ADHD used to be referred to in a strictly behavioral sense as hyperkinesis and hyperactivity. Originally, hyperkinesia was used somewhat synonymously, as a descriptive term for children who simply couldn’t sit still. Today, the definition has been refined and broadened to include adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 4 million youth ages 4 to 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, which translates to about 8% of school-aged children. These statistics are significant because between 1987 and 1996, children and adolescents with ADHD were taking psychiatric medications at nearly the same rate as adults, with the number of children receiving psychotropic medication increasing two-to threefold over that period. As of 2003, 2.5 million young people ages 4 to 17 were receiving medication for ADHD. Overall, about 6% of youths younger than 20 were being treated with one or more drugs including stimulants, antidepressants, anti-psychotics, or mood stabilizers.

ADHD usually becomes evident in preschool or early elementary years. The median age of onset of ADHD is seven years, and the disorder usually persists into adolescence and adulthood.

ADHD also affects an estimated 4.1% of adults, making it one of the most common psychiatric disorders. An accurate diagnosis lays the foundation for the safe and effective treatments available for disorder management.

Modern medicine has tried valiantly to find effective methods for treating ADHD. For almost two decades, Western medicine embraced pharmaceutical drugs as the answer, but those days appear to be dwindling.

Since the 1990s, a series of studies have monitored the treatment of 600 children with ADHD across the U.S. A year into their research, the scientists concluded that medication like Ritalin and Concerta worked better than psychotherapy for ADHD. This proclamation influenced medical practices on both sides of the Atlantic, and prescription rates in the U.S. and the U.K. sky-rocketed. Then in 2007, the same researchers did a complete about-face. After a longer-term analysis, they reversed their decision, saying that drug therapy does not work and can stunt growth in children. After 3 years of Ritalin treatment, children are about an inch shorter and 6 pounds lighter than their peers who do not take the drug, according to a 2007 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Because medication may no loner be a safe or effective option for children and adolescents, the use of complimentary and alternative therapies is becoming increasingly prevalent.

References
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