

-too many vaccinations, too early, that contain harmful preservatives that have NOT been tested for safety when taken internally (aluminum is a striking example of this)

-indiscriminate use of antibiotics and OTC meds

-preservatives and additives in food: artificial colors and flavors have been linked to behavior disorders

-most of our food supply contains these things so people eat more of them, more often

-increased use of hand sanitizers which weaken the body's natural defenses and contribute to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria

-parenting without establishing proper boundaries or expectations for acceptable behavior (some ADD cases)

-more toxins in our environment: chemical cleaners, pesticides in foods, plastics that leach chemicals (even in baby products), scented things

...and what is truly distressing is that all of these things are supposedly "regulated" by agencies who are supposed to have the public's interest and health in mind. =/

Bear in mind, I think it is the CUMULATIVE effect of all of these things that has resulted in this generation being as sick as it is, not just one or a few. Taken together, it's nearly impossible to avoid them all and it's definitely taking a toll on people today. These things weaken and undermine the immune system and the body's natural functions, which results in increased cases of illness and overall poor health.

I don't mean to be harsh, but back in our day if a kid was acting strangely or had educational issues they were 'retarded' (and I absolutely mean zero disrespect by using the term). That's pretty much it. Sure, there were some shades of differences but we didn't have label upon label (much needed) for the various aspects of the spectrum of emotional/mental issues.

We can go on and on about processed food this and environmental that but...formula was likely worse when we were children. Things like birth control pills and other medications were much stronger and now we know that the strengths were pretty dangerous. Tools for diagnosing illnesses like cancer and such have become much more sophisticated, leading to early detection and management of the illness as opposed to just waking up on day saying "Oh sh!t, you have cancer and will die in two weeks".

Additionally I think parents in our generation are way 'softer' than earlier generations. There is more family wealth, more access to material goods, and more mama bear/helicoptering going on, so sometimes a kid that is actually a pain in the butt and does not know how to behave is often described as "spirited", "misbehaves due to exposure to too much sugar, dye, caffeine, etc.". In my day we didn't have time out...we had knock out! Now, I'm definitely not advocating physical punishment for our kids whatsoever but nowadays it seems like parents want to be 'friends' with their kids and avoid parenting them.

I don't think kids are more sick or have more disorders.

I think we tend to freak out over the tiniest little things and have a chicken little the sky is falling mentality at times.

I don't think it is anything new or that it is off the chart more prevalent. With a rise in population it would be prudent to expect a rise in disorders.

IMO, I believe it is simply awareness. Before the "spotlight" ADD/ADHD kids would have been the so called misbehaved children who were labeled as lacking in discipline. The Aspergers/Autistics were the "quirky" or "weird" kids or even the extreme introverts. Some may even have been labeled as "dumb" or "stupid".

l

My 8 year old daughter has Autism and associated disorders and gastric problems, but that doesn't mean she's "sick." Referring to Autism and other neurological disorders as an illness is tricky territory, just so you know, so please don't refer to them as being sick. And do not put disorders in quotation marks. It insinuates that you don't believe they're actually legitimate disorders. Please think about how you phrase things before asking questions on sensitive topics in the future.

More people are being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders because there's more research being done.

There's more literature out there than there was even ten years ago.

There are more professionals specializing in ASD's than there were ten, fifteen, twenty years ago.

Many of these professionals (including special education teachers, school psychologists, sociologists, social workers, etc) are integrated in the public schools and are recognizing students in need much sooner than before.

Parents have better access to information than ten or fifteen years ago and are better equipped to recognize signs of Autism and bring questions to their doctors. Access to this information also means that parents are better able to advocate for their children when they suspect a neurological disorder such as ASD.

There are some misdiagnoses, but those don't make up the majority or even a large minority of the Autism community. Autism is a spectrum disorder, so someone can be very, very mild with their symptoms so as to be virtually unnoticeable or they can be very severe with their symptoms. Most people with ASD are in the Bell Curve. So someone can have a diagnosis of ASD and not "seem" to have it because their coping skills are excellent or their symptoms are mild.

As for actual illnesses with germs and immune system problems and allergies, that could probably be accounted for with a few things.

For a long time, even now, the majority of babies were/are fed with formula over breastmilk which has natural antibodies in it.

Our diets in general as Americans are not very good. Americans tend to buy cheap to eat cheap, and shows up as obesity and health problems. There are some genetic health problems that obviously would crop up anyway, but they have a higher likelihood when our diets and stress levels are so poor.

Edit: I just have to add that my mother and her mother had very natural pregnancies and medication-free deliveries. I was born quite prematurely. My daughter with ASD was born somewhat prematurely, and I went into premature labor twice before she was born. I had medicine-free pregnancies with all of my children. My ASD daughter showed signs of Autism at BIRTH with sensory processing disorder (look it up if you don't know what it is, and for her it's always been very severe). Before she ever had a single vaccination or feeding of anything. I ate amazingly well for all pregnancies. Genetics played a huge role in her luck of the draw as do many, many neurological disorders.

Something doesn't always have to be blamed on something else. In most cases, it's genetic. There's an awful lot of evidence that supports that. Environmental factors may exacerbate it, as does diet, and allergies to foods and intolerances plus sensitivities to foods and dyes and HFCS can mimic signs and symptoms of ADHD and Autism as well as make them worse if ADHD and Autism already exist.

So please don't assume that ASD is entirely environment or about diets or even about vaccinations. The business with "Dr." Andrew Wakefield claiming a so-called link between vaccinations and Autism was thoroughly debunked and scientifically proven as false as well as being proven that his entire "study" and article in the Lancet as being a hoax. This has all occurred within the past year. There is no link in this particular issue. That's not to say that vaccines may not be linked to other disorders, but they're not linked to Autism. The Lancet even retracted the Wakefield article this past year and apologized for having printed it in the first place all those years ago. The damage caused by that article is unmeasurable and worldwide.

I think these things always existed but now they have a name and that is why you hear of more children being diagnosed with these particular disorders.

Eating processed food, especially at places like MacDonalds. Watch the documentary SuperSize Me. They also don't take supplements or take some that are worthless.
If everyone ate real food healthcare costs would plummet.

I think it is toxins in the environment combined with poor parenting skills(not those who truly have a disorder, but those who act bad because a label excuses it and parents are lazy).

More awareness = more diagnosis (and over diagnosis)

I think it's a variety of reasons... Back when, people didn't want to admit that there was something wrong with their child. They would deny anything, and just claim that they were lazy, hyper, etc. when they really had something going on. My grandma told me about a family she knew that hid their kid in a shed rather than admit they had a less-than-perfect child! (I do think that is a VERY small percentage though...)

I also think that part of it is that people need a 'disorder' as an excuse not to punish their kid, or a way to get them on drugs to make them easier to handle. 'Johnny can't help but to trash the store, he's ADHD.' (I actually had a woman tell me that when her kid DESTROYED my department in a store I was working at... while she stood by and watched without saying a word to him...)

I also agree that we over-sanitize everything, so our immune systems don't get to develop.

AAAND the whole processed/fresh foods thing probably doesn't help either...

So everything is adding up, and as a result we have a society of spoiled, irresponsible people, who need prescriptions or a diagnosis for every little thing sniffle or hurt feeling. Luckily, like momof2girlz pointed out, society seems to be noticing whats going on. Hopefully we can rectify the situation before it gets too late. :P

Well said Abbie H: More awareness = more diagnosis (and over diagnosis)

I'm starting a new job for diagnostic testing in the women's health and I was warned by three employees.....I will be certain I have every disease on the planet!

Well I had a learning disabilty when I was a child. I think kids with issues always existed but possible they didnt have a name for it. Maybe because the population has increased?
We are fairly healthy in my house. We do have respiratory problems my middle son has allergies.

It has always been around, we just did not have the diagnosis.

Also more people marrying others with ADD/ADHD so more children are being born with it. Here in Austin with such a large population of people in the computer industry, the entertainment industry and creative industries.. You can imagine our schools are filled with the children that have ADHD/ADD/Autism..

My husband has ADHD.. Now that the family looks back, they are almost certain his grandfather on his fathers side and then his father also probably had ADHD. The Great Grandfather was an engineer who developed machinery for production and married very late because his family made him.. The grandfather worked for NASA.He was a whiz at engineering. My husband worked with computers the moment he could get his hands on them. His parents remember that the grandfather said, that "this the most knob turning, button pushing child I have ever seen".

My husband can look at almost anything and tell you how it and why it works. But he used to get failing grades, because he could give the answers but not "show his work".. He can start a project, but it is almost painful for him to have to finish it.

It's "fussiness." Parents run their kid to the ER if they sneeze too many times. Doctors that call everything from napping too long to eating a bit less ADD or ADHD. Medications for EVERYTHING. People who google every symptom all day long and read the scary rare diseases that they think their kids might have. Frankly, it makes me angry. A lot of it can be extinguished by simply eating at home more and letting the kids get dirty once in a while.

But it's an interesting point you bring up. How does one KNOW that there is more of that "these days?" In my opinion, there just SEEMS to be. There have always been issues like that, just not as diagnosed and widely available to read about. In addition, doctors take pride in being able to pinpoint the diagnosis, because parents don't feel satisfied if they take their kid to the doctor who says "there's nothing wrong with him."

I think there is something very wrong going on that no one has figured out yet (or more accurately, a collection of things going on that may be related or may be coincidence) and that kids with ADHD, asthma, allergies, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, etc. are the canaries in the coal mine. There HAS to be a reason for all of these neurological and immune disorders. I think there is something very, very wrong going on and I hope we figure out what and how to fix it before we have a public health crisis on our hands. I don't think there's a single smoking gun but a lot of contributing factors that lead to a level of toxicity that we just don't understand - perhaps a combination of environmental factors, genetic predispositions, and triggers such as exposure to chemicals via vaccinations, plastics, etc. I think that these things are showing up first in our children because the toxic load on their bodies is so much heavier than it is on adults.

Certainly, better diagnosis explains a small percentage of the increases in these things, but it's no where near the whole story. And how many more adults are now dealing with strange auto-immune diseases? The number of adults I know with lupus, MS, fibromyalgia, RA and chronic fatigue syndrome is staggering, and every few months, someone else I know is diagnosed with cancer. These are people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are young and health conscious and otherwise healthy. It really is alarming. I think that we know much less about the immune system than we think we do, that medications and vaccines are going to market without rigorous testing, that we are surrounded by toxins everywhere from what we drink and eat, the air we breathe, the water we bathe in, the grass we walk on, the containers we eat out of, the cleaners we are exposed to at home or work, etc. I try my best to live a non-toxic life but even in my family, we are dealing with ADHD and allergies.

What scares me so much nowadays is the amount of people diagnosed with some form of cancer. I've had 5 people close to me diagnosed with cancer in the past 2 months! I remember when I was growing up, hearing about cancer, but it seemed rare that we knew anyone who had cancer. Now, that's all I hear about. Your questions make me wonder if the meds that are prescribed for ADD/ADHD and other "disorders" contribute to cancer later in life. There are also other factors like processed foods, obesity, that I'm may contribute. I guess it's survival of the fittest?

I think this is a great question. Unfortunately, I think there is so many different factors. I work in a school so I see a bunch of different scenarios. Obviously, there are kids who really do have ADD/ADHD and really benefit from the medication, but I think some kids are just desperate for attention, and "bad" behavior is one way to get that. That then leads to teachers recommending that students get tested.

I also think that we have been told by tv, movies, etc. that life is supposed to be wonderful, always happy, and we shouldn't have to work that hard at it. That just isn't real life. I think a lot of people end up on anti-depressants because of it. Just my opinion!!

Disorders like ADD/ADHD, Autism, Tourettes, CP, etc etc etc - because people take these diseases more seriously - as diseases instead of just bad or lazy behavior and parenting - and there are more opportunities available for people with disabilities. When a child is born with a disability today they are guaranteed a free professional evaluation and therapy provided at little to no cost by the government until the age of 3. There was a time when those kids were simply looked at as damaged goods who would be a drain on society and sent away to 'homes'.

As far as traditional illnesses like colds and flus... I don't know that they are any more common today than they ever were. I think we've made some great strides in education on sickness prevention but I also realize that as we evolve as humans, we learn more about our bodies and environments and why bad things happen. Some sicknesses today didn't even have names a hundred years ago. Did you know they used to treat Asthma with leeches? They treated everything with leeches because they thought it you were sick, you had bad blood. Evolution and discovery and learning is the way to learn more about bad things and continue curing them.

As far as the food debate goes - "we should all be eating all natural organic products", that simply isn't feasible. The reason food is produced chemically and en masse is because there isn't enough for the earths population. Even with as much food as we have, people are still dying of hunger. If we didn't mass produce food and learn ways to make more out of less, more people would be more hungry and food prices would be even higher than they are now.