The Misdiagnosis of ADHD and What it Can Mean to You and Your Family - Health - Alternative Medicine

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become the single most common diagnosis for children with problems concentrating in school or who consistently misbehave. The medical treatment for this condition consists of prescribed doses of stimulants, which increase mental activity and slow down the impulsive outbursts associated with ADHD. However, it is estimated that this diagnosis is reached and medications are prescribed three times more often than is actually the case. Here, we will examine the misdiagnosis of ADHD and what it can mean to you and your family.

There are several problems associated with a misdiagnosis of ADHD. The first is that a child is often prescribed stimulants that are not necessary and carry the risk of serious health related complications. Taking these drugs when they are not needed can lead to heart disease, cause liver problems, create or enhance mental health problems such as anxiety disorder or depression, and much more.

The next issue is that a child who is misdiagnosed as having ADHD may not be receiving treatment for the real problem. Some things that can mimic the symptoms of ADHD include temporal lobe epilepsy, a form of epilepsy that causes "absence" seizures where it appears the child is simply daydreaming, depression, restless leg syndrome, learning disabilities, personality conflicts with a teacher, and even normal, high energy stages of childhood.

In all cases except that of this being a normal stage the child is going through, there are other medical and behavioral treatments and therapies that could eliminate the symptoms and address the child's real problem without prescribing unnecessary stimulant medications.

Often, when a child is placed on medication for ADHD when it is not the real problem, the symptoms of ADHD go away, but so does the child's personality. While this may be seen as an improvement to the behavior problems that led to the diagnosis, it actually harms the mental development of the child and inhibits the normal development of social skills that are needed later in life.

Many parents of children who have been misdiagnosed claim that their child is like a robot when taking the medication. He/she goes through the motions of every day life, but there is no spark or spontaneity to the child's activities. These children often tend to play alone or to stop playing altogether.

Sadly, with so many homes where both parents have to work, these symptoms can go unnoticed for long periods. This means that the child often continues to take unnecessary medication for an extended time frame that allows for more damage to be done to the brain and organs of the developing child.

While ADHD is a valid developmental and behavioral disorder, there is not an empirical test that can positively determine whether a child does or does not suffer from it. The criteria for the diagnosis are all subjective and comparative, meaning that one person may look at a child and reach the diagnosis of ADHD while another sees a perfectly normal child. This leads to a large number of misdiagnoses of ADHD and harms a large number of children and teens each year. Learn about a little known ADHD treatment alternative at

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