Kids these days more hyperactive than ever! Or at least they're being diagnosed as such at an increasing rate. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one in five high school boys in the U.S., and 11 percent of all school-age kids, have been medically diagnosed with ADHD. The number of children diagnosed with ADHD in the U.S. has increased 16 percent since 2007 and 53 percent over the past 10 years. About two thirds of those kids are prescribed stimulants such as Adderall or Ritalin, a trend that seems poised to grow as the American Psychological Association plans to expand the current definition of ADHD. "Those are astronomical numbers. I'm floored," said William Graf, a pediatric neurologist in New Haven, Connecticut. "Mild symptoms are being diagnosed so readily, which goes well beyond the disorder and beyond the zone of ambiguity to pure enhancement of children who are otherwise healthy."
No comments:
Post a Comment