Emily Campos

Mrs.Knighten-Miller-6

English 11

11 October 2016

Pills,Pills,Pills

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

ADD was first acknowledged by society in 1980 but doctors had seen symptoms of it for many

years just had no name to call it. In 1902, an English pediatrician, Sir George Still had notice that

his patient were inattentive which is a symptom of ADD . Sir George Still thought that the

inattentiveness was hereditary.In 1919 variouse people survived the influenza pandemic but

developed encephalitis(inflamation of the brain) which has similar symptoms to ADD this caused

people to belive that ADD was caused by brain damage.scientist frist recognized that stimulants

can control symptoms of ADD in1937.in 1994 they relized that there was three subgroupes to

ADHD. In 1996 the FDA approved another medicine to treat ADHD that was called adderall

(dextroamphetamine and amphetamine). strattera, the first non stimulant drug for ADHD was

first approved of adult use in 2003. also in 2003 the cdc reported that about 4.4 million children

of US children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD and 2.5 million of the 4.4 million are

taking medication to lessen the symptoms of ADHD.

COUNTER ARGUMENT Some believe that doctors over medicate children with ADD/ADHD

because of the fact that the sales quota for methylphenidate and amphetamine have risen . With

the production of new stimulants every year there have also been worries about these drugs
being abused.There are studies that say in some areas in the united stated are being over

medicated and in other areas are being undermedicated. 11 countries participated in the

epidemiological study of mental health status of children in western north carolina in this study

they learned that 7.3% of the children were taking stimulants but only 3.4% of them had an

unambiguous diagnosis of ADHD; which show that overprescribing may exist.the prescription

rates vary by gender and age. Of the children taking medication for ADHD there are more boys

than girls younger than 20 years old. The highest stimulant treatment among boys is age 12 and

girls age 11the rates of stimulant treatment decline with age. a rising number of students have

used medication as a study drug they would take the drug before taking a test and because of

this more parents are asking for their child/children to be medicated even though the child does

not meet the criteria for ADHD.doctors found that children were pressured from peers parents

teachers to take the stimulant. Doctors rarely tell their patients how little evidence there is

regarding how safe and effective the medication is. doctors often over medicate children

sometimes because the child has a different disease/disorder that has similar symptoms.

WEAKEST POINT

Most everybody has trouble concentrating or staying focused but for children with ADHD it can

create a problem in school and at home.so to help them they take medication some may take a

stimulant. The stimulant work with the parts of the brain that is involved in self control and

intern it helps focus attention. Stimulants is about the most researched medication for children

with ADHD because they immensely improve concentration impulse control and overactivity in

8 children for every 10 with ADHD. The medicine help focus the attention and thoughts and

helps to ignore any distractions.stimulants work on 70%-80% of people.But stimulant don't

always work when they don't help them concentrate they will either another stimulant or a non
stimulant. How a non stimulant works is by increasing brain activity of norepinephrine. It is a

neurotransmitter that is lined to the person's attention. unlike stimulants with can almost

immediately take effect a non stimulant will take about four to six weeks to finally show any

results. Doctors often prefer that children take stimulants. The doctors start them on a stimulant

and if that does not work or help them concentration they will try a non stimulant take longer to

take effect but will eventually show results. the medication they take to help them concentrate

also depend of how severe the symptoms of ADHD are. Like me i have a mild ADHD which

means i have a hard time focusing but if i put my mind to it i can get myself to focus without

medication. there are people in the world that have severe ADHD that have to be on medication

to even function properly in a school setting. Children with severe ADHD will always be running

around standing on thing yelling disrupting any conversation even if he/she wasn't in that

conversation. but with the proper medication these disruptive behaviors will less or be

momentarily seized. when i took medicine for my ADHD i took Concerta and Adderall and from

my personal experience i found that the medication did help me focus. I found that i was getting

better grade then when i was off the medication. when i was at home I was had more focus on

my homework and i got thing done quickly and correctly.the only thing was it had some really

bad side effects .

STRONGEST POINT

There is new research that shows that millions of american children are treating ADHD with

medication for the long term benefits.Based on a analysis of medicaid claims about 150000

children were diagnosed with ADD/ADHD in south carolina between the years 2003 and 2013

researchers found that treatment with adhd medication made children least likely to demonstrate
 risky behavior such as sexually transmitted diseases substance abuse or injuries during their

teenage years.Eleven percent of children in the US 4-17 years old have been diagnosed with

ADHD and about 70% of them are treated with stimulants. Children who are diagnosed and are

not treated are know to be at higher risk for risky behaviors such as driving recklessly using

drugs and risky sexual behavior. Comparing both children medicated and unmedicated those who

took medication 3.6% less likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease 7.3% less likely to

abuse drugs and 2.3% less likely to injure themselves.

CONCLUSION

From all the research that i have done on this topic i think that children with ADHD should be

medicated. I that children should be medicated because there are studies facts research that show

that the medication does help with concentration and with behavior. however i do think that

doctors need to check every child by the standards and try what works for that specific child

because not all children are the same.

Works Cited

"ADHD Medication: What Kinds of ADHD Meds Are Available for Me?" WebMD.

WebMD, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

By Adolescence and Adulthood, the Overactivity May Appear as Restless, Fidgety Behavior (American

Psychiatric Association, 1994).*.

Hotchkiss, Michael. "ADHD Medication Reduces Risky Behavior in Children, Teens."

"KidsHealth.org Search : Kidshealth." KidsHealth. The Nemours Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Princeton University. Trustees of Princeton University, 18 July 2016. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Neurologists Warn against Prescribing ADHD Drugs to Kids as "study Drugs"" CBSNews. CBS

Interactive, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Problems of Overdiagnosis and Overprescribing in ADHD." Problems of Overdiagnosis and

Overprescribing in ADHD | Psychiatric Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Specialty, By. "Should Young ADHD Children Be Medicated?" Medindia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.

What Is Attention-Deficit Disorder? Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? AD/HD?

ADD/ADHD? ADHD? N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.